Oceanic Salt

[georgeortiz]

Since the oceanic salt is going to be at such a great price at AW what can anyone tell me about the quality of the salt compared to instant ocean or any other of the salt mixes? Is it better?

[dan]

imo it's much better. cal. and mag. levels are much higher than in instant ocean. easy to mix. nothing left at the bottom of your mixing container.

[Brett Wilson]

I too have noticed the same results as the above two comments.

[RobertG]

I have to agree with everyone here. Much easier to work with.

[reefer]

works great, i have been using it for awhile without issues.

[cailan]

i agree with everyone else. io takes too long to disolve. i like oceanic myself. btw my mom and i are the ones who got alamo to lower the price on oceanic :-D we told gabe aw had it for $45 so he said he would sell it for $39

[sharkie]

I use oceanic salt also. However, I have not had any past experiences with any other salt. I will tell you that I did a lot of research online and found that more people liked oceanic compared to the other salts. Their main reason was because of the calcium and magnesium levels.

[JasonS]

I use Oceanic and have been happy with it, like sharkie though I have no past experience with other mixes.

[GaryP]

I ran some tests on it last weekend. At 1.025 S.G. the calcium was at 520 ppm. That's good. The downside was that alkalinity was around 4-5. I think that is why it dissolves so fast. I didn't run Magnesium.

I just plan to add more buffer after finishing a water change to overcome this problem.

Gary

[Ram_Puppy]

I love oceanic, switched over from instant ocean just after starting my tank... it's great salt.

[StephenA]

I've been using it since it was released and love it. I used IO since the 80's. It was time for a change. The Mag levels I tested were around 1130, CA was over my test kits limits (500).

[GaryP]

That's a little low for Mag. I'd rather see it up around 1400. I guess I'll start throwing a cupful of Mag into my water changes.

Gary

[Sherri]

I've always used Kent....been satisfied...but does take a while to dissolve...is there any prob to changing?

[Tim Marvin]

Oceanic salt is IMO the best salt on the market right now.

[Tim Marvin]

The last reading I got were this:
PH-8.2
Calcium- over 500
Mag-1500, (natural sea water is 1200?)
DKH-8

[Tim Marvin]

I beleive I mixed it, tested it, and then tossed it in. That is my usual MO, except for testing. I usually just mix it and use it.

[GaryP]

That could be the difference I saw on the alkalinity. Mine had sat for a day or two. Alkalinity is not a stable factor like metals. The difference in Mag is a little mystifying to me. I'll test mine the next time I make a batch.

Tim - "Typical NSW" is 1280 ppm Magnesium. However, because a lot of reefers are pushing their calcium and alkalinities above NSW levels, and because Magnesium inhibits precipitation of CaCO3, magnesium if often kept at or above 1400.

Gary

[don-n-sa]

oceanic works great for me...I only have one complaint, whenever I am adding it to the water the dust cloud makes me sneeeze oh about 20 times!!! I thought pepper made people sneeze, not salt. lol

[MikeDeL]

oceanic works great for me...I only have one complaint, whenever I am adding it to the water the dust cloud makes me sneeeze oh about 20 times!!! I thought pepper made people sneeze, not salt. lolYou're not supposed to put the stuff up your nose.


I should probably get my magnesium checked then. I have had some alkalinity and calcium swings lately.


Mike

[Tim Marvin]

GaryP, yes, I was going to say 1250 but couldn't remember the exact number for some reason? I must be getting old. At any rate, I find best growth and coral health like this:
Salinity 1.024-1.026
PH 8.0-8.4
calcium 400-500 (usually closer to 500)
mag 1400-1500 (was taught that by Jimbo)
DKH 8-9
tank temp 76-82

[GaryP]

Tim,

I knew what you were trying to say. I just thought I should clarify the numbers for some of the newbies.

Gary