Which salt is best for a mixed reef???

[Louie3]

Seachem Reef salt $13.99
Coral Pro Slat RedSea 14.99
Kemt sea Salt $14.99
I think Tropic Marin is expensive but is it better @16.99 for 32g?
Reef Crystals $11.99
Instant Ocean $10.99
What are the pros and cons of each one or a certian one

[LoneStar]

And so it begins!!
:lol

Ready

Set

Go!

Salt WAR!!

[Isis]

What ever is on sale... ;)

[Louie3]

>_< I probably started something

[LoneStar]

I have used Instant Ocean with good results regularly over the past year and a half. I tried Oceanic once (during the big fade) and did not like the results. Possibly that was because I was not doing a reef then. Recently I just got a 200g mix of Red Sea. This is for the live rock cooking experiment so I'm not sure how this salt will work in a reef ;)

I say Instant Ocean because its reguarly avaliable locally. But I'm always up for a change if someone can pursuade me :innocent

[Louie3]

Thanks for your bit of input :)

[blueboy]

as much as they vary from batch to batch, i'm not sure it really matters which one you use!

[Richard]

This has always been a controversial topic but finally there are test results that will settle the issue once and for all....

http://www.slate.com/id/2117243/

[erick]

I recently read an article on WWM that concerned a gentleman who ran an experiment using the various sax mixes. Results were VERY interesting, Instant Ocean got thumbs down, Reef Crytals thumps up. Check it out by searching saltwater articles on WWM. I believe it was also talked about at some convention in Houston earlier this year...

[Ross]

I've always used IO with good results, recently i switched to red sea and i like that even more. oceanic is the worst imo

[urban79]

Dang I just bought oceans. I thought when looking at all of them.. Maybe try the crystals see how they work. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR LOL Plus there is a big price jump between all the rest of them. I couldnt see paying $60 or $70 for salt. when there couple for 30 or 40.. Plus paying that much and not see much of a different.

[Louie3]

Blue Boy: Yeah im pretty sure they're all the same but again you never know! :D
Richard: That page was interesting. Amazingly I couldnt find it relating towards reef salts.
Erick:never heard of WWM. Wow and all this time I thought that IO was really good. Now im starting to lean towards Reef Crystals.
Ross: with the RedSea salt do you get coraline or mangable growth? with out having to add any supplements. It really sucks, because when I first started the hobby my LFS said that Oceanic was the best salt ever. So since I had just finished the 5g bucket of Oceanic im doing this to find out wahts next

[erick]

(WWM) www.wetwebmedia.com an interesting website, run by Bob Fenner, noted author on marine science. Run by himself and others such as Anthony Calfo, etc... A wealth of informaiton at your fingertips.. The experiment I refered to I believe related to the amount of nuiscance algae growth, and some other parameter. if I can find the page where I saw it, I will post a link.

[erick]

www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_3/cav3i3/Salt_Impressions/Salt_Impressions.htm - here is a link to get you started if your interested :wacko You can search thier website by clicking on the search WWM icon. Fo llow the links, can be addicting/frustrating:blink

[Louie3]

Thanks for that site I now have my choice of salt, Reef Crystals


Thanks everyone
Looks like I didnt really start much of a debate :P

[blueboy]

do a search, see if you can find my account of the debacle they ( reefcrystals) put me through a couple months back due to a bad batch. i never got so much as an" i'm sorry this happened" from them, just a bucket of salt on my front porch one day. after spending countless hours on the phone with them, and countless $$ replacing every test kit i owne because they doubted my results. finally i shipped a sample to them (at my cost) to prove that the salt was crap, that's when i finally got the bucket of salt out of them. i figured by that point they owed me at least an extra bucket. that's why i don't buy any marineland products anymore, i am a big believer in responsible consumerism, and i can't support a company who does business this way. anyone can make a mistake, it's how the mistake is resolved that shows true character! i sent them a letter explaining this to them, and still got no response! oh, well...

[DaBird47]

This has always been a controversial topic but finally there are test results that will settle the issue once and for all....

LMAO...Richard, that was a good 'un...I'm gonna start using the Fleur...

[Louie3]

Blueboy:
Dand what are the odds of getting a bad batch, that must have really sucked. Oceanic is out of the question, but I've done some extra reading on sites where theres about each of the companies have released a bad batch. I'll buy the reef crystals and test it out on a little tank that ill use as a test tank (weird sentance :)) and It would suck if some sort of act of powers ended up recciving a batch of bad salt

[Ping]

IF Kim still say's whatever salt is on sale, that says alot. She co-conducted the salt test in Houston. I run 3 parts oceanic to 2 or 3 IO. When I run out of salt I will be going with Reef Crystals or Red Sea. IMO it is cheaper and easier to raise/maintain Alk.

[LoneStar]

Are there any Red Sea users out there? I'm new to this salt and would like to hear some input on it. Currently its just the salt I'm using for cooking live rock, but would like to know if its worth using once the tank is up and running!

[Louie3]

Does Reef Crystals have a high ALK? and a low cal

[Ping]

Louis3, Reef crystals has a higher Ca and ok Alk.

[alton]

I am using the new Red Sea Salt on my 58. So far everything looks better than before, I was using Kent before on this tank. If it continues to do great i will probably spend the money and use it on all my tanks.

[LoneStar]

I am using the new Red Sea Salt on my 58.


Is that the Red Sea Pro salt?

[alton]

Yep, made for RO water the old stuff was too low in Alk.

[blueboy]

i think i was the only one so lucky to get my hands on some of the "bad" oceanic, when it first came out, then to an uneventfull bucket of IO, then, in an attemt to raise alk, i got the bad bucket of RC. now i make a small "test batch" whenever i get a new bucket!

[Louie3]

So which salt out of all of them has a higher ALK?

[Isis]

IF Kim still say's whatever salt is on sale, that says alot. She co-conducted the salt test in Houston. I run 3 parts oceanic to 2 or 3 IO. When I run out of salt I will be going with Reef Crystals or Red Sea. IMO it is cheaper and easier to raise/maintain Alk.The only reason I say whatever is on sale is because that is what I have always done. Plus, I have no idea which is better, and until then, I don't want to elude to something that isn't true or unsubstantiated. For now, all I can say is don't change anything unless you feel you need to. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Of course, for those who have problems consistantly, our results may shed some light. Hopefully we will have a lot done come beginning of the year. The peer-reviewed stuff won't be published until summer time, while the other publications may be sooner.