What salt do you use?

[StevenSeas]

Well I currently use Oceanic salt and have done so for the past 150 gallons but the first 200 were on Red Sea salt. I havent really noticed any major differences, and was toying with the idea of changing salts but idk what to. So i was wondering:
what salt do you use
how long have you used it
why do you use it
any noticeable difference compared to other salts that you have used in the past

[BIGBIRD123]

I have been using Reef Crystals for about 5 yrs. I got a bucket from a friend and it seemed to be great, so I stayed with it, but when the current bucket runs out, I will be switching to Tropic Marin Bio Actif

[Europhyllia]

what salt do you use - Tropic Marin (currently Bio Actif, before that TM Reef Pro)
how long have you used it - the Bio Actif through only 5 water changes
why do you use it - because of this (link to my gathering of info (http://www.maast.org/showthread.php?55942-Salt&highlight=tropic+marin))
any noticeable difference compared to other salts that you have used in the past

I used to think Oceanic was so great but I had such horrid precipitation in my saltwater container. Tough on the pumps. After I switched to Reef Crystals and later Tropic Marin I never had that problem again.

[Big_Pun]

i use mortons salt makes food taste better, oh wait wrong salt.

i currently use reef crystals, used reg instant ocean before, growth is better and parms are better but no real big diff(except price). i switched to sps while using reef crystals and all is happy in my tank. thinking of going to tropic marin bio actiff, but ive read some posts on RC from people in europe, which is where tropic marin is like our instant ocean and they would rather use instant ocean over tropic marin, so i dont know what the hype is.

[txg8gxp]

What does everyone think about the ESV b-ionic? I have used brightwell and seachem. Both seem fine, I just had to long the seachem takes to dissolve.

[ismvel]

I love B-Ionic, have been using it for some time now and I love it.

[Europhyllia]

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/3/aafeature_album/Fig8.jpghttp://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/3/aafeature_album/Fig8.jpgJust the basics (alk, calcium, etc.) for the most common salt mixes:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1714505

This one is the one that got me interested in Tropic Marin Salt:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005...hterm=salt mix (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/3/aafeature/view?searchterm=salt%20mix)
Not that I necessarily want to breed urchins but I figure if it's good enough for urchins it's good enough for me. :)
(note to stangchris: Reef Crystals had the lowest urchin survival rate)

Inland Reef Aquaria Salt Study (shows heavy metals, etc.):
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/11/aafeature1

[Neptune@gabesfish]

Didnt think ESV salt was out yet I have to check on that I had some on pre order.. anyway We use TM Bio Actiff now only been about a month so no noticeable diff. yet .. At one time was using Oceanic salt on all of store but now only on fish systems..

[alton]

I used oceanic for years until I ran into the problem with calcium levels off the scale. Switched to Redsea Pro and loved it and then Gabe started having great prices on Reef Crystals so then switched to that and have not looked back. Everything looks good so I am happy.

[kkiel02]

I switch to whatever my semi-LFS has in stock. Usually Reef Crystals or Red Sea Coral Pro. I havent bought a bucket/box since the newer salts have come out yet but might try the Bio- actif that was mentioned above.

[StevenSeas]

thanks for the imput thus far. Anybody use the brightwells new salt?

[txg8gxp]

I like the brightwell...No true data, but every stayed happy and it disolves better the salinity.

[StevenSeas]

thanks I was hoping you would weigh in... knew you were using it. How long have you been using it for?

[txg8gxp]

I used it for about 3 months, now Im useing salinity. I need to do some good tests on both(but my test kits suck, need new ones), but so far I like the brightwell neomarine better.( I dont like the big crystals in the salinity) I think before I choice a salt I will try the esv b-ionic first, I'm very excited about this new salt.

[acropoorer]

Didn't see any coralife salt users, that's what I use. Used to use tropic marin except I noticed algae blooms on my glass right after every water change. Measured the fresh change for phospates and found that they were slightly above .045 mg/l. I run rowa to keep around .03 mg/l or less. So, did some research and found most of the parameters I valued were in the sweet spot and I get pricing of $30 per 150gal bucket (near 0 on phosphates). The other thing I like about coralife is the bucket has three 50 gal bags. If you take a 44 gal brut trash can on wheels and fill it near the top, one bag yields 35 pp thousand salinity. No measuring, checking, measuring, checking, just dump and go. So... half the price of Tropic Marin, 0 phosphates, easy to measure, whats not to like.

[StevenSeas]

thanks acropoorer I was looking at Coralife salt today and was debating about it. looked like it had potential to be a good salt, was just unsure thanks

[Randy@pollyspets]

I use Oceanic in my tanks...as you probably know Steven! Did you know that Dallas World Aquarium uses Instant Ocean as their salt! Thought that was crazy! Guess it's not always the salt...but what you do with it!

[Gseclipse02]

Didn't see any coralife salt users, that's what I use. Used to use tropic marin except I noticed algae blooms on my glass right after every water change. Measured the fresh change for phospates and found that they were slightly above .045 mg/l. I run rowa to keep around .03 mg/l or less. So, did some research and found most of the parameters I valued were in the sweet spot and I get pricing of $30 per 150gal bucket (near 0 on phosphates). The other thing I like about coralife is the bucket has three 50 gal bags. If you take a 44 gal brut trash can on wheels and fill it near the top, one bag yields 35 pp thousand salinity. No measuring, checking, measuring, checking, just dump and go. So... half the price of Tropic Marin, 0 phosphates, easy to measure, whats not to like.



very interesting ...


i use reefcrystals ...i tried IO, kent.coralife and redsea pro and i had noticed with reefcrystals i had better growth with my zoa's /palys..... i dont add anything else to my tank and this seems to do well for every thing my calc is normally 400-420

[BIGBIRD123]

That's the only think I don't likje about all the RC I have bought in the last yr, is the calcium to me is low, near the 400 range but the mag is 1300. I may have to try the Coralife, if the Acro-grows-like-a-weed guy says he uses it...lol

[Gseclipse02]

That's the only think I don't likje about all the RC I have bought in the last yr, is the calcium to me is low, near the 400 range but the mag is 1300. I may have to try the Coralife, if the Acro-grows-like-a-weed guy says he uses it...lol

i was thinking the same thing but its kind of hard to see how well it really works since he is dosing different elements

side note jason swears by this stuff i was thinking of trying it again but dont want to jump boats yet

[BIGBIRD123]

I want to try something different than RC. I used to use Oceanic until they had some bad batches but that was yrs ago, just never went back...

[Teeb]

I have used nothing but Tropic Marin....why, because as I was piecing my aquarium, people kept throwing it in with other purchases and I ended up with 4 buckets and I still haven't ran out. Unfortunately, I have nothing to compare it with.

[jroescher]

Reef Crystals. Because that's what I heard a lot of other people use. Used to use Oceanic...because that's what I heard a lot of other people used. Price has something to do with it also.

[neogenix]

i use mortons salt makes food taste better, oh wait wrong salt.

i currently use reef crystals, used reg instant ocean before, growth is better and parms are better but no real big diff(except price). i switched to sps while using reef crystals and all is happy in my tank. thinking of going to tropic marin bio actiff, but ive read some posts on RC from people in europe, which is where tropic marin is like our instant ocean and they would rather use instant ocean over tropic marin, so i dont know what the hype is.

It's always about the food with you :P


I have used nothing but Tropic Marin....why, because as I was piecing my aquarium, people kept throwing it in with other purchases and I ended up with 4 buckets and I still haven't ran out. Unfortunately, I have nothing to compare it with.

I'll happily take it off your hands to allow you to buy other types ;)

I've been running Reef Crystals since the beginning... Granted, it's only been a few months, and I've nothing to compare it to, but the few SPS, and bits I have in my tank seem to be doing fine, and actually are growing already (shock, horror).

[Europhyllia]

Didn't see any coralife salt users, that's what I use. Used to use tropic marin except I noticed algae blooms on my glass right after every water change. Measured the fresh change for phospates and found that they were slightly above .045 mg/l. I run rowa to keep around .03 mg/l or less. So, did some research and found most of the parameters I valued were in the sweet spot and I get pricing of $30 per 150gal bucket (near 0 on phosphates). The other thing I like about coralife is the bucket has three 50 gal bags. If you take a 44 gal brut trash can on wheels and fill it near the top, one bag yields 35 pp thousand salinity. No measuring, checking, measuring, checking, just dump and go. So... half the price of Tropic Marin, 0 phosphates, easy to measure, whats not to like.

That's very interesting! Thanks for sharing that info. I might give the Coralife a try!

[hobogato]

i used coralife a long time ago, come to think of it, not sure why i changed...

used to use io and oceanic together to get the right calc and alk in make up water with no additives. i have been using rc for a while now, but when this bucket is empty, i have a bucket of salinity to try.

[Europhyllia]

I was thinking of trying the salinity but got turned off by the high copper values

[hobogato]

didnt know about that karin - darnit, now i have to go do some research!

[Big_Pun]

Didn't see any coralife salt users, that's what I use. Used to use tropic marin except I noticed algae blooms on my glass right after every water change. Measured the fresh change for phospates and found that they were slightly above .045 mg/l. I run rowa to keep around .03 mg/l or less. So, did some research and found most of the parameters I valued were in the sweet spot and I get pricing of $30 per 150gal bucket (near 0 on phosphates). The other thing I like about coralife is the bucket has three 50 gal bags. If you take a 44 gal brut trash can on wheels and fill it near the top, one bag yields 35 pp thousand salinity. No measuring, checking, measuring, checking, just dump and go. So... half the price of Tropic Marin, 0 phosphates, easy to measure, whats not to like.

good input, if you could tell us, what else do you dose in your tank and equipment

[Paraletho]

I'm always the oddball I use Kent and have since I started reefing. My tanks love it. I can just about always find it for 45 to 50 bucks.

[Europhyllia]

didnt know about that karin - darnit, now i have to go do some research!

here's some info:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1819607&highlight=salinity+and+copper

Looks like there were some updates posted after I read that the first time :)