Salty Discussion???

[Pennies2Cents]

Any recommendations on Reef Salts? .. We are looking to change the type of Salt we use from Reef Crystals

Any ideas? Thoughts? :thumbs_up:

[350gt]

I will be following.... I use reef crystals and have been happy but still curious if another salt would be better..

[Dean]

I need to take the plunge into a water makeup station. I get tired of having to tote RODI from the LFS only to bring it home and mix so I have just started buying the premixed water. My provider is also using Reef Crystals and they work great for my use.

[Mr Cob]

I did KENT for ever and it was stable, probably the most balanced midgrade salt I have used...then switched to Reef Crystals about a year ago and loved it. A few months ago I switched to Instant Ocean, the base version of reef crystals and I don't like it. I read a lot of forums saying reef crystals was over rated and that instant ocean works just as well.

I plan to switch back to reef crystals even though the price is more... my corals had better growth and color with reef crystals.

Following along to see what others say....



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[Mike]

We use 1/2 IO and 1/2 Reef Crystals. Was Lorraine's idea and what she did. Gives you more nutrients for reef than IO alone, but also helps cut down on excess nutrients causing extra algae with reef crystals and is a little cheaper too. Works fine for us.

[Mr Cob]

Interesting idea Mike. Thanks for sharing.... cost was my main reason for trying something else. I do about 5-10g of water changes daily. Gets expensive fast.

Do you keep SPS as well?

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[FireWater]

I used Red Sea Coral Pro and loved it.

I learned a couple lessons along the way. I mixed in the salt slowly- about a quarter of the total amount needed at a time. I also started with as cool of water as I could and then heated up the water as I mixed it. Never had issues with brown residue. Corals and tank thrived when I kept up with proper husbandry.

[JVI90GREEF]

RSCP is a great salt, been using it for 7-8 mos now. Mixes quickly, which is great! 2 3/4 cups for a 5 gallon water change. Mixing takes 2-2.5 hrs max! Be sure not to mix it longer than 4 hours...the water is essentially useless because of all the residue that builds up.

[LuckySingh]

Eve with the size of ur tank I think reef crystals is a better choice . I was using reef crystal on my 300 gln system and loved it. I would buy em in bulk when it's on sale from petstore or marinedepot and they come out to be around 49 each free shipping . On smaller tanks I kinda increase my budget and like to try some different and so far I hve liked salinity and tropic marine . All these salt are gud and hve good trace elements . All of us hve different choice and don't know seriously if one is better than another . As rob said regular instant ocean has a good review also and I hve seen the some of the best tank on reef central running on instant ocean .

[LuckySingh]

How ever it'll be trying something different on my upcoming build ... So let's see what u all say

[Mr Cob]

Only thing I can think of in regards to people that love instant ocean. ...either they don't have demanding corals or they dose trace elements

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[jcnkt_ellis]

I use kent and heat the water at the same time I'm mixing it. I tried reef crystals for awhile but switched back. At the time I switched I thought the reef crystals might have too much nutrients and was promoting algae growth, but it could have been just my husbandry practices when I switched from a large tank to a nano. Big difference on tank up keep when you go from 150 gallons to 8 ;)

[Bill S]

I use IO, however we are FO for the most part. When I had the big reef tank, we used RC. Before that I used Kent, however we got a few buckets that were "wrong". My understanding is that Kent is made by the same company that makes IO and RC.

Some of you know that as a kid, I worked in a store where one of the 2 salt makers had their manufacturing facility. Back then, it was IO and Seven Seas. The guy who made Seven Seas also wrote the Saltwater column for Tropical Fish Hobbyist. Fred made Seven Seas salt in a big concrete mixer. Fred got his PhD on the analysis of seawater. He went to reefs all over the world. We would laugh when he brought the vial of gold out - there wasn't a very good chance YOUR salt had gold in it, but the big mixer did! It was sold in 2 parts - the bulk powder (mostly salt), and a liquid package with trace elements. You HAD to mix them together. I wouldn't be surprised if there was some separation in buckets, still today.

Anyway, there was and still is not a lot difference between the salts, except that some have more of some elements like calcium and magnesium, and larger quantities trace elements that are quickly used by corals - more than in seawater. Thus the 2 different products from IO.

[ramsey]

ESV is the best I've used but it's expensive and comes in four parts. I'm only using it in my 38g and mostly due to keeping alk low and really stable since I'm carbon dosing and keeping SPS.

In my 185g softie tank, I'm using IO but will probably switch to reef crystals. Bill pretty much covered why.

Why are you wanting to change?

[Big_Pun]

I've run reef crystals and Red Sea pro, and aquavitro salinity. recently on the 105g I started with Red Sea pro and wasn't happy with over all look of my tank and some of the levels, just finished first bucket of salinity and I'm happy with it. I used salinity on my 150 and never had issues. the only thing I do not like is sometimes it mixes cloudy but that's normal and clears up after adding to display

[kkiel02]

As you know it comes down to your personal reef. I run Red Sea coral pro and reef crystals if they don't have the Red Sea. I do mainly zoas now so my cal uptake isn't very much. I've tried the more expensive brands but for my reef I didn't notice a difference so I came on back to the cheaper stuff. One thing I've wanted to try is the 50/50 mix of rc and io. When they did that salt study awhile back a few ppl were doing this, I just never have io around.

I would test your water and see what you are lacking then refer to the study and see which salt best fits your needs.

[koa25]

I use to run reef crystals on my 92 corner tank and 40 breeder. I switched to salinity and all my corals colored up and looked much happier. I currently run IO but my tanks are FOWLR as of now

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[Andresm]

I loved using Salinty, But i can't buy it in corpus or order it off line. lol so i order reef crystal, we will c how it goes.. But i absolutely loved Salinty, lit bit more expensive but it also makes 225gals i believe

[Andresm]

I've run reef crystals and Red Sea pro, and aquavitro salinity. recently on the 105g I started with Red Sea pro and wasn't happy with over all look of my tank and some of the levels, just finished first bucket of salinity and I'm happy with it. I used salinity on my 150 and never had issues. the only thing I do not like is sometimes it mixes cloudy but that's normal and clears up after adding to display

Experienced Reefers would let there salt mix over night or a couple hours before putting it cloudy into tank!!!! C"mon For the Love of Pete :angel::bighug::confused:

[Andresm]

Experienced Reefers would let there salt mix over night or a couple hours before putting it cloudy into tank!!!! C"mon For the Love of Pete :angel::bighug::confused:
And here it comes, let it begin Big PAPPY Chris

[Big_Pun]

well as a expert reefer I researched and talked to the rep and also same info on site. it only needs to be mixed to my desired salinity, and use it. also cloudiness is normal and if your tank is up to par it will go away fast.

[Bill S]

if your tank is up to par it will go away fast.

Well, that's the problem. At best, I'm a bogey reefer. Probably because I just mix and pour. I don't have time for overnight.

P.S. I'm changing my signature. I like that!

[ramsey]

Well, that's the problem. At best, I'm a bogey reefer. Probably because I just mix and pour. I don't have time for overnight.

P.S. I'm changing my signature. I like that!

Bogey and fogey! LOL Just kidding.

[FireWater]

Most of the salt manufacturers will tell you that the possibility of a cloudy mix is better than average. I used salinity for almost a year and had several batches get cloudy when I got in a hurry. The water will only hold so much before you get some form of precip.

[Bill S]

Bogey and fogey! LOL Just kidding.

LOL -= but true!

[Mr Cob]

I keep a few brutes going all the time with heater and power head going since I water change daily. Sometimes the water has been premixed overnight and other times just an hour or two.

At a minimum I just make sure it has mixed well enough to give an accurate SG reading.

If the tank the water going into is a nano I will make sure to wait at least a couple of hours.

Have never had any problems on the short or long time frame for mixing saltwater and adding.

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[Mr Cob]

Just saw the replies on Salinity. Got my interest. Anyone else have feedback on this salt?

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[LuckySingh]

I hve always liked it

[Scutterborn]

I didn't care for it. I switched from RC to Salinity and constantly had cyano. Switched back to RC and, voila! No more cyano.


-Ben-

[Pennies2Cents]

I didn't care for it. I switched from RC to Salinity and constantly had cyano. Switched back to RC and, voila! No more cyano.


-Ben-

Hmm... I hate that stuff

[BBQHILLBILLY]

Im having cyano problems in the 7ft tank, Kent has allways been good. Maybe I should try RC . . .

[Paul28]

I went from Instant O to RC when it came out and haven't tried anything else I love RC why change :)

[350gt]

I went from Instant O to RC when it came out and haven't tried anything else I love RC why change :)

And tank has been up for how many years????


I will take your word... Im sticking with RC.

[Big_Pun]

And tank has been up for how many years????


I will take your word... Im sticking with RC.

gotta remember everyone's system is diff, paul has a calcium reactor and also kalk reactor I believe so he adds a lot of trace elements back in daily

[350gt]

gotta remember everyone's system is diff, paul has a calcium reactor and also kalk reactor I believe so he adds a lot of trace elements back in daily

Well hes doing something right and it starts with salt ;)

Whats the point of buying top dollar salt if you're only keeping your tank up 1-3 years?

[Paul28]

tank will be 9 years in Nov

[ramsey]

Regarding cloudiness, that's one more thing that ESV has going for it. Mix the first two parts until they dissolve, add liquid A, then liquid B a couple minutes later and it's super clear. I've used it right after mixing often and have let it sit for days. I've never had issues and never got the precipitation buildup I got with other salts. Seriously, go read the reviews for it. Ok, I'll stop being such an ESV fanboy now. :)

With regards to salinity, I didn't really notice a difference over other salts. It did make more SW per bucket and came in an awesome reusable bucket though.

To be honest, I've used IO, RSCP, RC, Oceanic, salinity, kent, tropic marine bio-active, ESV and probably at least one more I don't remember. The only one that really had a noticeable difference was ESV (I lied, I have a little bit more fanboying to do). Every other salt I've used tended to make corals retract or look unhappy, even if just for a few minutes. With ESV, I've done big water changes and nothing reacted, included SPS. It's just super consistent. I mix 5g's at a time and I don't even bother measuring salinity anymore. I fill the container about 90%, add and mix the parts, then top off with RODI to the 5g line. Boom! 1.025SG. One time while I was still measuring salinity, I got a reading of 1.024. I found that my digital refractometer was off .001 and needed to be recalibrated and that the salt was in fact, mixed perfectly.

One other thing, the first part is sodium chloride, the second is magnesium, parts A and B are trace elements and I suspect alk and calc. They give you more mag and parts a and b then's actually needed so you could go a bit heavier on the mag if you wanted to boost that in your tank.

Again though, ESV is $90 for a 200g mix which is pretty expensive. That's why I only use it for the 38. If it was slightly cheaper I'd use it for the 185 (more like 300g with the sump) in a heartbeat.

I've never gotten anything from ESV that was bad. Their salt, two-part and dried phyto are all excellent products.

[Mr Cob]

Just read a little bit about ESV. I also found some fair prices online bringing it down to about $75 for a 200g bucket. Do any local shops carry it?

Here's a decent article that explains ESV in detail:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/5/review

[LuckySingh]

I know petstore offers a gud price with 15% discount for 1st time customers . We can all kinda do a group order and hve it delivered at one spot.

[Mr Cob]

So, like everything in this hobby... we have good reviews and to remain objective, we have bad reviews for ESV.


http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2013386&page=2



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