Salt questions

[jgf86123]

Hey all, as many of you know, I'm in the process of setting up my new tank. Since I'm in the market for salt, I thought I'd get an idea on just what kind of salt I need to pick up.

 

Please, if you would folks, enlighten me as to which salt you would recommend, for a reef tank, and why.

 

TIA

[nwcoralfarm]

This is a topic that has been posted a few different times. But I recommend D&D salt for 1 because it is excellent salt, with stable and reliable peramiters. For 2 because I want to sell it to you, ha ha.

[jgf86123]

D&D salt? never heard of it dave, wanna shoot me a pm with some specifics? including prices :P

 

and remember, I am a paying member now LOL

 

I got impatient, I'm home, bored, alone, ugh, blows, but, anyway, Dave, you got a pm LOL.

[finch6013]

I use Kent as do many others. I have been extremely happy with it. Stable perams that are all in spec for keeping a healthy sps tank. Also its priced well in 200g buckets. D&D is pretty spendy.

[jgf86123]

Price on Kent's?

 

And after talking to Dave, I'm really leaning towards D&D.

[reef165]

I use Kent as do many others. I have been extremely happy with it. Stable perams that are all in spec for keeping a healthy sps tank. Also its priced well in 200g buckets. D&D is pretty spendy.

 

+1 on Kent and add one for reef crystals. I used both back and forth for many years, they are very consistent and both have great peram's.

[ringwurm]

Over the past few years I have observed the following: (my opinion)

 

Kent - Did ok but always mixed funny (took a long time and cloudy)

 

Instant Ocean - Mix good but Calcium and Mag were usually low.

 

Oceanpure - horrible. very random levels of everything.

 

Coralife Salt - Never had any issues

 

Pacific Coast Marine Mix - it has been consistently mixing with very low PH. I would not recommend. It seems to be cheap for a reason.

 

I have a few buckets of Reef Crystals on the way to try out. I have heard good things about Tropic Marin and Seachem but have not tried them.

 

The one thing I have learned is that every company seems to mix a few bad batches now and then. Watch your tank and see how things look after your water changes. If you notice odd behavior from your tank its time to break out the test kits.

[jgf86123]

Thanks Greg, this is all going in a new tank that is in the final stages of being set up so I'm looking for something that will give me good params and is really good for reefs. Ive looked into the Tropic Marin Reef salt, but, I'm considering giving D&D a try, Dave can get it in, and its not a bad price for 200g of salt.

[jason7504]

i really recommend Seachem reef salt. its got great parameters and isn't too expensive

[reefcam]

I have been using Oceanic since they first introduced it about 4 - 5 years ago. But here's what I have learned from switching salt. And I started with Instant Ocean. Think it is still a good base salt. Oceanic has too high of CA and ALK level. But everytime I switch salt, I typically get wierd algae issue that I have never had and will eventually go away after using the same salt for a while. So now I'm sticking to Oceanic. Plus I like the blue bucket with the water tight seal.

[finch6013]

what is the price that dave is selling D&D's for? I usually pay between $40-50 for the 200g bucket of Kent.

[jgf86123]

I have been using Oceanic since they first introduced it about 4 - 5 years ago. But here's what I have learned from switching salt. And I started with Instant Ocean. Think it is still a good base salt. Oceanic has too high of CA and ALK level. But everytime I switch salt' date=' I typically get wierd algae issue that I have never had and will eventually go away after using the same salt for a while. So now I'm sticking to Oceanic. Plus I like the blue bucket with the water tight seal. [/quote']

 

Ive been using Oceanic, it's ok, I dont like the low Ph, but I do like the high CA and ALK, but, after some looking around, I'm really wantin to try the D&D salt

 

It's a brand new build, so it's not like I'm going to be mixing salt.

[Algae]

I used Seachem but switched to Reef Crystals after I learned that the large amount of borate would skew Dkh. Since that time they have reportedly lowered borate from 12X down to something like 3X.

[coralreefer]

with the amount of money and effort we all put into our tanks, I switched from Reef Crystals in 2009 to gettanked salt...hand mixed, hand packed and packaged...mixes crystal clear and after 9 months, there is zero scum or residue in my 50 gallon reservoir tank...absolutely pristine, dead on parameters...my tank is benefitting...

 

I just got tired of skewed buckets...

 

DrMerle

[jgf86123]

Hey Doc, can you pm me with some more info on that stuff?

[andy]

FWIW, I've been using Red Sea Coral Pro for the last 4 years and I'm quite happy with it. Ca, alk, pH and Mg levels are fine right out of the bucket; I just mix and age overnight and it's good to go.

 

That being said, I don't think there's that much difference between salts. I'm sure I'd be just as satisfied with Reef Crystals, D&D, or any other of the boosted Ca/alk mixes.

[new school]

how bout i throw a few kinks in the mix...... several of these are packed by the same vendors and re-branded. there are several threads on this at r.c. you can google this as well.....

 

reef crystals and instant ocean have accidentally been filled in the wrong buckets several times. lol..

 

a few are better than others because of emphasis on magnesium.

 

d&d is a good choice.

 

i have been hearing good things about brightwell. like there is so much magnesium it will actually heat while mixing. they even stated it on the packing. but some of their claims are now being disputed on other forums?? who truly knows.....

 

also another new product released is called royal nature. intsead of using salts mined with additives like other manufacturers they actually employ a "green" method of evaporation with water from none other than the red sea. several samples were given to high end aquarists and the results claimed sound good too. im highly interested in this new mix!!!!

 

currently staring at a aprx half used kent and seachem 5 gallons and neither seem any better than any others used in the past. im pretty certain that the new three being d&d, brightwell, and royal nature have put more emphasis on magnesium and relative trace elements due to simply being a newer product because technology gets better. but i could be wrong.... good luck, im sure whatever you use will be fine. some of the best aquariums simply use instant ocean, kinda funny to me.

[reefnjunkie]

Kent-40.00 for 200 gallon bucket

at 1.025 following params are what I get;

Ca-500

Mg-1200

KH-10

everytime/all the time

[reefboy]

I have used coralife for years with no issues and great growth on over 200 types of corals I have tryed others but have gone back to coralife as I didnt see a diffrence other then price I was paying.

[impur]

My experience:

 

Started using Oceanic. Good salt, but not very consistent in its params. High calcium, sometimes too high. But never had problems.

 

Tried Instant Ocean. THE WORST SALT I HAVE EVER TRIED. alk = 4dKH calcium = 220ppm I gave it away after testing.

 

Red Sea Coral Pro. Great salt, steady params, mixes easy and good price. Only negative is it leaves a residue in the mixing tub if left to mix for more than a couple days

 

Reef Crystals. Finally the best salt i've tried. Perfect params, high mag, mixes easy, no residue whatsoever, and cheap cheap cheap. Picked up 200g boxes for $35

[reef165]

My experience:

 

Started using Oceanic. Good salt, but not very consistent in its params. High calcium, sometimes too high. But never had problems.

 

Tried Instant Ocean. THE WORST SALT I HAVE EVER TRIED. alk = 4dKH calcium = 220ppm I gave it away after testing.

 

Red Sea Coral Pro. Great salt, steady params, mixes easy and good price. Only negative is it leaves a residue in the mixing tub if left to mix for more than a couple days

 

Reef Crystals. Finally the best salt i've tried. Perfect params, high mag, mixes easy, no residue whatsoever, and cheap cheap cheap. Picked up 200g boxes for $35

 

 

I haven't had cloudiness, or residue problems with kent or reef crystals either. Both have been goot to me! But whare do ya get 200g boxes for $35?

[andy]

I'd be *really-frikken-careful* of any Brightwell product. RHF has crucified their 2-part product as fundamentally flawed; if they can't get the simple 2-part recipe right, I've got serious concerns about their salt.

[spllbnd2]

I've used and had great results from Oceanic and Tunze. Prefer Tunze and yes it is a bit more expensive but arn't the creatures we are keeping worth the extra $$$.

 

I've also heard of ESV B-Ionic Seawater mix being very good Current mixed numbers are (450 ppm Calcium • 3.25 meq/L Alkalinity • 1400 ppm Magnesium) and you can use it right away, no need to wait for 24-48 hours to use. This comes from a friend who is a good friend of Robert Stark.

 

Cheers,

Alex

[new school]

+1 andy,

 

thats why i kinda threw in the concerns part. i use a profilux 4 pump doser with "randys" diy 2 part, low ph method with the mag flake/epsom and some amino acids. also lugols and bio fuel. "no mb7" i add a little potas and coral vite with 10% water changes weekly..... there are several concerns coming out with brightwell products. the salt, bio fuel and mb7 are getting good feedback however. thats about it....

[impur]

I haven't had cloudiness' date=' or residue problems with kent or reef crystals either. Both have been goot to me! But whare do ya get 200g boxes for $35?[/quote']

 

I never used Kent, and I don't get cloudiness or residue with reef crystals either. Red Sea Coral Pro is the salt that gave me the residue in the mixing tub.

 

I picked up the 200g boxes from Drsfostersmith.com back when they had a sale going on it. I posted it here, only 1 person was interested in going in on the order with me (scratch)