albertareef Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 Hi all, Finally got the 125 wet and am gearing up to make its inaugural batch of salt water so thought I would see if anyone has a favorite mix and why. It will (ultimately) be a mixed reef with SPS. I searched the archives but didn't see anything recent on this topic so thought it might be worth a post... sorry if I missed something. When digging through my leftovers from the prior system, I discovered half a full container of Pacific Coast Marine salt - which reminded me of how long it's been since my prior tank was up and running and how long it's been since I bought salt! I am guessing, like everything else, things have changed substantially since then Let me know if you have any recommendations and thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exodus Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 I personally use Red Sea Coral Pro. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted October 25, 2016 Author Share Posted October 25, 2016 I personally use Red Sea Coral Pro. Thanks Exodus - I notice that they list a fairly high dKh (11.8 - 12.2) for that mix on BRS... do you typically see that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youcallmenny Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 Hi Sean great to hear you're getting your tank filled! I too use Coral Pro. My desired levels are 10dKh, 450 calcium and 1440 mag. I do biweekly water changes and this mix puts my levels right under where I want them. I still have a drip system with BRS 2 part that drips slowly every day to keep my levels at this point. To answer your question, no. I've not experienced that high of alkalinity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bevo5 Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 Is there much variation on PH between these mixes? I switched from Reef Crystals to KENT and I constantly struggle to get my PH to stay above 8.0. I'm in the 7.8-8.1 daily swing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted October 25, 2016 Author Share Posted October 25, 2016 Hi Sean great to hear you're getting your tank filled! I too use Coral Pro. My desired levels are 10dKh, 450 calcium and 1440 mag. I do biweekly water changes and this mix puts my levels right under where I want them. I still have a drip system with BRS 2 part that drips slowly every day to keep my levels at this point. To answer your question, no. I've not experienced that high of alkalinity. Thanks for the info! Good to see some "real world" numbers attached to these mixes. I plan to run my Ca reactor to keep some of the levels up Anxious to get up and running finally! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 I is Red Sea coral pro as well and do weekly water change of about 10 percent. I can't tell you my parameters because I don't test unless I see a problem but corals are looking great!Kent worked well for me in the past and it is cheaper but the alk runs low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted October 25, 2016 Author Share Posted October 25, 2016 I is Red Sea coral pro as well and do weekly water change of about 10 percent. I can't tell you my parameters because I don't test unless I see a problem but corals are looking great! Thanks Kim! I can attest to the good looking coral. Do you have a local source? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youcallmenny Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 (edited) Free shipping if you have a prime account: https://www.amazon.com/Red-Sea-ARE11230-Aquarium-175-Gallon/dp/B000YJ2XCU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1477423822&sr=8-1&keywords=red+sea+coral+pro+salt Best deal I've been able to find on it. edit: Oh local, derp. Sorry, definitely not local but perhaps cheaper. Edited October 25, 2016 by youcallmenny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 Thanks Kim! I can attest to the good looking coral. Do you have a local source? Jeff at Cuttlefish brings it in from time to time and will have good deals on a big bag. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 This topic comes up now and then. I have seen many truly amazing tanks running Kent Reef. It's cheap and clearly effective, so I run that. Always tempted to tinker with others though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 I stared with kent. I was really inconsistent. Then I went to red sea pro. I didn't need the alk to be that high when I did water changes. I am now trying brightwell salt. Although my tank crashed before I could use it so I don't know yet. sent from a Samsung note 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted October 25, 2016 Author Share Posted October 25, 2016 Thanks all - appreciate the feedback and sourcing. Likely to be one of those things where there are too many variables to isolate "good" from "bad" salt but helpful to know which can at least support successful tanks. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewie Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 Red Sea coral pro here too! Make sure to get the blue bucket. Numbers are closer to NSW. I've used [language filter] near every salt on the market except for the over seas brands and have been happy with all of them. H2ocean and red sea coral pro are what I have been using in the last few years. They seem very consistent with #'s when I feel like testing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewie Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 *darn???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted October 25, 2016 Author Share Posted October 25, 2016 Thanks for weighing in Jon. Seems like the Red Sea Coral Pro has kind of taken over the local market based on our small, non-scientific PNWMAS sampling. If I would have been more on the ball I could have put together a poll to make it more legit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexinverts Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 Use the Red Sea Salt in the blue bucket, since it has alk around 8 dKh. Coral Pro is in the black bucket and it has the high alk of 11 dKh. I also like Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt. It is similar in quality to the Red Sea stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptJackalope89 Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 I have been using HW salt from BRS for about 4 months now and am very happy with it. I used to use Tropic Marin and I was happy with it but wanted to try something new. I have used a bucket or two of red sea, both regular and pro. I found that it made my mixing container dirty. Tropic Marin and HW mix very clean I would also like to add that when I used "pro" versions I had a harder time keeping my levels consistent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exodus Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 Thanks Exodus - I notice that they list a fairly high dKh (11.8 - 12.2) for that mix on BRS... do you typically see that? nope i don't dose alk and i consistently test out a little over 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted October 27, 2016 Author Share Posted October 27, 2016 nope i don't dose alk and i consistently test out a little over 8 Thanks for the follow up. Sounds like that spec is for the black bucket vs the blue so that could be the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exodus Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 (edited) Yes, I use the Black bucket. I have never seen the blue buckets in store (only online) also I keep my salinity at 1.024 Edited October 27, 2016 by Exodus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmas_one Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Regular old Instant Ocean. It's very consistent. I dose 2-part, so I have no need for elevated level salt mixes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltwater newbie Posted October 28, 2016 Share Posted October 28, 2016 I use salinity it also mixes very consistent numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted October 28, 2016 Author Share Posted October 28, 2016 Thanks again for all the feedback everyone - much appreciated! Based on the responses, it seems like there are several options that are at least reasonably effective and no one has posted any "avoid at all costs" horror stories... which is good news for all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geomac Posted November 5, 2016 Share Posted November 5, 2016 I use Red Sea Salt. I have had great luck with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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