A salt that mixes "clear"

[HKfshkpr1]

I've been using Instant Ocean with R/O water for my fish-only tank for years. It never mixes clear and especially in a QT where it'd get cloudy fast.

Thinking about trying Fritz or Liveaquaria. Any good/bad experience with those?

 

[TriggerFinger]

They should all mix clear; some take longer than others.
What is your mixing protocol like?

My Red Sea salt is clear within 20 mins and my fritz takes an hour. I mix all my salt with water at 67 degrees and do not heat before adding to the tank; unless it’s a large water change of course.

 

[Topekoms]

Tropic marin mixes clear been using it for over a year really happy with it

 

[tehmadreefer]

They all mix clear, you should always mix for a few hours, if you only mix for a few minutes or so than ya, it’s gonna be a bit cloudy...

 

[LeftyReefer]

I've been using the Live Aquaria salt with ZERO complaints so far. Mixes quick and clear. Doesn't leave any gunk in my mixing containers and mixes pretty close to what I like as is. Best of all, its pretty cheap. I load up on it when it goes on sale at Petco. But even when its not on sale, $50 for a bucket isn't too bad.

 

[zoaprince]

Fritz Blue box mixes clear in half an hour for me. Of course I still wait at least the recommended 2 hours before putting the water in my tank.

 

[Michael White]

Another vote for Fritz and Red Sea. Never had a problem with those. Salts of any brand with elevated Calc and Alk tend to take longer in my experience than even that same brand with standard levels. I’ve used Fritz, instant ocean, and red sea with standard and elevated calc/alk levels. This is why I’ve switched to standard level salt, and then use dosing to maintain/adjust.

 

[HKfshkpr1]

Thank you for your input!

I mix my new water in a 50 gal drum using a 400 gph pump for over 5 hours. The water is never really clear just OK. I can wait a day or two then run the pump again but there's no improvement. After a large water change the water takes an hour or 2 to become clear.

In a QT with very light fish load I need to do a 50% water change every 2 days or the water would become cloudy, especially with a hang-on filter. Better using just an air pump.

 

[polyppal]

I've been using Instant Ocean with R/O water for my fish-only tank for years. It never mixes clear and especially in a QT where it'd get cloudy fast.

Thinking about trying Fritz or Liveaquaria. Any good/bad experience with those?

Fritz does NOT mix clear, I get little black things in the bottom of my barrel. That being said, I still use Fritz

 

[RobberyinCSharp1824]

Thank you for your input!

I mix my new water in a 50 gal drum using a 400 gph pump for over 5 hours. The water is never really clear just OK. I can wait a day or two then run the pump again but there's no improvement. After a large water change the water takes an hour or 2 to become clear.

In a QT with very light fish load I need to do a 50% water change every 2 days or the water would become cloudy, especially with a hang-on filter. Better using just an air pump.

I use instant ocean and I mix mine in a 20g brute container with a heater and a hydor koralia power head (ones designed for like a 50-100g tank) . When I make 20g of salt water I usually need more than 5hrs. I strongly recommend mixing overnight to allow for gas exchange and other residual traces dissolve. Mine always mixes clear overnight.

Have you checked your di water with a tds meter?

 

[homer1475]

I use IO and have for many years.

I let mix overnight with no heat(water is roughly 65F). Check salinity in the morning, and the bucket is always clear. This is in a 44G brute can.

BRS did a video a while back, 99% of the salts they tested, If I remember correctly took at minimum 24 hours for most to mix homogeneously.

 

[AdamD76]

I just mixed 15 g of IO and it was clear in about an hour. There was a little bit of undissolved solids left over. Maybe about a teaspoon of something.

 

[HKfshkpr1]

Finally bought Fritz( Red box for higher alkalinity) to try. I used the same set up. Guess what?

In just 30 minutes the water was already clear! I'm sold.

 

[Jekyl]

I've been using Instant Ocean with R/O water for my fish-only tank for years. It never mixes clear and especially in a QT where it'd get cloudy fast.

Thinking about trying Fritz or Liveaquaria. Any good/bad experience with those?

Coral pro. I always mix over night but it's clear in 2 hours.

 

[melanotaenia]

Tropic marin mixes clear been using it for over a year really happy with it

Agreed; BRS did a comparison and TM Pro mixed fastest and clearest out of all leading brands (with the exception of the ESV multi component salt that was not tested).

 

[HKfshkpr1]

I use IO and have for many years.

I let mix overnight with no heat(water is roughly 65F). Check salinity in the morning, and the bucket is always clear. This is in a 44G brute can.

BRS did a video a while back, 99% of the salts they tested, If I remember correctly took at minimum 24 hours for most to mix homogeneously.

Like I said, I mixed the IO at least 2 times sometimes up to 20 hours. "Clear" cannot be judged because is 90% cystal clear=clear? Or is it 95% cystal clear=clear? Or 100%?

Only a side by side comparision can reveal which one is clearer. And let me tell you when comparing the IO( mixed for over 10 hours) with Fritz( mixed for "only" 30 minutes) there is "NO"comparision. I have a 30 inch deep mixing drum so it's really easy to see Fritz is "much much clearer". A small bonus could be that it saves electricity by not having to run the mixing pump for so long. My electric bill gets really high after I exceed a certain kilowatts.

 

[HKfshkpr1]

Agreed; BRS did a comparison and TM Pro mixed fastest and clearest out of all leading brands (with the exception of the ESV multi component salt that was not tested).

I have no doubt that Tropic Marin is one of the best salts, if not the best. But if you have a large system or many tanks the cost can add up. I watched that comparision video before and I "did not" see they tested Fritz. I did, however, see many videos and comments praising Fritz on Youtube.

For now my fish and I are very happy with Fritz.

 

[homer1475]

And if anyone thinks which salt they use will determine how their reef turns out, let me let you in on a reefing secret.......

It's not the salt mix. lol

You guys praising TMP, have bought lock stock and barrel into their marketing hype. It's the latest "salt of the month".

 

[melanotaenia]

You guys praising TMP, have bought lock stock and barrel into their marketing hype. It's the latest "salt of the month".

No; I use it because it is high quality and has not given me problems compared to some other salts I have used; I had many problems with Red Sea Coral Pro mix and others that gave me some wacky parameters.

With salt my opinion is that you get what you pay for; the NSW parameters of TM Pro and the reliability are what mattes to me. I have only a 50 gallon reef tank however so the cost is not as prohibitive for me compared to some other large reefs out there.

I don't advocate that this is the end all be all method for everyone, but it works for me.
I have kept reefs for 20 years and had great luck in my mixed reef using Reef Crystals for decades. Only switched to TM Pro after setting up this SPS display and being more concerned with dialing in my settings to match NSW as close as possible for my Acros.

 

[homer1475]

And I'll stand by my comment of it being the "salt of the month".

Look were all entitled to our own opinion, and this is mine. Like it or not.

In the end, salt is salt. Choose what makes you happy, they all work just as good as any other.