Anyone have IO/RS salt ICP results ?

kevensquint · Mar 22, 2020

Hello, I'm a long time user of Instant ocean in my reef tanks. After not being able to get that salt for the past 3 years , I was again able for the past 4 months. However , I am not finding the same deep coloring in my corals as in the past or with a reef pro boosted salt. I prefer a salt with lower Alk. If anyone as results or a link to results for a recent ICP of IO and RS blue bucket I would like to see. Thank you kindly.

BobbyOtto · Mar 22, 2020

The results will very from batch to batch. IO and RC have a history plagued (ha how fitting) with inconsistent salt batches. So that test wont really help. Further corals adapt to stable parameters so if you change your parameters they will react

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 22, 2020

BobbyOtto said:
The results will very from batch to batch. IO and RC have a history plagued (ha how fitting) with inconsistent salt batches.

Do they? I'm not convinced there has been more than an occasional issue over the years.

Many claimed bad batches are hobbyist testing errors, or sampling only part of a bucket.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 22, 2020

Have nutrients changed?

Are you using any sort of trace element supplement?

I wouldn't rely on any salt mix to maintain certain trace elements, such as iron, maybe manganese.

Graffiti Spot · Mar 22, 2020

Why were you unable to get Instant ocean? Instant ocean has always been a solid go to salt for most, what issues were you referring to?

BobbyOtto · Mar 22, 2020

The inconsistency could be user error. I'm just saying this from personal experience that I've noticed. I've also noticed nuisance algae issues crop up from people running IO (which is more then likely their personal issue) I'm not a chemist so I defer to experts like you. I have just seen better results with different salts. Like you said though no one should rely on just salt to maintain parameters

madweazl · Mar 22, 2020

BobbyOtto said:
The inconsistency could be user error. I'm just saying this from personal experience that I've noticed. I've also noticed nuisance algae issues crop up from people running IO (which is more then likely their personal issue) I'm not a chemist so I defer to experts like you. I have just seen better results with different salts. Like you said though no one should rely on just salt to maintain parameters

You've seen better results from better hobbyist, not different salts. No clue where you came up with the plagued comment; many of us here have been using the salt for decades without issue.

BobbyOtto · Mar 22, 2020

madweazl said:
You've seen better results from better hobbyist, not different salts. No clue where you came up with the plagued comment; many of us here have been using the salt for decades without issue.

Sure. I am wrong maybe Randy can delete my comment since it's wrong and I cant. Dont want to perpetuate a stereotype that is wrong. Can someone get OP those test results and maybe we can get some results of people who use IO only on 1 tank and a "higher end salt" on another tank and see if they have differences.

kevensquint · Mar 22, 2020

I do not use anything except Acropower, WC's and fish in this SPS tank. My suspicion was too low nutrients so I added seachem phosphorus and nitrate to get a low reading on my Hanna checkers instead of zero. After say 6 weeks with no deepening of the colors I raised my MH Phoenix 's to 14" over the water and kept only a 6hr photoperiod diwn from 8, as I have in the past with great results. This still did not do much. So after testing all the usual major tests including K and I2. I am down to missing trace elements in my tank as a hypothesis. I suspect specifically Fe. Since I have a large DSB refugium with 3 ~30" Mangroves . I'm assuming they are competing with my SPS and wining. All that said. I have absolutely no algae growth. A thin film on my glass per 2 weeks . Aside from coralline which is present.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 22, 2020

I agree that a trace element such as iron may be helpful and that seems a good thing to try. Either iron alone, or a cocktail of trace elements.

Rybren · Mar 22, 2020

Pedoconfuego said:
Why were you unable to get Instant ocean? Instant ocean has always been a solid go to salt for most, what issues were you referring to?

It has been very difficult to get in my part of Canada for the past couple of years. The main importer stopped bringing it in and the one store that occasionally got some really jacked up the price.

madweazl · Mar 22, 2020

BobbyOtto said:
Sure. I am wrong maybe Randy can delete my comment since it's wrong and I cant. Dont want to perpetuate a stereotype that is wrong. Can someone get OP those test results and maybe we can get some results of people who use IO only on 1 tank and a "higher end salt" on another tank and see if they have differences.

I used IO for the first three years the 75g in my signature was setup and switched to Tropic Marin Pro for the last six months it was setup. No difference at all. I wanted to conduct my own experiment with it. For me, the only thing "better" was that I didn't have to add muriatic acid to the IO to lower the alkalinity down to 7 dKH (Tropic Marin was already there). Everything else mixed almost identical.