Easiest salt for new reefer

[jason2459]

Instant ocean is awful salt. Yes the most common but if your going to have coral I wouldn't use it. But then again you shouldn't have an coral for a while once you start up. So you can use instant ocean for now. But after about 6 months or so you'll want a better salt. Red Sea/ Marin/ salinity by aquavirto which I use. Good luck and welcom to R2R and the hobby.

Very interesting. Why do you feel Instant Ocean is an awful salt? I've used it with no issues since around 2009. Many have used it for many decades as well from home reef tanks to large aquarium reefs.

 

[hawkinsrgk]

I use Instant Ocean as well and like it. Switched to that from Reef Crystals.

 

[RobBaglieri]

Instant ocean is awful salt. Yes the most common but if your going to have coral I wouldn't use it. But then again you shouldn't have an coral for a while once you start up. So you can use instant ocean for now. But after about 6 months or so you'll want a better salt. Red Sea/ Marin/ salinity by aquavirto which I use. Good luck and welcom to R2R and the hobby.

What is awful about IO?

 

[The Rook]

Instant Ocean or IO Reef Crystals will get you by for a long time, its readily available and comes in 200ga boxes which will last you several months. Wait till you're in deep in the hobby worry about different mixes. I personally just switched to Aquaforest as well and am a big fan. My corals are looking better every week.

 

[Ok_cowboy1]

So I have a salinity of 1.021 is that good?

 

[Newb_reefer1]

On the low side. Shoot for min 1.024-1.026 max

I also use IO reef crystals. Never had a problem in the 4 years I've used it. Tried Red Sea pro salt... Once. Alkalinity is too dang high ! I've used Kent marines reef salt in the past with my sps no issues aswell But seriously can't go wrong with IO mixes clear very quickly, has very manageable parameters and is the cheapest and to my knowledge is the oldest if not most known brand around. So to me the answer is simple , but it's really up to you. If you don't mind paying 70$ for a salt bucket then you should, but I haven't seen any noticeable benefit from one salt to another to make me willing to pay that margin.

Esit: I must add however the aqua forest line , salt included has definitely caught my attention in the recent weeks

 

[Ok_cowboy1]

So since it's a new tank setup and nothing in it but rock and sand can I start topping off WI salt water to get my level up?

 

[bif24701]

On the low side. Shoot for min 1.024-1.026 max

I also use IO reef crystals. Never had a problem in the 4 years I've used it. Tried Red Sea pro salt... Once. Alkalinity is too **** high ! I've used Kent marines reef salt in the past with my sps no issues aswell But seriously can't go wrong with IO mixes clear very quickly, has very manageable parameters and is the cheapest and to my knowledge is the oldest if not most known brand around. So to me the answer is simple , but it's really up to you. If you don't mind paying 70$ for a salt bucket then you should, but I haven't seen any noticeable benefit from one salt to another to make me willing to pay that margin.

Esit: I must add however the aqua forest line , salt included has definitely caught my attention in the recent weeks

I use reef crystals with success and have considered a brand like aqua forest to do auto water changes rather than dosing micro nutrients.

 

[Ike]

So since it's a new tank setup and nothing in it but rock and sand can I start topping off WI salt water to get my level up?

That works, or do your first water change with a much higher salinity. If you're doing 20% -25% use 1.037 ish for the makeup water. Randy, is my math way off there?

Lastly, I usually only use IO and RC, whichever is cheaper or available on a group buy. It's great and consistent salt and I've seen no advantage when trying more expensive salt. Some of the best aquariums on the planet use these salts, and I'd be very skeptical of the opinion of anyone that thinks there's something wrong with them.

 

[RobBaglieri]

What is the difference between IO and IO Reef Crystals?

 

[The Rook]

Just increased Calc, alk & mag levels to account for coral consumption.

 

[Tahoe61]

Pretty sure I have used IO since 1987. IO has done the job on my sps dominate tanks, soft corals, clams.........

 

[jason2459]

What is the difference between IO and IO Reef Crystals?

RC also includes some organics (vitamins in this case) in their mix according to marketing materials which IO does not. I prefer to not have any kind of organics in my salt mix as I like to store and used over a longer period of time.

 

[ganzy77]

Instant ocean is awful salt. Yes the most common but if your going to have coral I wouldn't use it. But then again you shouldn't have an coral for a while once you start up. So you can use instant ocean for now. But after about 6 months or so you'll want a better salt. Red Sea/ Marin/ salinity by aquavirto which I use. Good luck and welcom to R2R and the hobby.

Been using IO for several decades now in reef set ups and have never had a problem. But maybe there's a better salt out there for your particular needs, so go for it