I've been using IO for over a year without issue but I recently got a box that mixed up to Alk of 16.8 DKH and Ca of 680ppm... And of course this had to happen to me while I was moving from SD to LA. I drove up to the new place the day before and set the salt to mix and heat then drove back down to SD. The next day I broke down the tank and drove everything up to the new place. And to my surprise the water I had set to mix over 24 hours later was still very cloudy. All the LFS were closed by the time I got up there so I had to use the water. The next day I went to the LFS and bought some ready made saltwater and did water changes. I didn't loose anything but a cleaner shrimp and my parameters are back on track now thankfully. I called IO and they sent me a new box. It's cheap and it has been working for many people for many years. But when I called to complain they didn't ask for a batch number or anything, didn't seem to care about identifying and fixing the problem that led to bad boxes of salt going out. I'm sure it was more than just my box. Makes me consider other options. Been looking at Red Sea Blue bucket or maybe Tropic Marin Pro. But I've got a whole box of IO salt to go through now first I suppose. Assuming this box mixes up correctly. I've been using the high parameter water to hatch BBS, so I guess I've got a lifetime supply of salt for hatching BBS.
Idk, maybe I'll stick with IO. Bad batches happen to all the salt mixes it seems. But another thing that has got me thinking about switching is when I did the large WCs with the LFS water almost every coral in the tank looked fuller and healthier than they have ever looked. Even before the move. The LFS water was Red Sea blue bucket. But with so many changes all at once I can't really attribute that to any one thing.
