Favorite Salt and Why?

[reef lover]

No esv bionic lovers here!?
Well i use it for several reasons...all components are seperate so no worries about things settling out in a bucket. Doesnt need to mix overnight i can have it ready in an hour and it mixes clear with no residue. And being that cal and alk are liquid components i can adjust them to match what i keep my tanks at. Works for me!

 

[Duffer]

Was using fritz, great company but the salt was not doing it for me. Went with Red Sea blue bucket and few months ago and so far really like the salt. The big thing for me was the way Red Sea put on their batch numbers and I get to see what the batch mixes up to..

 

[Robink]

hW Marinemix Reefer.

I used to run Reef Crystals but that stuff just leaves endless gunk in the mixing container. I still use the original RC and IO buckets though - amazing build quality on the mid - 2000 buckets

yes, I dump the Fritz salt into my old rc bucket.

 

[Vahanyos]

Fritz RPM.

I like the parameters, and my favorite LFS carries it so it’s perfect. No ill effects thus far so have not thought about changing it. It’s working great my corals respond well after each water change

 

[madweazl]

It's a concern with different lighting intensity and nutrient levels. Everyone's tank is different and ours ran it's best with 9-10 dkh. Had a pretty high demand for alkalinity consumption so it helped with dosing as well.

I'm not so sure light intensity or nutrient levels make any difference in regard to alkalinity levels. Phosphates in my tank are up to .233 now and I've seen no observable effects from when it was down in the .01-.02 range (nitrates are still less than 1ppm). Alkalinity in our tank generally runs 6.5-7.5 and PAR levels throughout the tank are about 265 (peaks around 330 IIRC). It would certainly make for a great experiment as most (all?) of what we currently have is anecdotal at this point.

Edit: my favorite is Instant Ocean; it's cheap and consistent.

 

[DSC reef]

I'm not so sure light intensity or nutrient levels make any difference in regard to alkalinity levels. Phosphates in my tank are up to .233 now and I've seen no observable effects from when it was down in the .01-.02 range (nitrates are still less than 1ppm). Alkalinity in our tank generally runs 6.5-7.5 and PAR levels throughout the tank are about 265 (peaks around 330 IIRC). It would certainly make for a great experiment as most (all?) of what we currently have is anecdotal at this point.

Anecdotal as it may be it's still a variable that I've witnessed in a tank that was up for many years. Maybe since your nitrates are so low your results can differ?Start an experiment and I will follow along. I'm sorry but I will agree to disagree

 

[dbjonesjr]

I'm not so sure light intensity or nutrient levels make any difference in regard to alkalinity levels. Phosphates in my tank are up to .233 now and I've seen no observable effects from when it was down in the .01-.02 range (nitrates are still less than 1ppm). Alkalinity in our tank generally runs 6.5-7.5 and PAR levels throughout the tank are about 265 (peaks around 330 IIRC). It would certainly make for a great experiment as most (all?) of what we currently have is anecdotal at this point.

Edit: my favorite is Instant Ocean; it's cheap and consistent.

Here’s a presentation on a good experiment done by Dana Riddle. I found this video very interesting. You can skip through the video to look at the graphs and get to the point quicker though.

EDIT: He does not speak of nutrient levels directly but does focus on alkalinity and lighting in reef aquariums. I think he may touch on it but I am not sure. Anyways, there is a direct correlation between nutrient levels and alkalinity as the nitrogen cycle depletes alkalinity when processing ammonia/nitrite.

 

[JDowns]

hW Marinemix Reefer.

I used to run Reef Crystals but that stuff just leaves endless gunk in the mixing container. I still use the original RC and IO buckets though - amazing build quality on the mid - 2000 buckets

Same here. HW-MarineMix Reefer except I use the empty Brightwell buckets. HW mixes fast, clean, and is very consistent from batch to batch. The only thing I ever have to add to it is magnesium since I prefer mine near 1600. It mixes pretty much spot on every time for me at 9.0/450/1400.

 

[andrewkw]

My favorite salt is Red Sea Blue Bucket. If I was setting up a new tank I'd probably pick up a bucket, it's close to the parameters I run. I used to typically use coralife salt because it's cheaper and close enough. I've since come across a deal on IO so I bought several boxes so that should do me for 2019. In the past I've used aquaforest, kent, ati, reef crystals and maybe 5 other kinds. Other then a bad batch I've never really had what I'd consider a bad experience with any. I also don't think it's that big of a deal to change brands. The bigger deal is to match your tank parameters or do small enough water changes that it doesn't matter. I'm generally not a huge fan of high alk salts only because if I ever have to do a large water change in an emergency I might forget to adjust it.

 

[madweazl]

... Anyways, there is a direct correlation between nutrient levels and alkalinity as the nitrogen cycle depletes alkalinity when processing ammonia/nitrite.

If the nitrogen cycle is complete, the hydrogen ion (I think) is returned and the alkalinity remains the same.

 

[TJ Merrells]

I'm used to using instant ocean and reef crystals, I use it personally and professionally in our public aquarium. We use instant ocean for fish only and reef crystals for anything with invertebrates/ reef systems. About 18 pallets every 3-4 months. Works well, fairly stable from batch to batch, good price point.

What alkalinity you usually get with Reef crystals? Im consistently getting 8 atm which I thought was low for crystals