Finding a reasonably priced salt close to existing parameters

b4tn · Sep 4, 2019

I am a frugal reefer. As much as I would love to have high end of everything I tend to DIY and find ways to manage my reef without draining my bank account. That said I have always used instant Ocean Reef Crystal for $13 per 50 gallon bag not only can I get it local but its cheap. The only problem is I have auto dosers for Calc and Alk and it mixes way higher than required. In the past I have used a little muriatic acid to lower the alk levels but I really hate doing that and it extends the mixing time to 24 hours for the PH to stabilize. I really would like to use Red Sea Blue bucket since it mixes near exactly where I keep my reef but its double the price of IO RC. What are my other options? For those that dose how do you do water changes with fresh mixed salt water?

redfishbluefish · Sep 4, 2019

Just use regular Instant Ocean. Yes, the alk is a touch high, but when you're doing a 10% water change, the dilution makes that negligible. That's what I do with a target alk of 7-8.

andrewkw · Sep 4, 2019

redfishbluefish said:
Just use regular Instant Ocean. Yes, the alk is a touch high, but when you're doing a 10% water change, the dilution makes that negligible. That's what I do with a target alk of 7-8.

When you get IO on sale it's going to be cheaper than any other salt almost all the time. I've got one more box + an open one left so hoping for another amazon sale eventually. It got down to about $30 a box with free shipping. Don't see how anyone is making any money at that price, but it allows me to do as many water changes as I want without thinking about it other then making sure I still have enough in stock for an emergency..

I almost bought reef crystals as someone posted about it being $20 a bucket a few days ago, but the alk is even higher + the organics (brown crud) and the fact I'm not completely out.

Coralife is another option that mixes with a lower but still somewhat high alk (9.6 I believe) of course they jack the calcium to 500+ which nearly cancels out the reasonable levels of alk. The price is comparable to IO/RC regular price but IO/RC go on blowout prices more then any other salt in my experience.

Silent · Sep 4, 2019

You cant get anything cheaper than Instant Ocean that does the job. Buying table salt in those quantities probably costs more.

redfishbluefish · Sep 4, 2019

I am fortunate in that we have an LFS here in NJ that has 200 gallon boxes of IO for $35.....that's their everyday price.

b4tn · Sep 4, 2019

I feel kind of dumb. I never thought of using the regular Instant Ocean mix. But does reef crystals have any other trace elements that IO does not have?