Instant Ocean Reef Crystals any good?

[salty joe]

I thought I had everything ironed out but my fist addition of Trochus snails died. They were acclimated for an hour, then one more Trochus acclimated for 10 hours died.
I had ATI do an ICP analysis and lithium is way, way high.
So, I'm going to do a total water change. Reef Crystals is the least expensive salt I can find. Since I have 800 gallons, the cost of salt matters.
Is there any reason not to use Reef Crystals?

 

[mfinn]

I can't think of any reasons not to.
I've used it before and never had a problem.
If the cost is the driving force in your salt selection, why not go for Instant Ocean?

 

[Shabalaba]

I'ved used reef crystals for 8+ years with much success.

 

[andyg1960]

While I'm not one of them ,many many many people use reef crystals with great success .

 

[Pntbll687]

What type of system is it?

I have mainly lps and softie, reef crystals does great. In my smaller tank, I have sps and need to does just a little calcium.

Overall I would give reef crystals a A-. The only downside is it takes a while to completely dissolve. Usually 1-2hr to have everything dissolved.

 

[salty joe]

Thanks guys. The Reef Crystals was a few bucks cheaper than regular IO, go figure... If I ever get this system up, it'll be mostly SPS.
BTW, I'm pretty sure the elevated lithium came from the mag mix I was mixing with Mag Flake and Epsom salt. Thinking about getting food grade mag chloride and mag sulphate.

 

[vic5hands]

works well

 

[Razz]

For what it's worth, I've used Reef Crystals since 2013 with no issues that I know about...

 

[TripleDogDareYah]

Reef crystals often has elevated lithium in it. In fact most salt mixes do... some are a lot higher than others. There are some good threads on this topic in the chemistry forum here.

 

[Legal Reefer]

I use reef crystals and was really surprised at how easy it is to mix and how fast it clears up. Not sure if it will stay cloudy longer from over mixing though.

 

[cwk84]

I switched to Reef Crystals from Red Sea Coral Pro. I don't know if it's the water from my LFS or the salt mix but a freshly mixed bucked of RSCP from my LFS gives me a phosphate reading of 0.07. I've head fluctuations in magnesium as well. Time will tell whether or not the salt is better. I've read that synthetic salt mixes are better and RC is synthetic. The brown substance many talks about after mixing RC is probably the metal detoxifier. So make sure to give it a good mix for a couple hours (better 24hrs).

 

[ZoWhat]

One problem rarely talked about is that it's been reported batches of IORC aren't very consistent.

Some batches mix out with Calc at mid to low 400s....sometimes as low as 350. But! If you use IORC over time the inconsistencies in some dry batches isn't noticeable bc of long term use doesn't tip the scale in a certain direction

You get what you pay for.....other brands do QA tests on every 20th or 50th 200g drymix batch.

Given IORC track record of inconsistent batches it sounds like they do minimal QA testing

 

[cwk84]

One problem rarely talked about is that it's been reported batches of IORC aren't very consistent.

Some batches mix out with Calc at mid to low 400s....sometimes as low as 350. But! If you use IORC over time the inconsistencies in some dry batches isn't noticeable bc of long term use doesn't tip the scale in a certain direction

You get what you pay for.....other brands do QA tests on every 20th or 50th 200g drymix batch.

Given IORC track record of inconsistent batches it sounds like they do minimal QA testing

If you shake or mix the salt before you add it to the water you’ll get more consistent readings.

 

[hwntunda]

Been using it through out the years and no problems