Instant Ocean Salt at Georgia Aquarium

[AZMSGT]

they don't even use RODI

Um, RODI water is just filtered water. They process water on a scale that makes our little RODI filters look rather small.

 

[BestMomEver]

Whose complaining? It is the number one salt!!! I've been using it for years because my interest in doing water changes with "ocean" water. And IO is the closest thing that has the history of a quality salt.

If I’m not mistaken, Red Sea salt has been proven to be closest to natural sea water. I think BRS even did a video on it. And Red Sea has an excellent history of quality control. Just MO.

 

[AiKkz]

Let me start by saying I’ve never been to the Georgia Aquarium.
Keep it in perspective, just how many live REEF systems are they running? And what size? How many additives are they using? Do they have their own special mix?

A label on the side of the mix means zero to me. I want to know whats in that stuff.

I'm sure IO has a dedicated facility just to supply the Georgia aquarium and other large aquariums.

 

[AiKkz]

If I’m not mistaken, Red Sea salt has been proven to be closest to natural sea water. I think BRS even did a video on it. And Red Sea has an excellent history of quality control. Just MO.

NSW in South West florida is;
Calc - 400
DkH - 7.8
Mag - 1280
Which red sea blue bucket is the closest match.
I've ran IO since 2007 and tried RSCP on my new build and found it to have large alk swings and lower mag then posted ( I even tried rolling the bucket several times, and transferring to another bucket to mix the salt up). I like to have my parameters at specific levels so for me it is more cost effective to use IO and dose to my desired levels. IO has always been consistent for me!

 

[Mark]

I've used IO exclusively for 28 years. Some of the corals in my tank are older than my oldest kid. Pics in my profile should show my corals are happy and colorful.

 

[shred5]

Hello everyone this weekend I went to the Georgia Aquarium and did behind the seas tour, while on this tour they had huge 2,000 pound bags of the regular Instant Ocean Salt they use for all of the exhibits including the reef wall. I see everyone complaining about Instant Ocean so just thought I’d share that.

Very few complain about it. Matter of fact most major aquariums like the Georgia Aquarium, most people who aquaculture coral, most of the people who have been in the hobby a while do to. Not everyone uses just the salt of the month.

Been in the hobby long time and IO has been the most consistent salt as well as TM regular. IO is allso much cheaper.


i think allot of people that test different from batch to batch think always want to blame the salt and never think maybe it might be their test kit.

I have tried many others and end back at IO.

 

[Reefs and Geeks]

I have tried several salts, and am currently using RC from instant ocean. I've used normal IO for a while, but personally like the RC as it matches my parameters a bit closer.

It does seem that most people who are in the business of aqua-culturing use IO for there salt. A single water change on their 6 million gallon tank is likely more water than many of us hobbyists have ever mixed up put together. If they paid retail prices for their IO, they'd be looking at about $2M just for salt to fill their tanks. When looking at that, it's really hard to imagine justifying spending alot more on expensive salts when parameters could be adjusted if needed. For us hobbyists, adjusting the parameters on each 50-100 gallon mix of saltwater and testing everything doesn't make as much sense as just starting with a salt that matches what we are looking for. But if mixing up 10k gallons, it makes much more sense. Plus, their biggest systems are fish only, so wouldn't need the exact parameters we look for in a reef tank.

Jason Fox also said he uses regular IO in his systems and changes about 600 gallons a month. Not many people would argue that his coral tanks have any need to use a different salt.

For us more average hobbyists, the cost savings of one salt vs another is much less significant, and logistics of obtaining salt isn't an issue, so it makes much more sense to pick a salt that matches your tank parameters and spend more if needed. That being said, I still use IO RC for my tank and have alot of success.

 

[Coastal Aquatics]

they don't even use RODI

RO is just hyper filtered water. Which their system is. Their filters are probably the size of our living rooms

 

[DaneGer21]

I’ve done that tour, it was awesome!

 

[ZoWhat]

Hello everyone this weekend I went to the Georgia Aquarium and did behind the seas tour, while on this tour they had huge 2,000 pound bags of the regular Instant Ocean Salt they use for all of the exhibits including the reef wall. I see everyone complaining about Instant Ocean so just thought I’d share that.

Yeah.... great inexpensive for FISH ONLY aquariums

Public aquariums are on a budget going with the lowest bidder's product that gets the job done. I'd be shocked if I didnt see cheapo IO in public aquarium backrooms

 

[ZoWhat]

NSW in South West florida is;
Calc - 400
DkH - 7.8
Mag - 1280
Which red sea blue bucket is the closest match.
I've ran IO since 2007 and tried RSCP on my new build and found it to have large alk swings and lower mag then posted ( I even tried rolling the bucket several times, and transferring to another bucket to mix the salt up). I like to have my parameters at specific levels so for me it is more cost effective to use IO and dose to my desired levels. IO has always been consistent for me!

Why are we comparing SWFlorida saltwater to corals that mostly come from the Indo-Pacific rim (fiji, Australia, and what use to come from and now banned Indonesia)????

 

[AZMSGT]

Yeah.... great inexpensive for FISH ONLY aquariums

Public aquariums are on a budget going with the lowest bidder's product that gets the job done. I'd be shocked if I didnt see cheapo IO in public aquarium backrooms

The GA has true reef systems BTW.

Indo-Pacific Barrier Reef Webcam | Live from Georgia Aquarium | Visit Now

Check out our live stream webcam from our Indo-Pacific Barrier Reef Webcam from Georgia Aquarium. Just glimpse of what you'll see in person, when you visit.

www.georgiaaquarium.org

 

[PYRU]

The main complain is inconsistent parameters. But this is also by reefers whose buckets are sitting around for long periods of time. The Georgia aquarium probably uses one of those bags in a week. So the elements dont really get a chance to settle out

I can't even begin to imagine how much salt they go through.

 

[siggy]

the only trouble with IO was the crusties I got in the bottom of the brute. I am going to give it a try in the new mixing station and let it mix for a bit. I may also look at reef crystals.

 

[ZoWhat]

The GA has true reef systems BTW.

Indo-Pacific Barrier Reef Webcam | Live from Georgia Aquarium | Visit Now

Check out our live stream webcam from our Indo-Pacific Barrier Reef Webcam from Georgia Aquarium. Just glimpse of what you'll see in person, when you visit.

www.georgiaaquarium.org

A lot of plate montipora. Whippy-do.

A good section of Acros, but their color looks bland.

I'm impressed by its size, unimpressed by the coral diversity and color.

Maybe I should start charging ppl $40 at my front door to come look at my 180. Lol. Just sayin......



.

 

[Coogles]

Shedd Aquarium used IO in the late 90's early 2000's, probably still do. We didn't have the 2000 pound bulk bags though so when it was time to refill one of the huge reservoirs under the exhibits (I think it was 140,000 gallons) after it had been emptied for cleaning and repairs we had to dump hundreds of 200 gallon bags of Instant Ocean salt in to the mixing tank.

 

[CNDReef]

The salt roller coaster ride lol
I just hoped off and went back to IO because it’s not fancy shmancy and does the job that all the other salts do.

 

[BrandonS]

It's about volume guys. You have inconsistency with one bag of salt it's an issue. When you mix 100 bags it all evens out. Just saying a multiple million gallon system is way different than home aquariums even several hundred gallons. Also if there display is x number of gallons there is at least double that in a system behind the scenes providing make up water, filtration, life support, etc.. not a fair comparison.

 

[PYRU]

I've heard inconsistencies with reef crystals, but I've never personally used it. Regular IO is extremely consistent in my experience

 

[Crabs McJones]

Shedd Aquarium used IO in the late 90's early 2000's, probably still do. We didn't have the 2000 pound bulk bags though so when it was time to refill one of the huge reservoirs under the exhibits (I think it was 140,000 gallons) after it had been emptied for cleaning and repairs we had to dump hundreds of 200 gallon bags of Instant Ocean salt in to the mixing tank.

Went to the Shedd in 2016 and they were still using IO