Instant Ocean Salt - Triton Test Results

[that Reef Guy]

Has anybody done a Triton Test for Instant Ocean Salt (Newly made Saltwater Not Tank Water)?

I am curious about any Results and How it Compares to other Salt Brands out there.

 

[kevensquint]

A Lab pal did similar type ICP private lab testing last year on it along with coralife, RSpro, H2Ocean pro , TMpro, royal nature and reef crystals.

 

[kevensquint]

IO is the least toxic, I use it and mix it to one part H2Ocean pro following the analysis.
Fwiw, notable points that showed up in comparison with NSW levels were:
Reef crystals super high Alk, high metals
Royal Nature very low Sr
Coralife very high Ca, K and Li
H2Opro high Mg
IO a little low in most elements, but Sr, B, and So were close to NSW, the rest is often boosted by 2-part or reactor anyways, so I prefer IO myself

 

[brandon429]

I like how long io has been around to test the significance of those levels on diverse marine animals

good hobby staple apparently

 

[that Reef Guy]

IO is the least toxic, I use it and mix it to one part H2Ocean pro following the analysis.
Fwiw, notable points that showed up in comparison with NSW levels were:
Reef crystals super high Alk, high metals
Royal Nature very low Sr
Coralife very high Ca, K and Li
H2Opro high Mg
IO a little low in most elements, but Sr, B, and So were close to NSW, the rest is often boosted by 2-part or reactor anyways, so I prefer IO myself

How did Tropic Marin Pro Test?

 

[kevensquint]

Al-14.5ppb/Cu-7.0ppb/Zn-16.7ppb. That said every salt checked is higher than NSW in Al, Cu and also Pb. Except IO showed lowest Cu level. Keep in mind this was over a year ago and we did subsequent tests from different batches of the same brands. The results did vary each time. So its possible today, IO would be a good choice, but another brand would show better results in certain elements.

 

[kevensquint]

Our goal at the time was to mix different brands to create the closest mix to NSW. After a bunch of analysis we found it to be impossible because of the variability between batches of same brands as well as the fact that by improving on one element, another would fall out of spec.

 

[that Reef Guy]

Al-14.5ppb/Cu-7.0ppb/Zn-16.7ppb. That said every salt checked is higher than NSW in Al, Cu and also Pb. Except IO showed lowest Cu level. Keep in mind this was over a year ago and we did subsequent tests from different batches of the same brands. The results did vary each time. So its possible today, IO would be a good choice, but another brand would show better results in certain elements.

Interesting.

Do you have the Results of all the Brands you tested for Copper?

 

[Dogtown]

I'm wondering if IO has done anything to insure that their salt mix is more closely aligned with that of NSW. Has anyone done an ICP test of IO in the last 6 months?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'm wondering if IO has done anything to insure that their salt mix is more closely aligned with that of NSW. Has anyone done an ICP test of IO in the last 6 months?

It is not intended to match NSW as it has elevated alkalinity and slightly lower calcium than NSW.

 

[madweazl]

It is not intended to match NSW as it has elevated alkalinity and slightly lower calcium than NSW.

Calcium results are typically 440-450ppm when I check it; isn't that higher than most reef areas (I had thought most were in the 400-420ppm range)?

 

[Dogtown]

It is not intended to match NSW as it has elevated alkalinity and slightly lower calcium than NSW.

Hello Randy! I should have worded my question better I guess. Let me try again... Instant Ocean makes a statement right on their home page that says "Instant Ocean® Sea Salt is the most carefully formulated and universally preferred sea salt in the world". My box of Instant Ocean even states "Superior formula" but doesn't state what criteria makes it superior. My question really is if anyone has done an ICP test in the past 6 months to map out what the current formulation actually is as of recent? I use IO myself and just want to know what I'm buying.

I'm most interested in the following below. Not really wanting to debate the value of each, just want to find out what levels of the following are found in IO so I can compare that to my own target values.

• Ca
• Mg
• Potassium
• Strontium
• Boron
• Iodine
• Manganese
• Molybdenum
  
• Iron

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Calcium results are typically 440-450ppm when I check it; isn't that higher than most reef areas (I had thought most were in the 400-420ppm range)?

You must mean IO Reef Crystals. I was referring to normal IO which at 35 ppt has calcium below 400 ppm.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Hello Randy! I should have worded my question better I guess. Let me try again... Instant Ocean makes a statement right on their home page that says "Instant Ocean[emoji768] Sea Salt is the most carefully formulated and universally preferred sea salt in the world". My box of Instant Ocean even states "Superior formula" but doesn't state what criteria makes it superior. My question really is if anyone has done an ICP test in the past 6 months to map out what the current formulation actually is as of recent? I use IO myself and just want to know what I'm buying.

I'm most interested in the following below. Not really wanting to debate the value of each, just want to find out what levels of the following are found in IO so I can compare that to my own target values.

• Ca
• Mg
• Potassium
• Strontium
• Boron
• Iodine
• Manganese
• Molybdenum
  
• Iron

I’m not aware of any significant formula change in the last few years, but I do not have a link to a recent icp result.

FWIW, not all icp results are necessarily accurate, so be careful what you rely on .

 

[madweazl]

You must mean IO Reef Crystals. I was referring to normal IO which at 35 ppt has calcium below 400 ppm.

I'm not sure when it was below 400ppm but that hasn't been the case for me on the last two 160g buckets and 200g box (was using RC prior to that).

Edit to add my last results of fresh mixed IO at 35ppt with RO/DI:

dKh - 10.8
Ca - 445
Mg - 1380

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

That’s higher than I typically see reported. Here’s some testing from last year, with Triton showing 390 ppm calcium in it. A different test showed 408 ppm.

https://reefhub.pl/test-of-marine-salts/

 

[Murica]

Is reef crystals necessarily bad? That's all I've used. Or is instant ocean better?

 

[Dogtown]

I'm not sure when it was below 400ppm but that hasn't been the case for me on the last two 160g buckets and 200g box (was using RC prior to that).

Edit to add my last results of fresh mixed IO at 35ppt with RO/DI:

dKh - 10.8
Ca - 445
Mg - 1380

Hey thanks! That's about where my IO tests at. That's also what I've read that others see on average. Iron depletes very quickly so that really isn't a factor. I have a Potassium test kit and IO tests about around 420 so that's about right. What would be good to know is the remaining 5:

• Strontium (Have Salifert test kit. It takes 15 min and I can't make sense of it).
• Boron (Can't get the Salifert test kit in the US. Not going to pay overseas shipping).
• Iodine (Have Salifert test kit. Always reads zero so I don't trust the kit).
• Manganese (Don't have a test kit for this)
• Molybdenum (Don't have a test kit for this)

Does anyone know what these 5 test out at usually?

 

[madweazl]

That’s higher than I typically see reported. Here’s some testing from last year, with Triton showing 390 ppm calcium in it. A different test showed 408 ppm.

https://reefhub.pl/test-of-marine-salts/

I'll be opening a new bag this weekend so I'll check that one as well. I usually test the morning after i mix it (leave a powerhead in it for circulation and some heat all night).

Is reef crystals necessarily bad? That's all I've used. Or is instant ocean better?

IO is cheaper and works out just fine. I used RC for a little over a year before switching to IO on this tank. I haven't noticed any difference but I was using muriatic acid to lower the alkalinity of the RC where I don't bother on the IO.

 

[madweazl]

That’s higher than I typically see reported. Here’s some testing from last year, with Triton showing 390 ppm calcium in it. A different test showed 408 ppm.

https://reefhub.pl/test-of-marine-salts/

Those results are considerably lower for Ca and Mg than I'm getting. Can the mixing time have anything to do with that (looks like they're measuring after 45 minutes and I'm doing it 12+ hours later typically). I wouldn't think mix time would make much of a difference. I've run three Triton tests over the last year and using the calculator, my refractometer results are pretty close to the Triton results (within .1ppt).