Instant Ocean vs Reef Crystal(IO)

[Elegance Coral]

I prefer normal IO to RC because I do not want organics in my salt mix. RC has vitamins that I prefer to not have present.

What vitamins do you not want in your system, or you feel could be problematic?

 

[Elegance Coral]

Im saying if the tanks starts cosuming more, then a salt with some higher traces would be better. Right?

Not necessarily. If you use salt with higher levels to offset higher demand, you end up with large swings. Levels drop between water changes then shoot back up during the water change. IMHO, it's better to find a salt with the levels you want to keep, then dose to compensate for any drop between changes. As an example, if you run your systems alk at 8, and use a salt mix with an alk of 8, the alk doesn't change during a water change. If you want to run the alk at 8, but it drops between changes to 7, so you use a salt that mixes up at 9, to offset the drop, your alk is always swinging. Most of us don't view that as a good thing.
Peace
EC

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Randy.Does IO mix cleaner then RC?also does IO leave your mixing barrel cleaner?

I've only used RC a few times years ago when I misordered it, but many people report brown crud with it and not with IO . IO really only has calcium carbonate precipitating, as best I can tell.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

What vitamins do you not want in your system, or you feel could be problematic?

Any vitamins sitting in my salt mix have the potential to degrade (via bacteria) and possibly make the water anaerobic since I neither heat nor stir it for a month or more.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Got it, thanks for the tips madweazl. So if I was planning on adding some zoas later , candy cane or some other "easy" coral, with IO and dosing should be fine for now?

Zoanthids and LPS are generally low-consumption corals in terms of carbonate and calcium (although consumption can be higher with LPS if they're growing quickly). Even salts with low levels of carbonate and calcium would keep these animals successfully. Many show-quality SPS-only tanks are successfully kept using Instant Ocean. For whatever reason, many people tend to think IO is missing something or is inferior because it's so cheap. I assure you, it's not. IO is a complete artificial sea salt mix that can sustain any animal we keep in the hobby without issue.

Instant Ocean is not perfect, but no sea salt mix is, and the price more than compensates for the caveats in my opinion.

 

[Chucky]

I prefer normal IO to RC because I do not want organics in my salt mix. RC has vitamins that I prefer to not have present.

Sorry this is an old thread but do you still hold true to this? I’ve been using io rc for awhile now but I am considering switching to original IO due to cost and availability of RC

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Sorry this is an old thread but do you still hold true to this? I’ve been using io rc for awhile now but I am considering switching to original IO due to cost and availability of RC

Yes, my relative opinion on IO and RC has not changed and I still think normal IO is a fine mix.

IMO, the success/failure/greatness of a reef tank has little or nothing to do with the choice of salt mix, as long as it is one of the name brands and not intended for other uses, such as lobsters in a grocery store.

 

[Chucky]

Yes, my relative opinion on IO and RC has not changed and I still think normal IO is a fine mix.

IMO, the success/failure/greatness of a reef tank has little or nothing to do with the choice of salt mix, as long as it is one of the name brands and not intended for other uses, such as lobsters in a grocery store.

Thank you so much for your help and quick reply!!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thank you so much for your help and quick reply!!

You're welcome.

Happy Reefing.

 

[Chucky]

You're welcome.

Happy Reefing.

Happy reefing brother!!