Is "Pharmaceutical Grade" Salt Actually Better?

[undermind]

I've been thinking about salt lately. Largely because I watched all the recent BRS vids on salt – cost per gallon, precipitate in storage, parameter changes over time in storage. And also because I'm just about to need to buy more.

I've been considering switching from RS Coral Pro to Brightwell or Tropic Marin Pro. Mainly because of the precipitate (due to elevated levels of Calcium and Alk), along with the lack of clarity and the brown crust left behind.

In Brightwell's fairly extensive marketing, they talk about evaporated seawater (like RS salts) as if it's inferior, and as though everyone surely must agree. They also tout that they test and label each batch, which are done in smaller quantities. Their formula is proprietary and secret.

All that said, is that better? In reading lots of reviews and threads, I see many reports of "bad batches" and problems with their salt. When you've got humans creating a "recipe" over and over again, there are sure to be issues with consistency, as opposed to evaporating natural seawater.

I don't want to start a discussion of defending purchases of x or y brand. I'm more curious of thoughts on the topic of "manmade" salt vs evaporated seawater salt. Because I'm not yet decided : )

 

[Tariq]

I wondered about that myself. I think it implies the purest grade.

 

[Instigate]

I've been thinking about salt lately. Largely because I watched all the recent BRS vids on salt – cost per gallon, precipitate in storage, parameter changes over time in storage. And also because I'm just about to need to buy more.

I've been considering switching from RS Coral Pro to Brightwell or Tropic Marin Pro. Mainly because of the precipitate (due to elevated levels of Calcium and Alk), along with the lack of clarity and the brown crust left behind.

In Brightwell's fairly extensive marketing, they talk about evaporated seawater (like RS salts) as if it's inferior, and as though everyone surely must agree. They also tout that they test and label each batch, which are done in smaller quantities. Their formula is proprietary and secret.

All that said, is that better? In reading lots of reviews and threads, I see many reports of "bad batches" and problems with their salt. When you've got humans creating a "recipe" over and over again, there are sure to be issues with consistency, as opposed to evaporating natural seawater.

I don't want to start a discussion of defending purchases of x or y brand. I'm more curious of thoughts on the topic of "manmade" salt vs evaporated seawater salt. Because I'm not yet decided : )

The "evaporated" salt is still a mix humans make, just some of the ingredients come from evaporated seawater rather than bulk chemicals. When you evaporate seawater some things are lost, you can't just re-hydrate it and have seawater again.

 

[WVNed]

I am using Tropic Marine pro but I am going to say probably not.

 

[Rick.45cal]

I don’t think it much matters once you’ve dehydrated the salt. If you want the real benefits of natural seawater you have to use the premixed stuff in the ocean.

 

[ZipAdeeZoa]

I Believe BRS did some test of different products that weren't pharmaceutical grade and compared them, I've forgot what it was called though (assuming I'm not imagining that). I also think in they're recent salt testing videos that they've seen some difference with precipitation amongst other things so that might be worth checking out as well!

 

[Hemmdog]

If you’ve mixed different salts you can easily tell high quality. I started with IO then reef crystals, then RSCP, now tropic marin pro. Each mixed easier, cleaner than the previous. I was blown away when I made my first batch of tropic marin, instantly clear the second it hits the water, nothing at the bottom when your done, and even when pouring into the tank it has this intangible freshness look to it relative to the cheaper salts.

I almost wish I wouldn’t have switched to tropic marin, it’s harder to find without ordering and it’s expensive, but once you make a batch, there’s no going back to cheaper salt...

 

[undermind]

Thanks for the replies! I should add that my main goal is creating the highest quality environment for my tank inhabitants. I also believe that all of these salt brands are of totally acceptable quality. And if something like Tropic Marin Pro isn't going to leave precipitate behind like RSCP, that will make my life a little easier. Especially if the cost per gallon is about the same. And that's what the BRS video found. All of the salts tested came out pretty darn close in cost per gallon. Four of them in fact were the same – to the penny. The difference between the cheapest and most expensive per month was $6.40 when mixed to 1.025

I Believe BRS did some test of different products that weren't pharmaceutical grade and compared them, I've forgot what it was called though (assuming I'm not imagining that). I also think in they're recent salt testing videos that they've seen some difference with precipitation amongst other things so that might be worth checking out as well!

Yeah I've thoroughly enjoyed that series of vids. Very well done. This is the one you mention. It shows what's left behind after mixing and storing, as well as clarity of the water after mixing. Very interesting...

If you’ve mixed different salts you can easily tell high quality. I started with IO then reef crystals, then RSCP, now tropic marin pro. Each mixed easier, cleaner than the previous. I was blown away when I made my first batch of tropic marin, instantly clear the second it hits the water, nothing at the bottom when your done, and even when pouring into the tank it has this intangible freshness look to it relative to the cheaper salts.

I almost wish I wouldn’t have switched to tropic marin, it’s harder to find without ordering and it’s expensive, but once you make a batch, there’s no going back to cheaper salt...

Have you noticed any differences with your tank inhabitants when changing salts? I know this is highly subjective, as so many factors are at play.

And BTW, the Tropic Marin probably isn't costing you much more in the end. According to BRS's tests, it comes in about 2 bucks more per month than RS salts, Brightwell and TP Classic.

Source video:

 

[Scorpius]

If you want near zero precipitate/brown crud when making saltwater, ESV can't be beat, but it's more expensive.

 

[Hemmdog]

Thanks for the replies! I should add that my main goal is creating the highest quality environment for my tank inhabitants. I also believe that all of these salt brands are of totally acceptable quality. And if something like Tropic Marin Pro isn't going to leave precipitate behind like RSCP, that will make my life a little easier. Especially if the cost per gallon is actually the same. And that's what the BRS video found. Pretty much all the salts, except the IO salts, came out to pretty much the exact same cost per gallon – down to the penny, when mixed at 1.025.


Yeah I've thoroughly enjoyed that series of vids. Very well done. This is the one you mention. It shows what's left behind after mixing and storing, as well as clarity of the water after mixing. Very interesting...


Have you noticed any differences with your tank inhabitants when changing salts? I know this is highly subjective, as so many factors are at play.

And BTW, the Tropic Marin probably isn't costing you much more in the end. According to BRS's tests, it comes in about 2 bucks more per month than RS salts, Brightwell and TP Classic.

Source video:

Yea I’ve seen that comparison that was a good study they did. The corals for sure have better color since using tm pro, I’m getting extra colors out of things I didn’t know they had and fantastic growth.
The fish seem happy to, but they are easy to please, haha.

 

[Rpc07]

I’m treading as lightly as I can to not spark a debate about salts. That being said I’ve run fritz blue box and it left an awful grey/brown residue in my brute can, I’ve since switched to tropic Marin pro (pharma grade) and it mixes clear very quickly and my bucket stays 100% clean. That’s enough for me to continue to run Tropic Marin pro.

 

[Dolelo96]

Went to Dr. Tims discussion @ RAP this weekend. I talked to him about the “restart” of my tank, now getting hair algae and my water never really being clear(my build thread has all the details). Long story short, he asked what salt I used (RedSea). He said, in his opinion, it was because they use actual salt from the ocean, which contains organic matter. I realized I never had algae issues or cloudy water with my last tank when I used Tropic Marin. My water was always clear and other than diatoms, never suffered from any algae problems. No hair, cyno, dino nothing. I’m going to switch back to Tropic Marin and see what happens

 

[GoVols]

Well,
Red Sea uses dehydrated natural Seawater in their mixes, and so does the DD Pro Mag mix. Both in Israel.
Those three have been the most constant salts that I've used from batch to batch and bucket to bucket.

Can't tell one lick of difference, between those and TP Pro, Brightwell's and regular IO.
If the alk did not come in at about 10.5 dkh, I'd still use the IO, and dope up the cal and mag while mixing.

 

[dean.reef]

I’ve used all of these salts over the years and the only salt which was most consistent is the tropic Marin pro the parameters have been the same bucket to bucket and mixes nicely,the other salts parameters just swung way to much!best choice I’ve made

 

[ArmyReefer]

A little late to this party but just went through extensive internal debate and research on salt and this is what I came up with. Being new in this hobby (about 1 year) one of the worst things is listening to to many people. Everyone has an opinion and different things work for different people. So what I have decided is to follow people that I look at that have extensive knowledge and results. With all that being said it came down to two salts for me. Tropic Marin Pro and Brightwell Neomarine.

Reason for consideration

World Wide Corals uses Brightwell NeoMarine exclusively and obviously has outstanding results, so that salt has to be put up for consideration.

Bulk Reef Supply who's entire reputation is on the line by performing experiments and putting knowledge out to reefers is on the line switched from HW-Marine to Tropic Marin Pro after doing said research. (I understand they only test what they carry) So Tropic Marin Pro salt is the other for consideration.

I decided on Tropic Marin Pro for a 2 main reasons. After conducting my own research it was my opinion that while it may be negligible, I felt like Tropic Marin Pro was just the best on the market. The 2nd reason is, I was informed by a WWC employee that they are sponsored by Brightwell and can only exclusively use their salt and receive a huge/free discount. (As a business of making money, anything to save equals profit so I am not hating on them for it) but still...... Took a little bit of credit away for me.

I keep my ALK at 8.6 and mix up 20 gallons at a time. An hour before my water change I add ALK to my new water to bring it to 8.6 and have been able to stop any swings. I do 15% every week.

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

Been back to tropic Marin pro for 3 weeks now and loving it. No residue in buckets , mixes clear fast, and all the major elements boosted with low Alk. As Armyreefer mentioned you decide the Alk by adding your own to the mix .

 

[undermind]

A little late to this party but just went through extensive internal debate and research on salt and this is what I came up with. Being new in this hobby (about 1 year) one of the worst things is listening to to many people. Everyone has an opinion and different things work for different people. So what I have decided is to follow people that I look at that have extensive knowledge and results. With all that being said it came down to two salts for me. Tropic Marin Pro and Brightwell Neomarine.

Reason for consideration

World Wide Corals uses Brightwell NeoMarine exclusively and obviously has outstanding results, so that salt has to be put up for consideration.

Bulk Reef Supply who's entire reputation is on the line by performing experiments and putting knowledge out to reefers is on the line switched from HW-Marine to Tropic Marin Pro after doing said research. (I understand they only test what they carry) So Tropic Marin Pro salt is the other for consideration.

I decided on Tropic Marin Pro for a 2 main reasons. After conducting my own research it was my opinion that while it may be negligible, I felt like Tropic Marin Pro was just the best on the market. The 2nd reason is, I was informed by a WWC employee that they are sponsored by Brightwell and can only exclusively use their salt and receive a huge/free discount. (As a business of making money, anything to save equals profit so I am not hating on them for it) but still...... Took a little bit of credit away for me.

I keep my ALK at 8.6 and mix up 20 gallons at a time. An hour before my water change I add ALK to my new water to bring it to 8.6 and have been able to stop any swings. I do 15% every week.

Nice post. I also narrowed down to the same two salts, and ultimately think I'll go with a change to the Tropic Marin Pro as well.

Those two salts performed best for clarity and both were some of the best for mixing quickly. The big difference however, is that after spending hours of reading user comments on these two salts, I saw loads of issues with batches of the Brightwell, and no complaints of issues with the Tropic Marin Pro. I'm always cautious of anecdotal experiences and reviews, but when you see the same type of complaints in many separate places from separate people, there's probably a little fire with the smoke. And based on Brightwell's own marketing materials, it seems their salts are a bit of a secret recipe, developed by one person, and mixed up in batches. Inconsistencies with batches seems like a legit concern. Bummer too, since the performance seems good, as does the price. I'm sure many many people use it without issue. But I'll probably choose TMP soon. I just bought another 200g bag of RSCP due to availability on short notice and needing to get a quarantine tank up and running, but I'm looking forward to trying TMP soon.

 

[Ktran350]

I’ve switched from RS blue bucket to TM bio-actif. Monday was my first full 5 gallon water change on my JBJ 45 of the new salt and everything looks quite happier. My frogspawn and torches has inflated a bit more and water seems more clearer. Before I completed switched over I mixed TM and the RS blue bucket for a few water changes before the complete switch. Mixes clear and fast. Just gotta heat up the water to 74-76