preferred salt for soft coral only tank?
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Timfish
Crusty Old Salt
Which ever salt is good for stoneys. 
Whatever you use you still need to monitor pH, alkalinity, calcium and magnesium and be ready to dose as needed. Water changes are essential to reduce the labile and refractory DOC produced in systems that can potentially cause problems with all corals so which ever salt and dosing you use still do water changes.
Whatever you use you still need to monitor pH, alkalinity, calcium and magnesium and be ready to dose as needed. Water changes are essential to reduce the labile and refractory DOC produced in systems that can potentially cause problems with all corals so which ever salt and dosing you use still do water changes.ARGYGANG
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do you know if insant ocean is any good? also what do you dose? trying to understand it all a bit better by asking folks what they useWhich ever salt is good for stoneys.
Lots of reefers use instant ocean. I do. Great choice.
Timfish
Crusty Old Salt
I haven't tried all the salts but I'd guess all the popular ones will work fine. I used mostly Instant Ocean for decades until they shifted their manufacturing and it was showing up as a solid block. I've been using Fritz now for awhile and have been happy with it.
Dosing can be confusing partly because there's so much hype. The three I worry about are alkalinty, calcium and magnesium. I test individually for them as each system is different and having lots of tanks I find it easier to dose indiviually. Many people with just one or two systems find one of the products provide multiple components work well. Testing frequently the first year will go a long way to help you understand your system preferences.
As far as carbon dosing, don't do it. Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) aka "carbon dosing" is a very complex subject and still poorly understood buy most aquarists. Carbon ia a nutrient just like nitrogen and phosphorus and just like nitrogen and phosphorus too much is a bad thing and DOC cannot be tested for. There is a mountain of research showing carbon pollution both directly and indirectly causes both acute and chronic issues with corals.
Before I drop a data bomb on you I'd point out for I have systems I've been maintaining for decades with just water changes and manual removal for nuisance algae. This stuff is complex and fascinating but they don't need complex aquarium setups to thrive.
For more on DOC and microbial stuff check out these links:
"Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas" This video compliments Rohwer's book of the same title (Paper back is ~$20, Kindle is ~$10), both deal with the conflicting roles of the different types of DOC in reef ecosystems. While there is overlap bewteen his book and the video both have information not covered by the other and together give a broader view of the complex relationships found in reef ecosystems
Changing Seas - Mysterious Microbes
Microbial view of Coral Decline
Nitrogen cycling in hte coral holobiont
BActeria and Sponges
Maintenance of Coral Reef Health (refferences at the end)
Optical Feedback Loop in Colorful Coral Bleaching
DNA Sequencing and the Reef Tank Microbiome
Richard Ross What's up with phosphate"
15 Answers
Dosing can be confusing partly because there's so much hype. The three I worry about are alkalinty, calcium and magnesium. I test individually for them as each system is different and having lots of tanks I find it easier to dose indiviually. Many people with just one or two systems find one of the products provide multiple components work well. Testing frequently the first year will go a long way to help you understand your system preferences.
As far as carbon dosing, don't do it. Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) aka "carbon dosing" is a very complex subject and still poorly understood buy most aquarists. Carbon ia a nutrient just like nitrogen and phosphorus and just like nitrogen and phosphorus too much is a bad thing and DOC cannot be tested for. There is a mountain of research showing carbon pollution both directly and indirectly causes both acute and chronic issues with corals.
Before I drop a data bomb on you I'd point out for I have systems I've been maintaining for decades with just water changes and manual removal for nuisance algae. This stuff is complex and fascinating but they don't need complex aquarium setups to thrive.
For more on DOC and microbial stuff check out these links:
"Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas" This video compliments Rohwer's book of the same title (Paper back is ~$20, Kindle is ~$10), both deal with the conflicting roles of the different types of DOC in reef ecosystems. While there is overlap bewteen his book and the video both have information not covered by the other and together give a broader view of the complex relationships found in reef ecosystems
Changing Seas - Mysterious Microbes
Microbial view of Coral Decline
Nitrogen cycling in hte coral holobiont
BActeria and Sponges
Maintenance of Coral Reef Health (refferences at the end)
Optical Feedback Loop in Colorful Coral Bleaching
DNA Sequencing and the Reef Tank Microbiome
Richard Ross What's up with phosphate"
15 Answers
Tuan’s Reef
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I use Red Sea Blue bucket for all tank types for years. Consistent every time.
mfinn
likes zoanthids
I've used Instant Ocean on my softy tanks for more than 35 years.
Early on in my hobby years I fell for all the hype of dosing softy tanks but learned that it didn't seem to matter if I spent money for dosing products or just did regular water changes.
For the last 30+ years I have not dosed my softy tanks.
