Salt Mix Recommendations

dieselkeeper · May 7, 2020

m_t_r_86 said:
A year and a half of using reef crystals with zero problems. On the plus side, Amazon sales make this an even bigger "no brainer"

Nice tank. I use to use reef crystals until I discovered phosphates in newly mixed saltwater.

mike550 · May 7, 2020

duffer said:
I have used tropic Marin pro for over a year and have never ever seen it sold for $180 a bucket..my LFS sells it for $95 and all the big online stores sell it for around the same or $10 more..

Not to speak for @Uncle99 but I think he’s in Canada. So pricing could be a bit different

jda · May 7, 2020

That salt video is a joke. I cannot believe that they put their name on it. I just got 4 boxes to my door of IO for $35-36. The prices are ridiculous in it.

I have acropora and clam system. I have to doctor up any salt to meet my needs, and the more that you get into the hobby, you likely will too. Muriatic acid to lower alk and some dowflake (calcium chloride) to raise the calcium. Instant Ocean for me - have tried a few others and always made the way back.

I know that most of you have not been around long, but some of the salts that are punchlines today were once as "hot" as Red Sea and Fritz... those include Oceanic, Kent, Coralife, SeaChem and many others. Tropic Marin and IO have stood the test of time for a reason.

homer1475 · May 7, 2020

Used IO since I came back to reefing. It's cheap, mixes up pretty consistently, and is absolutely fine for reef tanks. The question was asked about those of us that use IO and corals.... I have SPS, LPS, and softies(mixed reef).

You'll get just as many recommendation on salt, as you would what 2 part product to use, or what heater is the best.

Just pick one, and go with it.

mike550 · May 7, 2020

I started with TM Pro because that’s what LFS started my tank with. But I didn’t have any corals and just getting started. I didn‘t need such an expensive salt (which also mixed to around 7.5dKH) so I switched to TM Classic. 10 months in and I’m starting to add corals and such so I will probably change back to TM Pro but with a better understanding of what parameters I need to adjust before adding the new saltwater to my tank.

But I stayed with TM because it’s really a great salt for me and how I deal with water changes.

BZOFIQ · May 7, 2020

IO or RC

jmevox · May 7, 2020

To the guys who lower alk with muriatic acid. Do you test the ph of the new water before you do your water change? Doesn't muriatic acid lower ph as well as alk?

jda · May 7, 2020

It does lower the pH, but it usually bounce back overnight with some mixing and aeration. I used to check it, but now I just mix it overnight with a high flow pump (mag drive, usually) with good surface aeration.

Here is my general formula. 50g bag of IO into 44g brute container with COLD water. Add 2 tbsp of dowflake. Mix. Heat & add 20mls of muriatic acid. Mix at least a day, but usually ends up being a few days.

homer1475 · May 7, 2020

I always mix a few days before needing(I typically always have extra SW on hand), 24H after initial mixing I check ALK, CAL, and MG. I will adjust at that time. IO have never tested PH on my mix, but have always assumed a couple days after mixing the PH has come back up to where it should be.

While I have never checked the PH before, or after adding acid, I have never noticed it go down significantly after a WC either.

speedieber · May 7, 2020

I def vote for tropic marin pro

14 foot reef · May 7, 2020

jda said:
It does lower the pH, but it usually bounce back overnight with some mixing and aeration. I used to check it, but now I just mix it overnight with a high flow pump (mag drive, usually) with good surface aeration.

Here is my general formula. 50g bag of IO into 44g brute container with COLD water. Add 2 tbsp of dowflake. Mix. Heat & add 20mls of muriatic acid. Mix at least a day, but usually ends up being a few days.

With this formula what do the parameters come out to after this manipulation ? Very interested !!!!

jda · May 7, 2020

Very close to 6.9-7.0, 425 and 35ppt.

JCTReefer · May 7, 2020

jda said:
That salt video is a joke. I cannot believe that they put their name on it. I just got 4 boxes to my door of IO for $35-36. The prices are ridiculous in it.

I have acropora and clam system. I have to doctor up any salt to meet my needs, and the more that you get into the hobby, you likely will too. Muriatic acid to lower alk and some dowflake (calcium chloride) to raise the calcium. Instant Ocean for me - have tried a few others and always made the way back.

I know that most of you have not been around long, but some of the salts that are punchlines today were once as "hot" as Red Sea and Fritz... those include Oceanic, Kent, Coralife, SeaChem and many others. Tropic Marin and IO have stood the test of time for a reason.

Kinda thought the same thing. I don’t get why they didn’t use the 200 gallon IO mix comparing cost per gallon. You can get that a lot cheaper at other places besides BRS.

Uncle99 · May 7, 2020

duffer said:
I have used tropic Marin pro for over a year and have never ever seen it sold for $180 a bucket..my LFS sells it for $95 and all the big online stores sell it for around the same or $10 more..

That’s $180 CDN.

Cre8or30 · Jun 3, 2020

duffer said:
I have used tropic Marin pro for over a year and have never ever seen it sold for $180 a bucket..my LFS sells it for $95 and all the big online stores sell it for around the same or $10 more..

DeniseAndy · Jun 3, 2020

Yep, it is expensive, but so far I like it better than any others I have tried over the course of my years.

Texas Rick · Jun 3, 2020

I use this and never has had a issue

Camaro Show Corals · Jun 3, 2020

Red Sea blue bucket here

Gernader · Jun 3, 2020

I use Regular IO!

DivingTheWorld · Jun 3, 2020

These questions come up I guess because people don't want to do a search? I don't want this to sound mean, but research goes a long ways. There are numerous threads asking the same question on R2R and they always result in the same thing, dozens of people saying their salt is the best above all others. You'll get fanboys of every salt out there.

What's the real answer? If you're dosing/reactor/Kalk, it doesn't really matter.

If you don't dose, then pick a salt that is closest to the parameters you want to keep.

So what would I suggest? Search out your favorite tanks on R2R and read through their build threads to see what they're using. And this isn't limited to Salt, but all aspects of your tank, pumps, lights, filtration. Search for mentors who you feel are doing it right, and do what they do. You'll be amazed by how helpful those reefers will be if you just ask in their thread.

What do I use? Regular old IO. I found that's what most of my mentors (hard core acro tanks) were using.