SALT- What have you tried? What do you use?

[Conrad Noto]

SALT- What have you tried? What do you use? What is your favorite and why? I am not asking or debating which is better, whatever works for each is cool.
I started with natural sea water, then Instant Ocean, still use it for FOWLR set ups. I've used/tried over 30 salt brands. I now use HW Marine. My all time favorite was Seachem Reef, it was discontinued and I don't like it's replacement. I used Seachem Reef for over 10 years, great price, powdery, smelled great, mixed fast and clear, stable from box to box, parameters worked for me. I still think they should bring it back. I also like Fritz, Liveaquaria's own brand and Tropic Marin. Many I would use, HW Marine, seems to be working great going on a year.

 

[Idoc]

I've used Instant Ocean Reef Crystals initially, but hated the brown residue it left on my Brute container! Then switched to HW Marine Mix -- mixed very clean, very stable and reliable...but, too expensive overall. I didn't have any corals at that time and couldn't see spending that crazy amount on salt. So, I switched to Instant Ocean after seeing so many other people's really nice tanks that was using it...much less expensive. I haven't had any problems with the IO salt and my corals seem happy.

 

[AdamNC]

Started off years back with IO, then IO Reef Crystals, then to Seachem Vibrant, then to Red Sea blue, then to Fritz RPM blue and then back to Red Sea blue for my SPS tank and Red Sea Pro for my LPS/Zoa tank. Seems in recent years I always come back to Red Sea.

 

[Brandon Smith]

I use regular IO. I dose All For Reef in between water changes. I have used IO Reef Cyrtals, but like already stated I also hated the brown residue left in the side of my Brute cans.

 

[mike550]

I started with TM Reef Pro on recommendation from LFS. Of course I now know that it has very low Alk and is suggested to be used with a Calcium Reacfor. Now Im using TM Classic Sea Salt because it’s close to the parameters I want to keep. But I need to figure out what to do as I add more corals.

I‘m also considering TM Syn Biotic but only if I decide that it makes more sense for my tank at that time.

 

[g_acosta_02]

SALT- What have you tried? What do you use? What is your favorite and why? I am not asking or debating which is better, whatever works for each is cool.
I started with natural sea water, then Instant Ocean, still use it for FOWLR set ups. I've used/tried over 30 salt brands. I now use HW Marine. My all time favorite was Seachem Reef, it was discontinued and I don't like it's replacement. I used Seachem Reef for over 10 years, great price, powdery, smelled great, mixed fast and clear, stable from box to box, parameters worked for me. I still think they should bring it back. I also like Fritz, Liveaquaria's own brand and Tropic Marin. Many I would use, HW Marine, seems to be working great going on a year.

I would just go lfs and noticed that nothing looked go and has a couple tanks crashes.... so gave up for like 2 years but now I am back with vengeance lol....I mix my own salt use instant ocean and use my own rodi system my tank has never looked as good as it looks now.. I even have coraline growing now that I do everything myself without dosing anything you have to stick to whatever works for you... IF IT AIN'T BROKEN DON'T FIX IT.... And this works for me

 

[Chefwheredyougo]

LFS had RSCP when i started. I had a lot of salt creep with it. So when I bought my RODI I got IORC. Between 2 buckets literally every batch I made mixed to different parameters, so I stopped. Now I'm using TMPR and I'm happy with it mid way through my first 200g bucket.

 

[AllIDoisReef]

I started with IO, now use Fritz Rpm blue. It mixes cleaner and might be a coincidence but my corals colored up nice shortly after the change.

 

[reefiniteasy]

Currently use Fritz blue box. Been using it for a year. Have had mixing and parameter issues with fresh mixed salt (I swear its not me). Sometimes have to fix with dosing but the aquarium has been thriving. About to make the leap to Tropic Marin Bio-Actif. Just very nervous for the change in general.

 

[Victor_C3]

I got into the hobby using Red Sea in 2006. I then switched Tropic Marin Pro for a bucket or two and noticed an instant vibrance in my system after the first water change that wasn’t there. When I moved back to the US, I bought Reef Crystals at a LFS and used that before I found Tropic Marin Pro again. Again, I noticed an instant improvement with my tank and vowed never to try another salt.

After taking a decade + break, I decided that it was time to finally set up a system in my dinky divorced-guy apartment that is just a smaller version of my dream tank. I started out using Tropic Marin Bioactif and, so far at least, I don’t have any reason to try another salt. The bioactif salt’s parameters are pretty close to where I like to keep my Ca, alk, and Mg and I’m a total sucker for the bio active gimmick that goes with it. They’ve made nothing but great products in the past so I have no reason to doubt their claim.

 

[Uncle99]

I0 when I was FOWLR, Reef Crystals, Seachem and finally Red Sea Pro where I have been for years.
I’d like to move to Tropic Marin but it’s almost double the cost of the Red Sea Pro and everything is in balance so I don’t experiment much.

 

[X-37B]

I use esv b ionic.
Used it on my nano for 1 year and did 10% wc a week.
I liked that you could mix it up in 15 minutes and use it right away.
Did the last year with no water changes.
Still use it on my 120 dt and 45 frag system.
However I do not do water changes on them anymore.

 

[AllIDoisReef]

Currently use Fritz blue box. Been using it for a year. Have had mixing and parameter issues with fresh mixed salt (I swear its not me). Sometimes have to fix with dosing but the aquarium has been thriving. About to make the leap to Tropic Marin Bio-Actif. Just very nervous for the change in general.

If you store your mixed saltwater for any period of time double check me, but I don’t think you can store the Bio-Actif you have to use it once you make it.

 

[tehmadreefer]

Whatever is on sale between instant ocean and reef crystals.

 

[reefiniteasy]

If you store your mixed saltwater for any period of time double check me, but I don’t think you can store the Bio-Actif you have to use it once you make it.

It has to be used within 36 hours or the bio stuff starts to form blobs in the water. I do weekly 5 gallon changes. I don’t store anything.

 

[jsvand5]

I’ve probably tried at least ten different types over the years. Finally settled on Red Sea blue bucket. Mixes clean and to exactly the params I keep my SPS tank at.

 

[squampton]

I instant ocean, only brand consistently available, other brands seem to be fads in my local stores they come, and they go, only brand consistently always there is IO and reef crystals. Shipping costs for salt in Canada is way too high to ever order online, so I stick with what the local stores have consistently.

 

[Conrad Noto]

I've used Instant Ocean Reef Crystals initially, but hated the brown residue it left on my Brute container! Then switched to HW Marine Mix -- mixed very clean, very stable and reliable...but, too expensive overall. I didn't have any corals at that time and couldn't see spending that crazy amount on salt. So, I switched to Instant Ocean after seeing so many other people's really nice tanks that was using it...much less expensive. I haven't had any problems with the IO salt and my corals seem happy.

Instant Ocean is great salt, if you use it for reef especially hard corals you would have to dose a lot and pre-dose newly mixed water to match levels before adding.

 

[Ef4life]

I have used instant ocean, reef crystals, Red Sea coral pro, hw, and now tropic Marin pro.

All worked fine, but tropic Marin my mixing trash can never gets a dirty crust in it, it stays clean. I don’t like how low the alkalinity is though, mixed around 7, but it drops to around 6.2dkh after a week or so. Not a big deal to bring it up though before doing a water change.

 

[Leslie Tabor]

I've used Instant Ocean Reef Crystals initially, but hated the brown residue it left on my Brute container! Then switched to HW Marine Mix -- mixed very clean, very stable and reliable...but, too expensive overall. I didn't have any corals at that time and couldn't see spending that crazy amount on salt. So, I switched to Instant Ocean after seeing so many other people's really nice tanks that was using it...much less expensive. I haven't had any problems with the IO salt and my corals seem happy.

I did HW Marine when I first started. I always liked it. Then my LFS said I should try Tropic Marin Bio...talk about SLUDGE in the Brute can! That was awful...however, I liked the results but at over $100/bucket, and a 40 gal/week water change schedule my budget said...Instant Ocean! So happy to switch, no complaints, extra $$$.