Salts and their Alkalinity

Kar · Feb 20, 2018

I have also looked up online and found Tropic Marine pro reef is also a very good salt. How do you guys compare with redsea blue bucket ?

Blz14me1 · Feb 20, 2018

I use io reef crystals. I have never had a problem with it. Dkh sits at 10.5 and I dose 24ml a day of 2 part c-balance. I recently went to 24 from 20 due to dropping dkh levels because of the amount of growth from the sps. I am also set up to do a automatic 2 gallon a day water change.

Forsaken77 · Feb 21, 2018

Andrewalex11 said:
Slight differences between IO Marine and Reef Crystals. I used the stuff religiously for about a year and didn't really notice a difference with ANYTHING switching between the two.

BUT... Red Sea CP has definately recorded some faster growth with my more colorful zoanthids, and my Euphyllia corals. Also it definately bounced back a lot of corals that weren't looking so hot like my leptoseris. So far I'll be using this brand from now on.

ALSO; Instant Ocean mixes like garbage, compared to Red Sea. I'll argue that until I'm dead because I used to scrub the excess crud from the stuff out of a huge 500gallon mixing vat. I will say that the price is right though so the choice is yours !

Red Sea Alk: 8 Stable
Instant Ocean Marine & Reef Crystals both mixed: 8 unstable quickly dropping and leveling off at 7-7.5

I actually had to exact opposite experience with the 2 salts. The Red Sea blue bucket would always leave a brown rocky sand at the bottom of my mixing buckets, while the IO is clear. The difference is, I only mix up what I'm using right away. I don't store mixed saltwater.

jantje · Feb 21, 2018

if you dont want to calculate, use this tool.
http://www.aquacalculator.com/wordpress/language/en/

So easy to use, many calculations inside.
for salt....just say how much waterchange you want, look for your prefered brand, say what you current alkalinity, Ca and Mg is and....get the result how much you need to add to get and equal waterchange.
Beside thaat this tool will give much much more information and calculations.

Chuk · Feb 21, 2018

I use the coral pro now. My alk is running right around 9.0. I don't notice any ill effects after my weekly 10% water changes. I used to use Tropic Marin Pro I switched from it to Coral Pro for the price. Tropic Marin was great just a bit too pricey

MaiReef · Feb 21, 2018

RPM Salt mixes right at 8 most of the time. I love it except I got RC for half the cost and use that. I haven't had a problem as long as I mix the buckets or bags of RC, but it does have a higher Alk, but it is a minor change when a change of 25% or less water change. It is less than 1 dKh if I stay at 8 which does not seem to bother anything. I usually try to keep it at 9 now to see if there is more growth.

jantje · Feb 21, 2018

Chuk said:
I use the coral pro now. My alk is running right around 9.0. I don't notice any ill effects after my weekly 10% water changes. I used to use Tropic Marin Pro I switched from it to Coral Pro for the price. Tropic Marin was great just a bit too pricey

ohhh in europe it is the same price, or even sometimes TM cheaper. 25 kg for 90 dollar

Chuk · Feb 21, 2018

jantje said:
ohhh in europe it is the same price, or even sometimes TM cheaper. 25 kg for 90 dollar

Where I’m at in the US is 75 per 175 gal (.42/gal) and pro reef is 95 per 200 gal (.47/gal)

DHill6 · Feb 21, 2018

I've been using TM Pro for years, it's pricey but you get what you pay for. The last 4 buckets all ran high on the CA, hasn't hurt anything in tank and never have to dose CA. Runs 8 dkh, everything reads as it should but the CA is high as in 545 or above. Tested with both a Hanna meter and their water, and tritiation kits. Triton test was close to what I tested when I filled the test vials. Mixes very clean, clear. I won't change.