Switching Salts?

DSC reef · Sep 23, 2018

Steven91 said:
Yeah, I've looked just about everywhere for coral pro and instant ocean is still like $10 cheaper

There both good salts. We had a 75 gallon tank and did 15 gallon changes a week so the savings weren't worth the results. We ended up using the reef Crystal's on my wife's nano.

jda · Sep 23, 2018

You cannot really afford to be cheap. $10 is nothing compared to a happy reef. If you love a salt that is $10 more, I would stick with it.

All of this said, I use IO and have for decades. I have had a few trips to other salts and found them all a bit lacking in the consistency. I bulk order IO from a LFS and got the last batch for about $32 a box... this time will be more like $38, but I buy a whole pallet at once. I do use Muratic Acid to lower the alk and also add some dowflake to raise the calcium, but it mixes up perfect every time which is what I am looking for.

I like IO better than RC... mixes cleaner and since I doctor it up anyway, I do not really need the extra major elements.

dean.reef · Sep 23, 2018

BoSalman said:
I'm actually in the process of switching salts from Tropic Marin pro reef to Brightwell NeoMarine.

Main reaoson to change for my opinion is parameters. Look closely at those and see which one is closer to what you're looking for and shoot for it slowley over a period of time to avoid complications.

I’ve just ordered a bucket of tropic marine pro reef,over the years I used redsea blue,bright well neo marine,and I was shocked by the inconsistency bucket to bucket dispite mixing before making a mix,then I bit the bullet and went with kz reefers best,first bucket was spot on low alk which was perfect for me and consistent reading,then I brought another and the alk was 12dkh,so now I’m going to try pro reef,any reason ur changing??

jda · Sep 23, 2018

If you all are using buckets and you are not dry mixing your salt, then you could get some inconsistency. The stuff settles. The TM Pro Reef will be no different, but it is also very consistent once you mix it. There are inconsistent salts, but the people who have issues with the known-staples like IO, RC and TM have not mixed them. This is why I like the 50g bags... use the whole thing at once and no need to mix them up.

BoSalman · Sep 23, 2018

dean.reef said:
I’ve just ordered a bucket of tropic marine pro reef,over the years I used redsea blue,bright well neo marine,and I was shocked by the inconsistency bucket to bucket dispite mixing before making a mix,then I bit the bullet and went with kz reefers best,first bucket was spot on low alk which was perfect for me and consistent reading,then I brought another and the alk was 12dkh,so now I’m going to try pro reef,any reason ur changing??

Nothing bad with TM pro reef, it's just that they made it to work with "calcium reactors" and it comes with low Alk for my needs. That being said, consistency within from bucket to bucket could be due to settling/not mixing the bucket before use.

So i'm just changing because we only have TM pro reef, if we had TM's other mixtures i would shoot for that for sure! TM has good quality stuff.

MTBake · Sep 23, 2018

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the main brands. Just do 10% water changes while switching and you'll be ok.

dean.reef · Sep 24, 2018

I always dry mix my salt always have normally give it a good old shake few time a week and a good mix few hours before making water,maybe I’m just unlucky with the batches,I had a good moaning thread about salt about these issues,it is annoying when I pay£70 for salt I might as well throw away cus the parameters are crappy

jrb1021 · Sep 24, 2018

I switched from HW Marine Reefer to Fritz RPM Blue over the course of two water changes. Improved alkalinity, color of coral and fish. No downside noted. I couldn't be happier.

Jerry Ebner · Sep 24, 2018

I've used Reef Crystals for two years not one issue . But people will like what they like. Budget makes a difference as well. Rico from ricos aquariums has stated he used Instant ocean for years and you can see what he did . In the end its the brand you want or choose I think,

Nick30G · Sep 24, 2018

I have been thinking about changing salts as well from Reef Crystals to Fritz. Reason being is im starting to consider dosing and i dont want the parameters to swing around after every water change while im dosing. My Reef Crystals has a Calcium of 540 ppm, DKH of 10.8 and Mag of 1600 Ppm. Im looking for something near NSW ranges like 8.5 DKH and 420 calcium. Also looking for better consistency. I have about 6 corals in my tank now and am considering manually dosing 2 part or possibly kalk

Ksmmike · Sep 24, 2018

I went from Red Sea Coral Pro to Reef Crystals recently. I did find the ALK running high with Red Sea and elevated phosphates. It did mix better and faster than
Reef Crystals. It's still too early to tell, but I think my acans and acros grew better with Red Sea Pro, but I don't think it's been long enough to know for sure.
I do think though that Reef Crystals is a bit more consistent. Just my humble opinion.

Mike

vetteguy53081 · Sep 24, 2018

I have 3 tanks and use Reef Crystals in 93 cube, Red Sea Pro in 360 and Aquaforest in drop off tank. When aquaforest runs out, I have 400 gal mix of Fritz Reef Pro on hand
Switching which I've done before , no biggie

Steven91 · Sep 24, 2018

vetteguy53081 said:
I have 3 tanks and use Reef Crystals in 93 cube, Red Sea Pro in 360 and Aquaforest in drop off tank. When aquaforest runs out, I have 400 gal mix of Fritz Reef Pro on hand
Switching which I've done before , no biggie

Out of the 3 which do you like the best and tends to give you the best bang for your $

DHill6 · Sep 24, 2018

dean.reef said:
I’ve just ordered a bucket of tropic marine pro reef,over the years I used redsea blue,bright well neo marine,and I was shocked by the inconsistency bucket to bucket dispite mixing before making a mix,then I bit the bullet and went with kz reefers best,first bucket was spot on low alk which was perfect for me and consistent reading,then I brought another and the alk was 12dkh,so now I’m going to try pro reef,any reason ur changing??

I’ve used TMPro for years. The last three buckets were very inconsistent, calcium was very high as in 600, so I made the change to Red Sea Blue bucket. Corals didn’t mind the change.

DHill6 · Sep 24, 2018

jda said:
If you all are using buckets and you are not dry mixing your salt, then you could get some inconsistency. The stuff settles. The TM Pro Reef will be no different, but it is also very consistent once you mix it. There are inconsistent salts, but the people who have issues with the known-staples like IO, RC and TM have not mixed them. This is why I like the 50g bags... use the whole thing at once and no need to mix them up.

IM not agreeing with your statement, I’ve used TMPro for years and the last three buckets were very inconsistent. The salt was removed from the bucket, completely mixed and returned to the bucket. No difference, the calcium was 600 on three different brands of tests. I couldn’t take it anymore and switched.