The best SALT you have used...

dnyceli · Oct 29, 2015

Newb73 said:
Interesting those of you plugging the synthetic HW marine that BRS sells.

It comes in two flavors, "pro" and "reefer".

It's free shipping because it's 76.99 (or so). For an extra 4.99 you get the expedited 3 day shipping. So it's about 80 bucks.

The local fish store sells reef crystals for 54.00 and with taxes it's about 60 or so.

Okay so we are talking 20 dollars or so per bucket for what's being advertised as a zero additive, zero contaminate, fast mixing fully synthetic salt which has been selected by some of the large aquariums as well as the EPA.

Seems reasonable if the claims are true.

I just ordered a box and my biggest concern is the 50/50 roulette wheel about whether or not UPS can reliably ship without busting the box.

I'm thinking the answer to that will prove to be no.

Supposedly this is a German Salt

I think you will quite surprise upon your first mixing of this salt. I even mixed it by hand manually and was able to use it right after. That is how clean this salt disperses

dnyceli · Oct 29, 2015

Newb73 said:
Interesting those of you plugging the synthetic HW marine that BRS sells.

It comes in two flavors, "pro" and "reefer".

It's free shipping because it's 76.99 (or so). For an extra 4.99 you get the expedited 3 day shipping. So it's about 80 bucks.

The local fish store sells reef crystals for 54.00 and with taxes it's about 60 or so.

Okay so we are talking 20 dollars or so per bucket for what's being advertised as a zero additive, zero contaminate, fast mixing fully synthetic salt which has been selected by some of the large aquariums as well as the EPA.

Seems reasonable if the claims are true.

I just ordered a box and my biggest concern is the 50/50 roulette wheel about whether or not UPS can reliably ship without busting the box.

I'm thinking the answer to that will prove to be no.

Supposedly this is a German Salt

I think you will quite surprise upon your first mixing of this salt. I even mixed it by hand manually and was able to use it right after. That is how clean this salt disperses

dnyceli · Oct 29, 2015

I was also thinking about trying Tropic Marine next. But the HW is that good that It got me on the fence.

dnyceli · Oct 29, 2015

Newb73 said:
Interesting those of you plugging the synthetic HW marine that BRS sells.

It comes in two flavors, "pro" and "reefer".

It's free shipping because it's 76.99 (or so). For an extra 4.99 you get the expedited 3 day shipping. So it's about 80 bucks.

The local fish store sells reef crystals for 54.00 and with taxes it's about 60 or so.

Okay so we are talking 20 dollars or so per bucket for what's being advertised as a zero additive, zero contaminate, fast mixing fully synthetic salt which has been selected by some of the large aquariums as well as the EPA.

Seems reasonable if the claims are true.

I just ordered a box and my biggest concern is the 50/50 roulette wheel about whether or not UPS can reliably ship without busting the box.

I'm thinking the answer to that will prove to be no.

Supposedly this is a German Salt

I think you will be very surprised with the first time you mix it. I mix it manually by hand for my 20G reef tank water change and could use it right after mixing. It dissolves instantly with no residue

SifuMemphis · Oct 29, 2015

dnyceli said:
I was also thinking about trying Tropic Marine next. But the HW is that good that It got me on the fence.

I use to use Red Sea coral pro, but because of the high alk, I decided to try something else. I spoke with Adam from Battle Coral, and he referred me to Tropic Marin (regular), and since then, I've been using TM. So far, things are very stable, and looking great. I will most likely stick with TM moving forward.

ali.farzinrad · Oct 29, 2015

Well guys
After all suggestions and researches, I bought Kent just to start up my tank, after it I'll use IO or red sea pro to continue reef keeping.
I think red sea dissolve faster and better with more heat, but I like to try IO if I could find one.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 29, 2015

kattz said:
Hi, Dr. Holmes-Farley,

The HW Marine that I was referring to comes in at an average of 420 ca, 1240 mg, and about 9.6 DkH. No NO3, no PO4, and maybe a tiny spot (less than a thimbleful) of precipitate in every 40g batch I make. Mixes almost instantly and after dumping 18 cups of mix in the water while the Mag 9.5 is doing it's thing, water is absolutely clear after about 3 minutes. It really seems to be quite good. Pricy, but blew RSCP and Brightwell out of the water (no pun intended). I'm really fastidious about stability and this salt is really good. It mixes hotter than any batch of RSCP I could ever test out (RSCP parameters never have matched the hype in my personal experience) and no PO3 or NO4. RSCP is an algae grower in my experience. I must've used 20 buckets of RSCP before calling "knock it off".

Best,

Kevin

As folks mentioned, there are two types: a Reefer type with more calcium and magnesium, and the profession type. Which were you using?

When you say hotter, do you mean the actual temperature, or chemical parameters?

masterbuilder · Oct 29, 2015

I used hw-Marine REEFER for several months and like everyone said it mixes up with the levels as advertised, nice and clear right away and dissolves very easily. What I like about it is the levels are closer to normal than many of the other brands out there. What I am not crazy about is it's one of those salts that has added organics. I am not sure if it added to some persistent but minor algae problems (cyano/dino) but I switched back to my old tried and true Tropic Marin Regular and within a few weeks my algae problems disappeared. Might be a coincidence, maybe not. Either way I am happy with TM Regular. Big fan of salts that mix up in the neighborhood of 8.0-8.5, 400-425 and 1250-1300..... not on board with ultra hot salts like Reef Crystals or low levels like TM Pro. Since I run a smallish tank, salt costs are not a huge concern.

saltykisses · Oct 29, 2015

Do you guys get iquatics pro reef in the states I've started using that in the uk all in all not too bad and good value for money [emoji111]️

dnyceli · Oct 29, 2015

masterbuilder said:
I used hw-Marine REEFER for several months and like everyone said it mixes up with the levels as advertised, nice and clear right away and dissolves very easily. What I like about it is the levels are closer to normal than many of the other brands out there. What I am not crazy about is it's one of those salts that has added organics. I am not sure if it added to some persistent but minor algae problems (cyano/dino) but I switched back to my old tried and true Tropic Marin Regular and within a few weeks my algae problems disappeared. Might be a coincidence, maybe not. Either way I am happy with TM Regular. Big fan of salts that mix up in the neighborhood of 8.0-8.5, 400-425 and 1250-1300..... not on board with ultra hot salts like Reef Crystals or low levels like TM Pro. Since I run a smallish tank, salt costs are not a huge concern.

So you are saying the Tropic Marin Pro has lower levels than the Regular Tropic Marin?

oscar garcia · Oct 29, 2015

I just use table salt and my corals are thriving

oscar garcia · Oct 29, 2015

SifuMemphis · Oct 29, 2015

dnyceli said:
So you are saying the Tropic Marin Pro has lower levels than the Regular Tropic Marin?

I believe pro has lower levels because it was meant for reefers with calc reactors, etc etc

Horn · Oct 29, 2015

I make my own salt and like the results. Much better growth and invert reproduction.

Vmacisback · Oct 29, 2015

Making a switch from TM pro to Neomarine.

masterbuilder · Oct 29, 2015

dnyceli said:
So you are saying the Tropic Marin Pro has lower levels than the Regular Tropic Marin?

Yes. From memory (which is long gone) TM Pro's ALK is <7.5 and CA something like 380.

Smotz · Oct 29, 2015

Whats the difference between Red Sea and Red Sea Pro ?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 29, 2015

Smotz said:
Whats the difference between Red Sea and Red Sea Pro ?

The pro has higher levels of some things, like calcium and magnesium and alkalinity.

You can compare them here:

http://www.redseafish.com/red-sea-salts/coral-pro-salt/

http://www.redseafish.com/red-sea-salts/red-sea-salt/

SifuMemphis · Oct 29, 2015

Vmacisback said:
Making a switch from TM pro to Neomarine.

Any specific reason why you're switching away from TM Pro?

Smotz · Oct 29, 2015

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
The pro has higher levels of some things, like calcium and magnesium and alkalinity.

You can compare them here:

http://www.redseafish.com/red-sea-salts/coral-pro-salt/

http://www.redseafish.com/red-sea-salts/red-sea-salt/

Funny how they sell it the same way with the same description but don't really tell you why you would use one over the other with the exception of the slight change in parameters.