Thought on different salt?

jboone82590 · Dec 9, 2015

What is the difference between the salts you can get and witch one is the best?
I have been using instant ocean for my salt water tank since I set it up.
I had a bad spike in nitrates and I was talking to someone about salt and I needed salt I went and go instant ocean again but they said there was better salt out there can anyone explain this to me?

twilliard · Dec 9, 2015

I would stick with what best works for your tank.
As is said they all have pro's and con's

Downbeach · Dec 9, 2015

Over the years, I've used many different salt mixes, they all worked fine following the mfg's recommendations. But, I have never found one that I thought was any better than plain old IO.

brandon429 · Dec 9, 2015

check out work by Maritza the Vase Reef, all her work is IO, old school reliable right there. cost effective too

far and above the importance of salt brand is the export/import action on your tank. until able to control water quality by dosing and specifics, the more volume you are changing, the more you feed your tank, and the more you hand remove simple invaders that HH in on the live rock, the better the system will mature. I have used ten brands of salt on my tank because I only buy lfs premade and they make changes based on bulk pricing deals that come and go. my reef always looks the same regardless of brands. additionally, my tanks are small they get 100% changes.

so in addition to brand not mattering, I don't even make a slow transition.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Dec 9, 2015

jboone82590 said:
What is the difference between the salts you can get and witch one is the best?
I have been using instant ocean for my salt water tank since I set it up.
I had a bad spike in nitrates and I was talking to someone about salt and I needed salt I went and go instant ocean again but they said there was better salt out there can anyone explain this to me?

Nope.

I prefer normal IO to most salt mixes, and those I do not prefer it to are more expensive.

There is no "best" salt. nearly any salt can work well if you understand its pros and cons, and there are too many mixes to list them all here.

jboone82590 · Dec 9, 2015

My thoughts was some salt has different stuff in it and some dosent.
What would I do to have to have salt with the stuff in it?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Dec 9, 2015

jboone82590 said:
My thoughts was some salt has different stuff in it and some dosent.
What would I do to have to have salt with the stuff in it?

The stuff? That secret ingredient that makes every reef perfect?

That's isn't generally how salt mixes work.

IO has everything I'd want.

"Better" salt mixes (meaning more expensive) do not always have more of anything. Some intentionally have less since some people want less alkalinity, for example. Some also claim various guaranteed analyses, but not because they necessarily have more of anything. Some may use "purer" ingredients to have LESS of certain trace elements and other impurities.

A few salt mixes have vitamins and other organics in them. Reef Crystals is one. I don't want them, but some people might.

Some may have higher calcium or magnesium than normal IO, but if you want that, it would be a lot cheaper to add it yourself, unless it is a cheap mix to begin with.

debby · Dec 9, 2015

ok, what means IO?

HiddenUser · Dec 9, 2015

debby said:
ok, what means IO?

Instant Ocean

jboone82590 · Dec 10, 2015

So it's not true that some have buffers and calcium and other stuff for reefs?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Dec 10, 2015

jboone82590 said:
So it's not true that some have buffers and calcium and other stuff for reefs?

Every salt mix has buffers, and all have as much or more than the ocean (7 dKH). The Instant Ocean (with around 12 dKH) that you were using has more than many mixes, and much more than the ocean. Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and sodium carbonate washing soda) are the buffer components. They are cheap ingredients in salt mixes and no mix short changes buffers/alkalinity for a reason relating to cost. Over time, most reefs need alkalinity (the buffer) dosing beyond what a salt mix provides, and many need it every day.

Calcium is also in every salt mix, although the amount doesn't really relate much to the cost. Some cheaper mixes (such as Oceanic) have among the highest levels. Instant Ocean has a bit under natural seawater levels. Calcium is also not expensive to dose and most reef need more than the mix provides over time, but selecting a mix with a higher calcium level might be a goal for some reefers (I actually want it on the low side because the methods I use cause calcium to accumulate over time).

Magnesium is another one to consider. Most mixes have at least natural levels. Some add more. It's certainly fine to get a mix with more and you'd probably never have to dose any. Some methods of calcium and alkalinity supplementation add magnesium, however. Instant ocean presently has plenty, although in the past in was on the low side.

FWIW, when you look at many threads discussing salt mixes, the discussions most often do not relate to which mixes have more of what (except for folks often looking for less alkalinity), but more often relate to folks discussing how they seem to work in their particular tanks.

You might find these articles useful to better understand these issues:

The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners Part 1: The Salt Water Itself by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/rhf/index.php

The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners Part 2: What Chemicals Must be Supplemented by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/rhf/index.php

The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners Part 3: pH by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-05/rhf/index.php

The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners Part 4: What Chemicals May Detrimentally Accumulate by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-09/rhf/index.php

jboone82590 · Dec 10, 2015

Thanks that cleared it up I will just stick to the IO and call it good

Bigevill1 · Dec 12, 2015

I used IO forever and went off it because I wanted my alk lower for SPS. I use tropic marin pro now and my SPS seemed to respond to the change.

akitareefer · Dec 16, 2015

I use reef crystals and Red Sea pro. I hear a lot of complaints about the high alk. For water change day I skip 2 part dosing and everything stays in balance. For me IO is $2 less, doesn't seem worth the switch

jboone82590 · Jan 6, 2016

Bigevill1 said:
I used IO forever and went off it because I wanted my alk lower for SPS. I use tropic marin pro now and my SPS seemed to respond to the change.

Yeah I just noticed that that my alk has been pretty high

pondman · Jan 6, 2016

I've used io from day one I've never really thought about another mix I use what works for me.

Maritza The Vase Reef · Jan 10, 2016

Peace To All.

HNY 2016...

Finally found myself here.
I'm not really an internet person so please forgive me
For not responding or getting involved with threads, etc.
Brandon is correct. Instant Ocean is all I've ever used in the Past and Present.
Thanks for the kudos Brandon.
I'm running 7 set ups using Instant Ocean salt mix.
Please understand this...I'm not saying that other Salt mixes are no good or etc..
I'm just confirming what Brandon has mentioned here about my works.
Haven't had any problems with this mix.

Blessings To All.