Whatis considered the best salt?

[fish face]

I recently switched from red sea blue bucket to fritz blue. I like my alk around 8 cal 450 and mag 1400ish.

it cost a decent bit to change my redseas 1280 mag to 1400 every time.

no salt is hands down better than others. Just find one that has parameters close to what you need.

do you like fritz? I was contemplating switching from reef crystals. starting to venture into more sps corals again...

 

[slythy]

do you like fritz? I was contemplating switching from reef crystals. starting to venture into more sps corals again...

I have a mixed tank with mostly sps and it has been good so far. I do daily 1g water changes but everything is growing and happy. All salt is pretty much the same uou just pick one that has parameters you like. I have a torch garden so mag at 1400 is key for me. I also dont like super elevated alk and cal. 8.25 alk 430 cal 1400 mag just seems to be my happy spot.

 

[BeanAnimal]

IMHO Almost every post here misses the mark.

if you are relying on water changes to keep all/ca/mag and trace elements (likely a nano) then you need to select a salt that provides what you looking for.

If you are dosing all/ca/mag and/or trace elements, then salt is salt. Get the the cheapest salt you can find (instant Ocean). It is quality and consistent and used by most major aquariums. Buying more expensive or exotic salt is just wasting money, as you are dosing anyway.

 

[slythy]

IMHO Almost every post here misses the mark.

if you are relying on water changes to keep all/ca/mag and trace elements (likely a nano) then you need to select a salt that provides what you looking for.

If you are dosing all/ca/mag and/or trace elements, then salt is salt. Get the the cheapest salt you can find (instant Ocean). It is quality and consistent and used by most major aquariums. Buying more expensive or exotic salt is just wasting money, as you are dosing anyway.

i disagree. I’m not relying on the salt to replenish. When i do a water change i want it to match. If it doesnt you can have big swings. Also mag is expensive so having to dose lots of mag is silly. When i was using red sea i had to dose around 500ml of mag per salt batch (50gal) So by the end of the bucket i would have spent an extra $20 per bucket to get what i want.

it doesnt make sense to cheap out and buy $50 bucket of salt that you have to spend $25 worth of stuff to add to it when you can spend 60-75 and get what you need already done.

 

[KrisReef]

Thank you, I know its a bit of an open ended question but if a tally of a similar answer occurs with people having luck with the same salt I could start there.
Your answer is greatly appreciated

The situation is that folks who have been working on this issue for a long time have found that the salt they use is the one that mixes to the levels of parameters that they have decided to use, so I agree with many of the comments above especially @bushdoc but you might be really disappointed if you use the same salt that he does.

Some LFS have mixed water for sale which can be a great backup if you need a water change quickly and you don’t have RODI water on hand to mix, or if you can’t find the salt locally (except already mixed) and the lfs can bail you out at that time.

I have 2 unopened buckets in the garage I stockpiled when they were on sale at Petco but live near a hose bib at the University that is open year round (except for maintenance times) so I try to stock pile jugs with a 40 gallon can that’s always got a heater on during cold weather so I can do 2 or three water changes if water needs to be changed now. I don’t do regular water changes but like to change 10 gallons now and then just because.

The best salt, as my mom would say is; “Morton’s”! She never kept a tank, sadly.

 

[BeanAnimal]

i disagree. I’m not relying on the salt to replenish. When i do a water change i want it to match. If it doesnt you can have big swings. Also mag is expensive so having to dose lots of mag is silly. When i was using red sea i had to dose around 500ml of mag per salt batch (50gal) So by the end of the bucket i would have spent an extra $20 per bucket to get what i want.

it doesnt make sense to cheap out and buy $50 bucket of salt that you have to spend $25 worth of stuff to add to it when you can spend 60-75 and get what you need already done.

Math is our friend.

100 gallon tank. 1400 mag
10% water change with Instant Ocean 1320 mag

so 90 gallons of 1400 with 10 gallons of 1320
result = 1392 mag. Not a large swing by any stretch.

———-

50 gallons of Instant ocean mix = 1320 mag
to boost that to 1400 mag you need 126.7 grams of mag chloride.
BRS mag chloride is $30 for 7 pounds, or just over 3100 grams.

That is about $1.25 worth of mag chloride, not $25

The math holds for the other ions as well.

 

[albano]

ESV… for last ~15 years

 

[slythy]

Math is our friend.

100 gallon tank. 1400 mag
10% water change with Instant Ocean 1320 mag

so 90 gallons of 1400 with 10 gallons of 1320
result = 1392 mag. Not a large swing by any stretch.

———-

50 gallons of Instant ocean mix = 1320 mag
to boost that to 1400 mag you need 126.7 grams of mag chloride.
BRS mag chloride is $30 for 7 pounds, or just over 3100 grams.

That is about $1.25 worth of mag chloride, not $25

The math holds for the other ions as well.

Ok, maybe I was led to do the wrong thing but I have been dosing the Mixed MAG version of Magnesium Sulfate and Magnesium Chloride. A 1g mix of that is $20. Maybe I dont need the Sulfate for just booting the Magnesium? I may have exaggerated a little bit on the price slightly but using the current discounted sale prices of Instant ocean it doesnt save me much from what I pay for the salt that has the parameters I want.

		cost	gallons made		$/G
Local	Fritz 200	64​	175​		$ 0.366
Petco Sale	Instant ocean 160	38​	140​	7​	$ 0.321
Petco Sale	Instant ocean 200	57.31​	170​	8.5​	$ 0.387

Obviously if the sulfates arent necessary then the price changes by $0.04 per gallon or so down.

Using BRS's how much salt does a bucket actually make, adding in the cost of boostin magnesium with the 2 part its pretty comparable. I think its best to use the salt thats closest to your parameters to save on time as well as potential issues if you have to do large water changes. Also instant ocean is known to mix a dirty, which I dont like cleaning out my mixing station often.

There are some very expensive salts that have very close parameters to Instant ocean and I dont know why you would choose them over IO.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Ok, maybe I was led to do the wrong thing but I have been dosing the Mixed MAG version of Magnesium Sulfate and Magnesium Chloride. A 1g mix of that is $20. Maybe I dont need the Sulfate for just booting the Magnesium? I may have exaggerated a little bit on the price slightly but using the current discounted sale prices of Instant ocean it doesnt save me much from what I pay for the salt that has the parameters I want.

		cost	gallons made		$/G
Local	Fritz 200	64​	175​		$ 0.366
Petco Sale	Instant ocean 160	38​	140​	7​	$ 0.321
Petco Sale	Instant ocean 200	57.31​	170​	8.5​	$ 0.387

Obviously if the sulfates arent necessary then the price changes by $0.04 per gallon or so down.

Using BRS's how much salt does a bucket actually make, adding in the cost of boostin magnesium with the 2 part its pretty comparable. I think its best to use the salt thats closest to your parameters to save on time as well as potential issues if you have to do large water changes. Also instant ocean is known to mix a dirty, which I dont like cleaning out my mixing station often.

There are some very expensive salts that have very close parameters to Instant ocean and I dont know why you would choose them over IO.

I am not advocating that you switch salts. By all means use what works for you and fits your budget, expectations and workflow.

My general advice remains the same. There are a lot of folks using exotic salts and pouring money down the drain

I don’t worry too much about change water levels. I don’t do water changes and when/if I do I will dose accordingly.

The other major benefit of IO (not RC) is the batch size. It is an extremely consistent product due to the large batches and the way it is manufactured.

 

[KK's Reef]

Good afternoon guys and gals, I'm just getting into this hobby and would like to know what is considered the best salt to use?

I think you might have better luck asking who has the best fries.

 

[rtparty]

Cheap salt is cheap for a reason. They are cutting corners somewhere to achieve their prices. I am not saying cheap salt is bad salt. Way too many successful tanks with every salt on the market to claim any are bad. But some are very much inconsistent batch to batch. This is very evident with cheaper salts. They are routinely changing suppliers to the cheapest bid.

In my Ultimate Salt Test my Reef Crystals mixed around 9.5dkh. It surprised me to see it so low even though I quit using Reef Crystals a decade ago because it is routintely inconsistent batch to batch. It is also one of the dirtiest salts out there. My bucket of IO (I used almost 90% of it in total by the end) had an alk of ~11dkh. Again, it missed the mark from what it "should" be.

If you are doctoring new water to fit your tank, you are using the wrong salt IMO.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Cheap salt is cheap for a reason. They are cutting corners somewhere to achieve their prices.

That is a very general miscomception.

IO is able to keep the price down based on gigantic batch sizes and unmatched sales volume. They are not cutting corners, it is application of economies of scale. They spill more salt than most vendors sell.

Yes Reef Crystals is not as consistent (most small batch salts have that problem).

9.5 dKh low? You lost me there.

 

[rtparty]

That is a very general miscomception.

IO is able to keep the price down based on gigantic batch sizes and unmatched sales volume. They are not cutting corners, it is application of economies of scale. They spill more salt than most vendors sell.

Yes Reef Crystals is not as consistent (most small batch salts have that problem).

9.5 dKh low? You lost me there.

I understand scaling and all that plenty already. I also know far more about the salt game and the companies behind them than most.

IO isn’t selling 1000s and 1000s times more than the closest competitor. It’s cheap in price because they pick cheaper raw materials. It’s really pretty simple business 101.

Reef Crystals mixing at 9.5dkh is extremely low for them. It should be closer to 12-13dkh. Of course, they aren’t consistent and we see numbers all over the place with them.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I understand scaling and all that plenty already. I also know far more about the salt game and the companies behind them than most.

Respectfully, how would you know what I know?

IO isn’t selling 1000s and 1000s times more than the closest competitor.

As I said somewhat facetiously, they likely spill more salt than most of their competitors sell. Is there a competitor that also sells a high volume? Sure, but the point is that IO has by far the largest market share and easily sell 100s of times more sal than most of the competition. Then size and sales volume difference is extremely significant any way you slice it.

It’s cheap in price because they pick cheaper raw materials. It’s really pretty simple business 101.

Where is that (inferior raw materials) documented, or is it based on you application of business 101? What problem is this alleged inferior material causing? Anecdotally almost all public aquariums, growout facilities and large commercial displays use IO. I would suggest if there was a problem with it they would not use it.

Reef Crystals mixing at 9.5dkh is extremely low for them. It should be closer to 12-13dkh. Of course, they aren’t consistent and we see numbers all over the place with them.

Reef crystals is small batch compared to IO and not consistent. I think this is fairly well known. Many small batch salts suffer the same issue.

For the most part, salt is salt is salt. There are some poorly consistent ones out there. IO is very consistent.

 

[albano]

You tell him, Bean!

 

[Homey D. Clownfish]

Red Sea coral pro for me. I like that it doesn’t take forever to mix, too.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Good afternoon guys and gals, I'm just getting into this hobby and would like to know what is considered the best salt to use?

You will get multiple answers. Salts are based on use (reef/mixed reef/Fowler), needs for coral, at times pricing and even availability.
Having Had an LFS, I may have tried them all.
My all time favorite was seachem salinity but became harder to find. I really Like Tropic Marin Pro, but issues arose and I went to Red Sea Pro. Price climbed then went back to Tropic marin Actif. Im running out soon and based on getting great deal. . . I have 7 buckets of reef crystals on hand which obviously I will be going to.
In order of favorites:
Seachem Salinity
TM Pro
TM Actif
Hawaiian marine Imports
Aqua Forest
Reef Crystals
Instant Ocean
Kent
Coralife
Fritz Pro

 

[BeanAnimal]

You tell him, Bean!

Just a conversation. More than happy to be wrong or learn something new.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Salts are based on use (reef/mixed reef/Fowler), needs for coral

I don’t agree with that part at all unless water changes are the sole means of ion and trace level maintenance. If you are dosing any balanced additive system, the salt base levels really become irrelevant.

 

[Panky]

You also need to take into account if you are doing auto water changes and storing premixed salt for an extended period of time like a week or so