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03/24/2018, 05:23 PM | #1 |
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Salt mix
I know that there are a lot of different brands of Salt mix on the market. I just want opiniond or testimonys on which product had better growth a?
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03/24/2018, 05:33 PM | #2 |
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None are proven to be any better than any other really...
There are people with successful tanks running all brands of salt mix.
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03/24/2018, 05:35 PM | #3 |
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03/24/2018, 05:47 PM | #4 |
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Instant Ocean is fairly cheap, and a lot of Tanks of the Month run with it. I agree that there's a lot of marketing, and not much data when it comes to salt products.
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03/24/2018, 09:08 PM | #5 |
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I agree with everything that's been said. One thing I would watch out for is using a salt mix that has high alk when newly mixed and your tank has a much lower number. For example, if your tank is typically at 7dKH and your salt mixes at 12dKH and you do a 20% water change, your corals might not like that much. Also, lower alk levels seem to be better if you're carbon dosing.
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03/24/2018, 09:16 PM | #6 |
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Oh yeah, I personally like ESV the best. It mixes really fast and is always crystal clear. I've never gotten calcification on my pumps or heaters when using it. I've used other brands where that's been a problem and with IO salt, I'd get a brown powdery film on everything which I read is some sort of binding clay or something. Either way, I was not a fan. Another thing I like about ESV is it comes in four separate parts - the actual salt, magnesium, then an bottle of A liquid and B liquid. The two liquids I assume are calcium and alk with trace elements mixed in. I feel like this gives it way less of a chance of it not being mixed well (like other salts) or getting a "bad batch".
The downside is, it comes in four parts lol. You'll need a cheap digital food scale to measure each part. It's really not that bad IMO but it does take more time than just dumping 1/2 a cup per gallon in. |
03/25/2018, 01:35 AM | #7 |
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I'm running instant ocean reef crystals and have gotten good growth, also readings from a fresh batch of salt water are were they should be, except for Mag which is at 1250. I will be trying out red sea pro salt with my new red sea 350 which should arrive soon though.
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03/26/2018, 10:28 PM | #8 |
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Everyone has their own salt mix they perfer. Its a highly personal and debated topic. Cost, availability, chemistry, consistently, natural, synthetic, clean mixing all play a large role in what makes one person like one mix and the next person hate it. Do research on the common salt mixes and using the above list choose a salt that best meets your goals. For me it falls in this order, Hw Reefer or Professional, Red Sea blue bucket, DD H2Ocean, IO with ca and mag increased to 420 and 1380 and Tropic Marin Pro Reef. I listed Pro Reef last due to the very high price of this salt, if it was priced around $70-80 for a bucket it would be fighting Hw for first place.
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03/28/2018, 03:42 PM | #9 |
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Run IO because I am cheap, lol. Adjust the big 3 if needed but most of the time I just roll with it. I only do 1.25 gallon daily water changes though, so I hardly notice a change in parameters.
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03/28/2018, 03:48 PM | #10 |
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Hard to read but worth a look. Pick whatever salt mix you like and stick with it. They’re all fairly good Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro |
03/28/2018, 05:26 PM | #11 |
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Just find one and stick with it. (routine) A "good" salt mix doesn't necessarily mean your tank will be successful. There's more pieces to the puzzle than that...
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03/29/2018, 06:16 PM | #12 |
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I love esv a little more work to mix but you can tweak the recipe for your tanks parameters and once it’s set it mixes up dead on every time no settling like with other premix salts
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03/29/2018, 06:29 PM | #13 | |
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Quote:
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03/29/2018, 06:31 PM | #14 |
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03/29/2018, 07:41 PM | #15 |
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FYI, Reef Crystals are on sale at various sites and Amazon.
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04/04/2018, 05:29 AM | #16 | |
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Once you get out of that thinking that you NEED reef salt, you buy whats cheap and time tested. A slight bump to CAL and MAG and it's good to go.
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80G SCA Build: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2560256 Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht: "He's just taking his lunch to work" |
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04/10/2018, 05:24 PM | #17 |
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I use Red Sea Pro as it mixes up high in the Alk, Mag and calcium.
Just weekly water changes has kept them stable with this salt I have a moderate load of about 40 corals of mixed types including clams... Sometimes you get what you pay for... |
04/10/2018, 07:16 PM | #18 | |
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Is this he stuff you are talking about? https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00X8...srL&ref=plSrch Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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04/10/2018, 11:34 PM | #19 |
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Yes, that's the ESV salt product. I suspect it's fine. I used their B-Ionic supplements for years.
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04/11/2018, 11:20 AM | #20 |
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Question for you guys. If one goal is to maintain stable alk and calcium, why do people use salt mixes with such high numbers? For example, IO is around 11 for Alk and IORC is around 13.
Say you are trying to maintain alk at 8.5. You have a doser set up to add/increase your ALK on a daily basis. Then, every two weeks you do a 20% change with water that is at 11, doesn't that mean that your alk bounces higher for at least several days? Maybe I'm missing something.
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04/11/2018, 11:23 AM | #21 |
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That’s one of the big reasons I like esv all is 9 mg is. It hi but that is an easy fix add less mg sulfate when you mix that’s the beauty of this salt
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04/11/2018, 11:47 AM | #22 |
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I mix high in the range of the three for good calcification and after the weekly water change iam back on par. Occasionally I dose Alk because it's used up the fastest, but the other two stay on mark...cheap salt is just cheap salt, but will work.
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04/11/2018, 11:51 AM | #23 |
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I use red sea pro
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04/11/2018, 12:03 PM | #24 |
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04/11/2018, 12:49 PM | #25 | |
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