dmward99 July 2, 2009 Share July 2, 2009 I have a question about these 2 types of salts.I have always used Instant Ocean on my tanks but have never really had much success with my corals.I have always known of Reef Crystals but never used it.I am currently setting up a 20 Long tank for my son who as all kids wants a nemo fish.I will house a pair of clowns,anemone, clean up crew, couple of shrimp and maybe 2 other small fish( indecided).I want to leave the door open to maybe trying a few more corals down the road but don't want to switch my salt once I start this set-up.My questions is; Would Reef Crystals be better/ Or Instant Ocean? I know this is probaly a old topic but would like to hear some of your views or the 2 salts.Pros? Cons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella July 2, 2009 Share July 2, 2009 I know a lot of use the regular instant ocean on our reef tanks.. I actually have had better success with instant ocean.. Or you can go high class and get the deltec salt, good stuff and its only $85 a bucket.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore July 2, 2009 Share July 2, 2009 Instant Ocean is fine for corals. If you are having trouble with corals, it is almost certainly unrelated to the salt mix. If you are not using RO/DI water when you mix up new saltwater, you might have some trouble with calcium precipitation but that depends on what's coming out of the tap. Otherwise, I would check all the other likely suspects when troubleshooting coral health- lighting, water flow/circulation, nutrient levels. If you are having trouble with stony corals but not soft corals, then make sure alkalinity is correct. My guess is if your fish are fine but corals aren't thriving, one of two things is wrong: nitrate (NO3) is higher than you think (make sure test kit is good, keep level below 15ppm) or alkalinity is low (again, test kit may be wrong, aim for 8 DKH/2.5 meq/L). This assumes you have adequate lighting and water flow. Good luck Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami July 2, 2009 Share July 2, 2009 (edited) Summary: IO: Ca 350, Alk 12 dkH, Mg 1070, inexpensive but can be supplemented cheaply with calcium chloride and magnesium chloride / sulfate to boost calcium & magnesium if desired. RC: Ca 490, Alk 13, Mg 1440, more expensive & really doesn't need supplementation in most cases http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...hreadid=1287118 Calcium Alkalinity Magnesium Aquatic Gardens 430 8 1240 CoraLife 560 9 1380 Crystal Sea Marinemix 340 9 1050 Crystal Sea Marinemix Bio-Assay 340 9 1050 D-D H2Ocean 450 10 1380 Instant Ocean 350 12 1070 Kent 540 11 1200 Marine Environment 480 7.5 1450 Oceanic 580 8.5 1650 OceanPure 510 10 1320 Red Sea 400 8 1300 Red Sea Coral Pro 490 7 1300 Reef Crystals (new) 490 13 1440 Reefer's Best 420 11 1200 SeaChem Marine Salt 500 10 1400 SeaChem Reef Salt 540 10 1450 Tropic Marin 375 10 1230 Tropic Marin Pro Reef 450 8.5 1380 Tunze Reef Salt 420 9.5 1350 Edited July 2, 2009 by Origami2547 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret July 2, 2009 Share July 2, 2009 I use Reef Crystals and I am pretty satisfied with it. Salt is cheaper than Ca additives and you have to use it anyway. Because the new saltwater with RC is closer to the parameters I use in the tank I would think livestock is less shock when I do water changes. It is $10 difference from IO and right now some stores are running discounts on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neilan July 2, 2009 Share July 2, 2009 http://aquariumwatertesting.com/AWT_Salt_Analysis_0208.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret July 2, 2009 Share July 2, 2009 That Coralife salt is looking pretty good. Go figure... not much of a difference between IO and RC... as a matter of fact, from that study I would say IO is a better deal. So many numbers and options, what other brand from that study comes up on top? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate July 2, 2009 Share July 2, 2009 I personally don't like reef crystals mainly because when mixed with water its not fully dissolved. I have found that unless you use warm water, there will be some undissolved stuff in the bottom of the mixing container. I have been using instant ocean for a while and its doing the job. I dose with 2-part so I am not too concerned with the lower levels of calcium and magnesium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onyx July 2, 2009 Share July 2, 2009 We use RC. Never tried IO. Have been happy with it and I don't add anything else to the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchippo July 3, 2009 Share July 3, 2009 So I have used Crystal Sea Bio Assay since the very beginning of my tank and do 10% water changes every week. Latest readings are: Calc 500 Alk 8 pH 8.3 Mag 1350 I run a kalk reactor for four hours at night as a water top off....would that be the reason my Calcium Stays so high? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore July 3, 2009 Share July 3, 2009 So I have used Crystal Sea Bio Assay since the very beginning of my tank and do 10% water changes every week. Latest readings are: Calc 500 Alk 8 pH 8.3 Mag 1350 I run a kalk reactor for four hours at night as a water top off....would that be the reason my Calcium Stays so high? That's a high calcium level. Do you use any Tunze or other propeller circulation pumps? If so, I'm curious as to how often you have to clean them. IME when calcium is that high, I have to clean them every 10 days or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&Fmgr July 3, 2009 Share July 3, 2009 thats very interesting, I just tested the bio-assay...last time I tested it was 3 years ago with salifert kits , this time i was using the seachem reef status kits and the mag and cal and alk was much lower than i thought. Just like the article said. Heres what i did to get it up in 150 gallons: Mag 1400 - 3 quarts 37,000ppm MgCl Calcium 450 - 3 quarts 85,000ppm CaCl Alk - 13dKH - 2 tbs naco2 All in all I think its the best priced salt and you can add bulk elements to increase their values for a very nominal cost. Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchippo July 3, 2009 Share July 3, 2009 Yes - I have two Vortechs. I clean them weekly but is is mostly for algae buildup. That's a high calcium level. Do you use any Tunze or other propeller circulation pumps? If so, I'm curious as to how often you have to clean them. IME when calcium is that high, I have to clean them every 10 days or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchippo July 3, 2009 Share July 3, 2009 Hey Sean, I have used Seachem and Tropic Marin Test kits...in addition to Salifert. I think Salifert is the most accurate but who knows...Seachem gave me low Magnesium readings...so I dosed to raise the level...and ended up over dosing. I had a major die off as a result. thats very interesting, I just tested the bio-assay...last time I tested it was 3 years ago with salifert kits , this time i was using the seachem reef status kits and the mag and cal and alk was much lower than i thought. Just like the article said. Heres what i did to get it up in 150 gallons: Mag 1400 - 3 quarts 37,000ppm MgCl Calcium 450 - 3 quarts 85,000ppm CaCl Alk - 13dKH - 2 tbs naco2 All in all I think its the best priced salt and you can add bulk elements to increase their values for a very nominal cost. Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate July 3, 2009 Share July 3, 2009 I have used Seachem and Tropic Marin Test kits...in addition to Salifert. I think Salifert is the most accurate but who knows...Seachem gave me low Magnesium readings...so I dosed to raise the level...and ended up over dosing. I had a major die off as a result. You had die offs from high magnesium levels??? I have had my magnesium up to almost 2000ppm for a month with no ill affects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchippo July 4, 2009 Share July 4, 2009 That's all I can attribute it to...all other readings were within range. The mag registered about 1100 ppm on Seachem so I kept dosing to try to get it closer to 1350. Started having a lot of coral RTN'ing...literally had big colonies turning white overnight. I had my water tested with a Salifert Magnesium test kit and I was over 2000ppm. The only other suspect at the time was my dosing of Brightwell Vitamin C and Ameno Acids (had recently started dosing them). I welcome other thoughts....Nitrates at that time were 0. You had die offs from high magnesium levels??? I have had my magnesium up to almost 2000ppm for a month with no ill affects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate July 4, 2009 Share July 4, 2009 I had my water tested with a Salifert Magnesium test kit and I was over 2000ppm. I am pretty sure that Salifert Mag tests max out at 1500ppm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhcorals July 5, 2009 Share July 5, 2009 I am pretty sure that Salifert Mag tests max out at 1500ppm... That is true, it does max out at 1500. You have to refill it again and the add it all up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sikryd July 5, 2009 Share July 5, 2009 Instant Ocean is fine for corals. If you are having trouble with corals, it is almost certainly unrelated to the salt mix. If you are not using RO/DI water when you mix up new saltwater, you might have some trouble with calcium precipitation but that depends on what's coming out of the tap. Otherwise, I would check all the other likely suspects when troubleshooting coral health- lighting, water flow/circulation, nutrient levels. If you are having trouble with stony corals but not soft corals, then make sure alkalinity is correct. My guess is if your fish are fine but corals aren't thriving, one of two things is wrong: nitrate (NO3) is higher than you think (make sure test kit is good, keep level below 15ppm) or alkalinity is low (again, test kit may be wrong, aim for 8 DKH/2.5 meq/L). This assumes you have adequate lighting and water flow. Good luck Justin +1000 - IMO Salt mixes don't make a bit of difference unless you already have a pristine tank and are making a minor adjustment for a specific reason. That is true, it does max out at 1500. You have to refill it again and the add it all up. +1 I have had to do that too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchippo July 5, 2009 Share July 5, 2009 Yep, thats what I did. That is true, it does max out at 1500. You have to refill it again and the add it all up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now