Personally I think saving 10 bucks to support a store that you feel gave you bad advice, and otherwise avoid, is not good reason. JMO

First off, please don't think I was insinuating your cheap as I was not. :)

I agree it is confusing with all the options, anecdotal internet info and marketing hype.

I use the H2Ocean because I like the fact it is an evaporated seawater based salt, but this means it will have some organics in it.

What do you mean by caked with clay? What colour is it? Does vinegar or bleach remove it? I usually clean my mixing tub every 6 months as it builds up a brownish residue. It is a Rubbermaid 300 gallon fiberglass tub. I also mix the salt in a 40 gallon glass aquarium and I do notice an organic build up but it wipes off with a wet cloth.

I think that since you are testing the main parameters you will avoid a lot of potential issues. I would also test for ammonia and if the batch is cloudy after 24 hrs I would not use it. It should also not cause the tank to go cloudy.

It's good logic that if you have to add stuff you might as well go with the cheap reliable salt, but there could be other deficiencies. In my search to replace IO I tried a new Reef Grade Salt from Thailand that was being introduced to the North American market. A friend recommended it so I tried it. I had a 10" tort rtn the next morning and all the acros looked horrible. This was after a 20% water change. Turns out they forgot to put potassium in the batch. I did over 600 gallons of water change in 24hrs before the system stabilized enough to put the acros back in. I learned my lesson from that experience and now stick with a high quality salt and test it before use.

I think the key to success still boils down to testing every batch to make certain you know what you are putting into your tank regardless if its a $29 bucket of IO or $100 box of reefer's best.

fwiw


i dont know of a single salt that is consistent, problem free or perfect;)

trust me there's not lol

buyer beware that you need to test to be sure what your adding:)

Hi Rich,

When I started my first tank in the late 70's I used IO. When I started Seacare in 1999 I used IO. I have had a lot of positive experience using 1000's of gallons of IO. My decision to change was not lightly made. 3 years ago I started to notice instability in the parameters. I discussed this with them and think I got a customer service person that was either not knowledgeable or not paying attention. The parameter instability happened several times so I decided to switch. I like to keep things as consistent as possible so even if they have corrected the issue I won't know.

Cheers,
Tim

I agree 100%. We need to know what we're putting into our tanks and if it doesn't look right we need to be prepared to turf it. That's why I mentioned that Foz Down is LaCL based... so people know and can trust it.


I think it also extends to every business. Everyone has good and bad days and businesses are run by people. :)

I didn't think you were insulting me Tim, all good. Just saying if it was truly worth the extra money for proper levels and rock solid consistency then I'm down. I'll post a pic of the clay in my mixing bin when I get home. It's tan in colour, and quite hard like baked clay. Vinegar or bleach may remove it, but haven't tried, then again another reason why it makes me think I'm spending the extra money for what? Cleaning my mixing bin once in a while like every few batches is easy with IO. It's only a 10 gallon rolling garbage bin luckily
Brad is really making me think twice about going to king Ed for salt, I dont like the idea of spending any money at a place I don't trust, was just thinking about saving which I'm a big fan of, 3 buckets at a time saves $30
However, compared to driving to Petsmart (3mins away) who will price match JL will also save some time. JL and King Ed are both about 25 mins away x2 plus shopping and paying = over an hour. I was literally walking out the door to drive to King Ed when I read Brads post and have taken a detour to Starbucks, hmmm and mmmm. Again the dilemmas in choosing salt, whatta topic.

I'm just a fan of supporting the guy that helps me when I need it. I spend more for salt at my LFS than I could get it elsewhere, but all the times he rescued me gets my business. Nothing against KE, just the concept of supporting a place you're unhappy with. Most don't think that way, and now I'm out of a LFS to go to.

Well, if I wanted, could probably find fault with every LFS that I have visited. People and staff are not perfect, and you have to give them some slack. I do stop into King Ed's when I am in that part of town, and is where I buy my IO salt at $30 a pail. Never had a problem with IO salt and use it all the time.

While my IO salt parameters are not always consistent they don't vary enough to affect my tank with the amount of water I change. I just check my parameters frequently and adjust my dosing as required. I actually like the higher alk, as it supplements my dosing.

Been buying my IO from KE's pretty much from day 1. It's not a sale price but rather a continuing one

FWIW, my current bucket of IO is giving me 12.10, 470 and 1305, but only after a lot of rolling