The test that Dr Ron did aside for now ( lots of controversy there ... some merited and some not ) ... this salt has been used in laboratory and public aquarium conditions for years ... I am in no way defending it by saying so because I have not tried it but there are as many success stories as there are " bleach " stories too :eek:

There seems to be some anecdotal evidence to suggest that it might not be all that friendly to algae ( in many forms ) but it seems to also be beneficial to fry of all kinds ... very curious indeed :confused:

Cheers

i've heard of aquariums using IO as well...

if shimek tested all the brands of salt except CS, instead taking the CS specs off of the box, then to me the study is rather useless.

This is from Dr Mac an online retailer in the US ...

Now I never get any residue when I mix salt.. not once.. I mix it to 1.026 or a little higher. I put it into a bunch of cold RO and then mix it with my paint mixer for 5 min.. totaly desolved. if I use a power head it takes a couple hours. the paint mixer was the best thing I have bought for my tank yet.. go figure :rolleyes:

I do not dispute that it might be better but what I do dispute is a lot of people's reason for changing.. the main one being because Dr. so and so said it was better in a article.. if you look at previous tests that were done it actualy tested out to very different values than it claimes..

As for Dr. Mac's responce that you posted

"My reason for the switch was that MEI was more open to working with me with direct purchases than IO and MEI is fairly local for me. "

to me that says that because MEI would sell directly to him and not though a reseller, and that it was closer, his costs would be a lot cheeper.

Money it is all about money, the cheeper you can get it the more you will make selling it... and of course you are not going to say anything bad about the hand that feeds you, not good business after all.

I look at every statment by a bussiness with a sceptical eye and take it with a grain of salt (pardon the pun :mrgreen: ) not that they are crooked or anything like that but they have to make a living as a business and any business man when it comes down to the wire will look after himself first.

Heck maby we should be buying PI water to mix out salt in.. :eek: :razz: :lol:

Steve

I understand your scepticism with Dr Mac but think about this for a second ... who has more to lose by bleached corals for the sake of a couple bucks ? ... does the manufacturer have some secret deal with Dr Mac to replace bleached corals as long as Dr Mac keeps endorsing the product ? ... if you think about it you know that is not true ( not that it is not possible and would make a good " made for TV script of big business corruption " and all but just not very likely :lol: )

Here is how I see it so far ... there seems to be an aclimation that the corals go through in changing salts and the smaller the change increases your chance for success. Also by following the procedures that those that have used it sucessfully have done would be prudent.


EDIT ... for those that dont know already Dr Mac sells CORALS :eek:
Cheers

I didn't like the trace element break down of Dr. Shimek's test either since those weren't gathered consistently (some were from old test results, some were from publications) and I ignore it. However, I don't think the test is completely useless and haven't seen a reason to discredit the results of the urchin tests itself. More uchin larvae died in one type of salterwater over the other. That's a fact. However way you decide to interpret the results is up to you. Some people believe that the causes of urchin larvae deaths might also be detrimental to other marine organisms so they change. Other people think that the causes of urchin larvae death will not be detrimental to other marine organisms so they won't change. To me, it doesn't matter if the reason was metal or not. As long as the experiment was controlled and all else remained equal, one salt had different results than the other. Of course he only tested from 1 bag of each salt I think (correct me if I'm wrong) and that was one of the issues with the experiment.

Now, if Dr. Mac and Son's Corals business decided to switch salts, I don't think its necessarily only because they can get a better salt deal with MEI. I think it is in their best interest to get the better salt. Suppose Crystal Sea was a bad salt and bleached all of their corals. That would ruin their business. By making this entire switch, they have shown a lot of faith in the Crystal Sea product.

Rasta, I just read your last message and noticed we had the same conclusion wrt Dr Mac. :mrgreen: I'm just a slower typer. :mrgreen:

Not slower ... just more to say LOL :smile:

Here is a scenario that may hurt the pride of some that have had the bleaching :idea:

You ever hear the saying " Tis a poor carpenter that blames his tools " ?

What are the consistencies with those having trouble switching over as opposed to those that show no adverse effects ?

Cheers

I do not believe that the other salt caused bleaching either, but rather the spead at which people do change overs.. yes there could be differences in the salts so doign large changes will only lead to a sudden change and hence stress, I think if you did small water changes like 5% and smaller for a long time you would not notice any ill effects.

I do not say one is better than the other, I am just skeptical of the way in which the testing was done and how so many people jumped on the band wagon in the US based on a unscientific test in a online article.

but when you think of it.. this is par for almost everything in this hobby. one person says something and every one buys it.. thats why I spent 2000.00 or more on lights I didn't need :rolleyes:

now as for report od Mysis and such .. I use IO and I have more bugs than I can shake a stick at.. my mandrin is fat and content and I still see copopods, worms, mysis, and others that I do not know what they are called. this stuff all road in on rock I bought and multiplied. Maby I would have more with Bio Assy maby I woulden't but I have 220 more gallons of IO to mix up befor I even think of switching.. also there is the fact of no one on the Island selling it or I might have bought a small bag and tried a comparason in a small tank.

It just seams funny to me that because one person says this is better than that all of a sudden the brand (IO ) that makse up a good majority of the market share in salt.. is sudenly no good.. when 2 days befor it was the most recomended salt you could find.

Steve

I don't really know what caused the jump in my mysid shrimp population in my tank. I've had my tank for 18 months now and only this past month, I've seen dozens of mysis shrimp. I still have all the amphipods and bristle worms and spaghetti worms like before with IO salt but never before was there an outbreak of mysid shrimp like now. Maybe it was just a matter of time and I was due regardless of the salt but I thought I'd throw this coincidental development out for discussion. I suppose I could switch back to IO and see if all the mysid shrimps disappear, to be sure. :mrgreen:


Steve, by the way, when you say "need" as in spending $2,000 for lights that you don't need, what does that mean? Do you mean that the $2,000 lights did not give the results that you were hoping for as compared to your older lights? I didn't need to upgrade to MH either but my sps colors sucked.