Reefers Best Salt
 

Does anyone know where I can get Reefers Best salt and Zeovit products in Edmonton? I'm running out of salt and thought I would give this stuff a try to see if it lives up to the hype or not.

Marine Aquaria...check first

blue world has a lot of zeovit stuff too

Thanks guys! I've bought livestock from both of these places but never really looked at their dry goods as I usually get most of it on-line with the exception of salt because shipping is a killer.

Marine Aquaria for sure, most of the time they've got all the Zeo products in stock and they've got a pile of Reefer's Best salt.

I would suggest ordering from JL Aquatics. I find them to be the cheapest and shipping is free. When I order, I usually get my shipment in 2 days.

I have never been dissappointed, even order all my other supplements, dosing and maintenance items from them.

If u can wait, J&L is cheaper, and shipping only takes 2 days
if u need it right away, Marine Aquaria would be the place.

I wasn't sure that the free shipping at JL's would apply to heavy items such as salt. I guess this is not the case?

Thanks for the replies!

Free shipping...nope

I thought it was too good to be true.:sad: I just went onto JL's website and put 2 buckets (to get the over $100 free shipping) in my cart to see about shipping and it came out to $43.00 not $0.00. I'll see what Marine Aquaria sells it for next week.

I just did the same thing, shipping was $43... Wow, I guess they don't sell much salt then... I buy everything else from them. I think JL needs to rework things for salt and heavier items.

I guess, get your LFS to bring some in... Personally I feel Reefer's Best is overrated. I run a full Zeovit system but use Reef Crystals and have never had an issue. And the salt is about 40% cheaper.

it was around $100 for it at marine aqua but if you tell them its 89 at j&l i am shure thay will match it
it is also on backorder at j&l

on a side note i used one case of it on my frag system running zeovit i felt it was a wast of money
same results with io or coralife for half the price :mrgreen:

No better eh? I'm using Seachem Reef Salt right now and it's OK but I don't like my alk readings from it. Also even with 2-pt dosing my corals are growing very slow IMO so I thought I would try something new. What brand are you using now? Seems like I should just go back to IO and continue dosing.

price
 

100 or 110 a box

I would go to IO or Reef Crystals... In my opinion, this is the grandfather of all salts... It has been around forever and they remain in the market all these years, while other salts come and go. So they must be half decent. I use it because it works well and because they are nothing new.

i have been staying with my coralife just as good as io in my opinion

Take a look at what you're trying to accomplish and what's important to you.

For fish only, cheap salts like IO, seachem, and whatnot do the trick just fine.

However, if you're getting into more demanding corals and performance matters to you, it may be worth
it to you to be able to rely upon both consistency between batches and properly balanced levels, especially
Ca, KH, Mg, and K; which is not offered in economy salts.

We use seachem reef for our fish, and Reefer's best for our corals.

I disagree with you, I have probably about 100 or so SPS, LPS and Zoa's, all doing just fine with the Zeovit System and using Reef Crystals at $55 a bucket... You can't call Reef Crystals lower end, they have been around longer than any other salt manufacturer... Actually Dennis at Gold's Aquarium did some testing on several salts and found Reefer's Best NO BETTER than the others, this is the reason he no longer carries it, as he says why buy it if it isn't actually better. Just my 2 cents.

I'd argue the fact that it's the full Zeo system doing all the work to keep your corals in check. Not the RC salt.

Plus with 100 or so SPS, LPS and Zoa's, you can't possibly be keeping your Alk/Ca/Mg in check with just water changes?

What kit are you using to test your alk with seachem? I use seachem as well and love it. Anything other then a seachem test kit will report way low. Seachem I believe is the only kit that tests for borate, the major contributer to alk in their reef salt, and in the ocean. Its a great salt with an odd albeit natural quirk.

Your statement is funny because denis told me vortect pumps were no better than any other pump and that's why golds doesn't carry them.
could it be that if golds doesn't sell products like zeovit, reeflo sequence pumps and reefers bests etc etc. that denise thinks its no good??
It looks like from other threads you don't take his advice on everything (vortech and zeovit)
I use reefers best salt and am amazed with its quality compared to instant ocean. I did buy it from j+l and the shipping killed me.

Does anyone know where i can get it in southern Alberta I have just moved here and would like to have a local source.

Red coral sells RB salt for $100 or something like that

I am going to stir the pot with you about J&L. For one shipping is done by weight mostly unless the item is oversided. Salt is one hell of a product to ship due to the weight and they would be lossing alot of money by offering free shipping on it. Saying free shipping on powerheads, heaters, skimmers, pumps... is easy cause they all don't weight like 60 pounds and shipping them is cheap. Talk to any LFS about why they bring in alot of salt at once instead of just a few buckets.

Actually Dennis doesn't carry Vortech's anymore, because he had nothing but problems (even the one he ran on his SPS tank broke, Gen1 version)... this was during generation 1 days, of which we all know there were issues. Dennis has a bad taste about them now, and won't try the new versions for stocking, but he is more than happy to bring them in for you. As you may know I just recently (2 weeks ago) finally bought my first vortech. I too was reluctant, because of such problems, this is why I did my research and also polled what people said, now saying that, I now own a gen 2 MP40W

He also doesn't carry Zeovit anymore, because the supplier keeps selling it at pricing where Dennis can't make any money... So why sell it when he only makes a couple bucks on a $60 bottle. I am a business owner and can understand his decision, why stock have overhead for very little profit.

So there is nothing funny here, I know Dennis quite well and don't just say things cuz... I do have the ability to back my comments up, and if you wish to question Dennis on this, you will find what I say to be true. If you wish to question me on anything else I may of said in any other thread, I am more than happy to back it up and give you my reasoning on things.

I stand by my comments, Reef Crystals is a good salt... I would consider it to be the grandfather of all salts, try to find another that has been around as long as this one. Is it the BEST, maybe not... but it works well. So in my opinion you do not need to spend 40-50% more for salt... but if you want to, go for it... If you see good results, GREAT! I can also say I have great results and I spend much less.

Wow, before making comments like this, you should ask what I do and how I manage my setup... Who said I only do water changes! It sure wasn't me! yes I am running full Zeo, no I don't use Reefers best salt.... You don't have to, to be running full Zeo.

I test and dose for trace, strontium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and so forth... So yes, there is alot involved (in alot of cases, daily maintenance), especially as I don't run any Kalk reactors or dosing pumps, so it is a manual process for me (of which I like it this way) Don't assume, AS YOU ARE WRONG!

I get quit peaved of the ignorance of some. When I comment, it is to give my perspective (Right or Wrong), what has worked for me, what has failed... Always to often, people take what is said and bash... Take my advice and others for what it is, then decide for yourself what you wish to do with it or use in your own aquarium setup... There is never any reason for posts like this one from JDigital

Hey LorenzO, you are not stirring anything... I buy alot from JL, as they are much cheaper for bulk items, Zeo and so forth... I have always bought my salt from Golds for $55 per bucket, never bought from JL as I knew that $5 was added for heavier items, so thought it not worth it... But I see that it really isn't worth it because of the shipping also. However JL is still cheaper for the normal stuff (as you say, the lighter things) and shipping is free.

I should also say that I buy large quantities of the carbon, calcium, mg, and so on, so this gets quite heavy, and shipping is still free. However, probably never as heavy as 1 bucket of salt. With the size of my aquarium and what I dose overall, it isn't cheap and JL saves me alot of money compared to any LFS in Calgary buying the same stuff.

I didn't know that the Seachem test kits would compensate for the borate in their salt. I have been using an API kit to test but I must admit I'm not having any problems with my fish or corals (other than what I think is slow growth) and no nusance algae to speak of. I just thought I would try something new to see if it had a positive reaction in my tank. The only thing that I think died on me in the last 10 months is a Dragon goby, which is my fault as I switched tanks awhile back but put all new sand in so I think I starved him. Never saw a body though so maybe there's hope. I work at the UofA so I stopped in to talk to the marine biology guys and found they use seachem reef salt but they most only have fish, sea apples and anemones not so much in corals.

if your doing full zeo, what is your ph at using instant ocean?
I started to use zeo and the reactor and was told that my salt was not good for the zeo system that requires a low ph.
if your running instant ocean you must be doing something to drop your ph before adding to your tank..
my choice of salt is seachem and i stopped using zeo only as i didnt want to change salts.
as you can see reef crystals is low in calcium, so your spending about the same amount of money to add supplemental calcium to your tank as you would for the recomened salt for a full zeo system.

http://z.about.com/d/saltaquarium/1/...ntsenh_500.JPG

Zeos thread on seachem and ph
http://www.zeovit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6849

I buy most of my stuff from JL as well as usually the prices can't be beat locally and are on par with US prices without conversion. I also sometimes use Big Al's online because if they have the same items they will beat any online (canadian) price by 5%, a couple years back I got a light and skimmer from BA's and they had to take over $500 off their price (way over priced to begin with). I'm leaning now more to trying out a bucket of Reef Crystals first as it is a very popular salt among many reefers. I honestly don't know if it really matters which salt I use but I like to change things up every now and then!

My PH is a constant 8.3, I can even say that I never have had an issue with PH, where I have ever dosed to bring up or down... Management of PH with buffers has never been done on this system.

Also I should state that my Alk is between 7-8, proper ranges for Zeo. Alk can fluctuate, so I test twice a week and manage this with buffers, again very cheap in bulk supply from JL... Usually I need to raise ALK, if I see it starting falling. I don't have issues with high ALK, like others, it is with low ALK if there are any issues.

Yes, I dose calcium, but no I don't spend more... I buy bulk from JL and it is very cheap.... Still cheaper than buying Reefers Best

I should state that buying supplements in crystal form is the cheapest way to do things, when buying the liquids it can cost much more... Buying crystals is very cheap, I then premix and have ready for future use... I have calculated my mixes and dosing's that work for me, and tend to supplement twice a week... Again this was done over time, and my regime works for me... With regular testing, I can then top off anything that may be needed, outside of the normal twice a week dosing regime already in place.

I am currently using B-Ionic 2 part but was going to switch to bulk powder form as you correctly stated that it is much cheaper. Have you by any chance tried the mix your own 2 part from Bulk Reef Supply? It says that the kit makes about 8 gallons + 4 gallons of magnesium for about $60, it sounds like a good deal but I haven't tried it myself.

I argued the claim of your tanks success was because of your salt choice, when in fact it could be any number of reasons which.... You just clarified what you hadn't mentioned earlier. That you have an extensive dosing regiment. Did I make an assumption? You bet! And I was RIGHT.

Our tank success doesn't just come down to the brand of salt, as you have clearly stated that you have a daily maintenance routine (quite extensive even) to manage your levels. All of these things weigh in to affect the tanks quality. So why back a product so strongly when the success could be from so many differing factors? (Zeo, dosing regiment, feeding, etc)

I have tested the salts I've used against each other as well and found that RC was lacking in CA and Alk from other brands that I have used since. With RC I had to dose my water change water just to get it to match my tank... with other salts, specifically Aquamedic and H2Ocean, my WC water is about as close to my tank levels as I'm gonna get which saves me from having to dose WC water AND my tank. That translates into savings on my dosing products. A bucket of salt @ $90 bucks lasts far longer than my dosing products which cost $15-25/bottle.


PS: Don't get me started on ignorance.

I personally haven't used this product, but am interested in others reviews on it.

I am using the following in crystal form:
Seachem Reef Advantage Calcium - 1KG for $23.80 @ JL
Seachem Reef Advantage Magnesium - 2.2KG for $22.55 @ JL
Seachem Reef Advantage Strontium - 1KG for $12.60 @ JL
Tailored Aquatics Pottassium, Zeovit K-Balance - use a combination of both, mostly Zeo, but when extra needed, dosing with Tailored Aquatics, mainly because I have a big bottle, and don't want to waste it.

I can say the above will make alot more than the other stuff, for less money... I can't say how what you asked about is different, but what I use works well.

I never stated that my success was solely on salt, again you assume that I made that claim... You are correct, a successful tank has a variant of things involved.

If you are using liquid form for dosing, that is where you went wrong... that way is always more expensive (I too learned the hard way in the beginning). I now use crystal form (where possible), as I stated in a previously post, costs are very minimal and you get a large volume out of it... Now you have to prepare it, but that is ok with me. you pay much more for liquids for the convenience factor.

Your comments about backing a product... Again I am just stating that I use Reef Crystals and it works well for me, so I don't pay extra for the more expensive salt... you are reading much more into things than needed.

Everyone remember this, what works for one individual, may not work for others... Everyone has different views, and that is all it is, Views... Take what info you wish and roll with it and make your own decisions.

lets move forward!

Ive been using seachem for a good year now and i love the stuff, alk comes out constantly at 9dkH as long as u mix the bucket before you scoop and its also within the zeovit parameters in terms of alk, alot of people on the zeo forum actually use it on there system instead of RBS. You have a good salt and as stated by all the others the salt is not what makes the tank, there's about a hundred other factors that contribute. imo...salt is just salt, eventually your tank will stabilize at a set of parameters before you have to start dosing and if you can get it to constantly stay at that "magical number" parameter then you got it. you'll end up dosing anyways....so an expensive salt is just that...an expensive salt go for what you feel your moneys worth and if its the $110 or whatever RBS costs then go for it!

Porches are the same as dodges then i suspect.
They both do forward and backwards, one just costs more??
Im on the side of you get what you payfor.
And seachem is still a good salt just reefers best probably drives alot faster.

are porches and dodges both not cars(sounds like you are saying they are different)? if they arent then prove me wrong please:razz:
from talking to the reefers around who have used RBS i havent heard of a person who said that once they switched to RBS they got faster growth, more coraline algae, and more color. in fact most of them have switched back to whatever salt they were using before they switched as they found nothing different after using RBS, as they all had reactors or was auto-dosing 2 part to (and would be crazy if you didnt while doing SPS tanks)

just food for thought, if you are on the side of you get what you pay for, would using NSW collected a distance away from the coast be "slower" than the RBS when used? although i agree that RBS is probably one of the better brand salts out there, there are other brands which do just as good of a job with a few additives (Mg,Ca buff) before adding it into the tank and it'll be just as good imo..but thats just me

im done here on this.

This is exactly the point......all salts will work.....with the less expensive brands, you will need to dose more... premium brands will cost more to begin with but you will need to dose less...plain and simple....independent studies have proven this...

Has anyone tried the new Brightwell's salt? I'm wanting to try it (over my next choice DD), as apparently the mix is 100% synthetic, apparently assuring a more consistent mix from batch to batch.

As for quality of salts, I'm sure the difference between is a small one, but if that 5% or whatever difference is worth it to you, then go for it. I for one figure that the $30-$50 difference is a cheap one gallon to gallon considering the cost of just about everything else that's needed to maintain the tank.

For me, I'll pay to play with the more expensive salts - if they're worth the extra money for my system is my opinion, just like the justification for just about everything else that I buy/do to my system.

At the end of the day, if I'm happy with it, and not doing anything outwardly wrong, then to hell with all of your opinions :p

+1, Before Reefers Best what did you all use, and you would of said it was the best also, at that time... So I agree with FishyTime...

I use Reef Crystals, it works for me and I have a nice tank... I also state that is it the Best, probably/maybe not, but again it works for me, and yes I dose.

The problem with forums, and I am at fault at times also, is that everyone is so reactive to get their point of view in there, so much that it comes across as bashing... We all need to take a step back and remember that we are all in this hobby because we love it, and I don't think anyone here really wants to hurt anyone else. Everything is a point of view, right or wrong, and someones mistake can hopefully save someone else, but someones find can again help others.

Have fun all!