Salt....

[X-Treme]

Just for curiosity.......... what is everyone using.... or what does everyone think is the best all around salt?

[Chaotic Cricket]

Originally Posted by X-Treme

Just for curiosity.......... what is everyone using.... or what does everyone think is the best all around salt?

Oh god you didn't just ask this did you....here we go

I think they are all much the same. I've used Instant Ocean reg and reef crystals, tropic, Oceanic, Kent, A few others i cannot seem to find in Canada anymore. Currently I use OceanPure Pro simply because I needed a batch of salt and forgot to order from my supplier. It tests quite well on par with others, better than some, worse than others. I think for salt unless you get a "BAD" batch it's mostly the same. There are few higher grade "scientific" brands out there that seem to be used by a few institution type places, but when you learn that a few huge aquariums and research places (when not using real ocean water) use the likes of instant ocean its hard to justify the nearly double cost of them. I would say use the stuff you get the best deal on, without buying the cheapy stuff because there is a slight difference. Everyone always argues this has 2% more of this or 5% less of that blah blah. But most of these tests are based on someone who is stubbornly claiming what they use is the best and they lack the equipment to do REAL testing, since most test kits we purchase can be proven to read diffrently on the same samples. I found small things like time it takes to mix fully, how well it stores if i leave it open by accident, what kind of sedimentation is left over if a leave it for awhile etc are little things that keep me using a brand. When world renowned scientists admit they are unsure of the makeup of natural seawater (what exactly is in it) i find it hard to believe the "chemists" at the salt places do either. That being said majority of people i've seen use instant ocean reg or reef crystals soley for the fact (imo) it's so readily available and good deals on it are usually had.

[marie]

I use instant ocean. It probably isn't the best but it's kept my animals alive for years so it can't be all bad

[EmilyB]

Kent for 8 years now. Missed the bad batch thank God, but glad it's back.

[niloc16]

instant ocean for me. its always done my fish and corals well. some people mix brands for a new batch of saltwater to gain the benefits of both salt mixes. just an idea

[Joe Reefer]

Reef Crystals

[Raf]

I have used Coralife, Instant Ocean and Kent, out of those, I use Kent as I find the IO is slow to disolve and I dislike the format the Coralife salt is packaged in the buckets. I am sure there may be better salt than Kent, but for the $$, it is damn good.

[Pescador]

I'm using Tropic Marin Pro, I've used IO and Reef Crystals in the past but I like how Tropic Marin mixes up without any residue left behind. I had a hair algae problem that cleared up when I switched but I can't say 100% that it was just the salt.