instant ocean or reef crystals?

[Myka]

Originally Posted by mr.wilson

Perhaps it is the bad experiences with other "natural" brands like Royal Ocean and Red Sea or maybe I'm just cynical of the bad stuff that comes with the good stuff in natural sea salt. I shouldn't trust man made chemicals over natures gifts, but in the case of dehydrated and supplemented sea salt it isn't exactly natural anymore. I do eat sea salt chips if that's a conciliation

Heh, good point. I have wondered about what else might be in natural sea salt, and hope they have decent filtering methods.

Oh, and sea salt chips are gross, and I'll continue taking a fist full of "natural" supplement pills everyday.

Everyone has a brand they have settled with but it doesn't appear that the debate is as hot as other topics within the hobby.

Mm, no. LED vs MH and Tunze vs EcoTech are much more dramatic recently.

[iceman86]

Reef crystals is my brand, I've been looking onto h2ocean but too many mixed reviews. Plus big als has reef crystals pails for $35 right now

[fishyfishster]

Yeah can't beat the price

[Leah]

I am happy with Instant ocean too!

[mr.wilson]

Originally Posted by fishyfishster

Yeah can't beat the price

Actually you can. If you buy IO and add your own calcium chloride it will cost less than IORC and it will be closer to NSW levels.

The idea of supplementing calcium, alk, magnesium etc. through water changes only works if there is a demand/depletion and if the water changes are large and frequent. A reef tank that is 30 gallons or smaller would benefit from such a salt if weekly water changes of 10% or greater were made. A large tank with infrequent water changes would not benefit from supplementation through water changes. If you are dosing chemicals or using a Ca reactor, there is no need for a salt with level elevated beyond NSW.

H2Ocean and Tropic Marin are both closer to NSW levels than either IO product. Tropic Marin is supposed to be homogeneous, so it is better suited for people who want to use an open bucket over time without compromising quality.

[mr.wilson]

Originally Posted by iceman86

Reef crystals is my brand, I've been looking onto h2ocean but too many mixed reviews. Plus big als has reef crystals pails for $35 right now

On the subject of pails, you should only use them if you are mixing all 160 gallons at the same time to assure it is homogeneous. This is why I prefer the 200 gallon box (4 bags of 50 gallon mix). I'm also too old to be dumping 45lb buckets of salt into 6' high reservoirs

I also find that once you open a bag or bucket the salt tends to clump with humidity thus altering the salt composition.

Keep in mind, these salts are rated at 1.021sg, not 1.025, so a 50 gallon bag will render only 42 gallons of "reef" water.

[mr.wilson]

Originally Posted by Myka

Heh, good point. I have wondered about what else might be in natural sea salt, and hope they have decent filtering methods.

I have no idea how or if they filter the seawater first. The industry is too small to have its own collection and dehydration station, so the salt used would be from the same source as my bag of Miss Vickie's.

I don't know how they remove algae, bacteria and other unwanted incidentals like cigarette butts and needles Apparently orthophosphates are not present so they are removed somehow.

The other question is how salts interact as they dehydrate. Adding salt to an insufficient quantity of water or adding water directly to salt will yield strange results so I would assume the same is true of the dehydration process???

Originally Posted by Myka

Oh, and sea salt chips are gross, and I'll continue taking a fist full of "natural" supplement pills everyday.

Naturally-sourced products have equally as glossy ads and are distributed by huge corporations, so it's hard to tell who and what you are dealing with these days. If you are supplementing daily, there must be a high demand; I hope you are testing before you dose

Originally Posted by Myka

Mm, no. LED vs MH and Tunze vs EcoTech are much more dramatic recently.

Yeah, let's keep this civil and limit the discussion to safe topics like religion and politics.

[Myka]

Originally Posted by mr.wilson

I have no idea how or if they filter the seawater first. The industry is too small to have its own collection and dehydration station, so the salt used would be from the same source as my bag of Miss Vickie's.

This would imply general following of FDA standards.

The other question is how salts interact as they dehydrate. Adding salt to an insufficient quantity of water or adding water directly to salt will yield strange results so I would assume the same is true of the dehydration process???

I have thought about this, and then thought, "I guess they figured it out."

If you are supplementing daily, there must be a high demand; I hope you are testing before you dose

Haha, yes a few things! I do test iron and vitamin d for applicable dosing! Omega 3 and calcium is a guess!

Yeah, let's keep this civil and limit the discussion to safe topics like religion and politics.

[mr.wilson]

Originally Posted by Myka

This would imply general following of FDA standards.

Absolutely... just like tap water... according to local Egypt laws and standards, providing a civil war isn't pending

[Myka]

Originally Posted by mr.wilson

Absolutely... just like tap water... according to local Egypt laws and standards, providing a civil war isn't pending

Soooo cynical!