Good salt, or does not really matter?

[The Grizz]

I switch to IO Reef Crystals for just IO just recently and have notice all my level's way more stable and have not had to add more then the weekly dose of MG, CA, Strontium. Also using KZ's Coral Snow & Aminno Acid.

[lorenz0]

Thanks for the links. its funny, most people i know runnng h2o i know get killer colors. also i remember RBS having MG issues but not that bad, no wonder i am dosing so much

[sphelps]

For the most part, when comparing the basics of each brand, salt is salt and every SPS tank will likely require some kind of Ca and Alk supplement to maintain these levels between water changes. The main difference is in relation to the many other elements that make up each brand of salt and although the exact role of many of these elements is somewhat unknown most will agree they are still important. For the most part you get what you pay for, the more expensive salts will have more and better trace elements overall. I have used almost every brand of salt available in attempts to find the magic brand but unfortunately it doesn't exist. I ended up sticking with Reefers Best because it's a high quality salt that has produced consistent results and it has a higher amount of elements than most. The bottom line is, nutrient export aside, you can get away with smaller water changes in comparison so even though it costs almost double it doesn't actually cost that much more to use. I also prefer RB because it comes in boxes instead of pails, boxes make way more sense to me but others may prefer pails.

The thing also to keep in mind with IO is that most people do use it, but that doesn't mean it's the best, not that it's a bad salt I just wouldn't label it as high quality. IO is the cheapest and most available salt on the market. Most who use it will use it for this reason and many haven't used much else. So for this reason you're always going to see IO at the top of most polls.

[Parker]

I had an issue with an online vendor some time ago and as resolution to the problem I was compensated with salt, 7 pails worth of Seachem. I can honesly say I will NEVER buy Seachem salt again once these pails are gone. My biggest problem, I have to heat the hell out of it to get it to completley disolve other wise is mixes up with a milky color and stays that way. I've let it mix for a week with no improvement. I have a maximod in ea 50 gallon mixing container and I also have a pump that pushes 900 gallons an hour, it should mix! lol

[Dez]

Originally Posted by lorenz0

Thanks for the links. its funny, most people i know runnng h2o i know get killer colors. also i remember RBS having MG issues but not that bad, no wonder i am dosing so much

I use Reefer's Best and since December I've dumped in almost 20 lbs of Littlesilver Max's Magnesium in I maintain my Mg at about 1350, and I test every couple of weeks and add as needed. I am experimenting with half and half of Seachem's new Salinity salt and Reefer's best right now on my weekly water changes. Have done 2 so far and things seem to be the same.