Salt: Reef Crystals vs H2Ocean

[daniella3d]

I tried H2O for a few months because I was told that I would not have to dose anymore...wrong..I had to dose the same amount. So not only did I have to pay 32$ more for the H2O bucket but I had some zoanthids starting to shrink and melting. I switched to Reef Crystal and no more problem with my zoas and all my coral are happy.

I have been using Reef Crystal for about a year and will stay with it. I pay 56$ for a 160 gallons bucket vs 89$ for H2O and I get better results with RC.

[imisky]

you can also just grab instant ocean (RC is made by IO) and buffer it with calcium chloride + baking soda to bring the levels up. and it'll work just as well as RC at an even cheaper price.

$38/bucket of IO
2-3+ yrs supply of calcium and alk to buffer the water ($20) it'll buffer a good 3-4 buckets of 160g buckets

salt is salt, IMO someone can argue that there's extra trace elements in the more expensive ones but unless we can test it for cheap we'll never be able to tell what those trace elements are.

if RC or H20 are the only two you are looking at my vote is RC as well

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

One of my friends who is well known for her coral growing abilities has always used IO with great success.

[Myka]

Originally Posted by imisky

you can also just grab instant ocean (RC is made by IO) and buffer it with calcium chloride + baking soda to bring the levels up. and it'll work just as well as RC at an even cheaper price.

You shouldn't need to add sodium bicarbonate to IO, but you will need to add magnesium and calcium! IO usually tests at 11 dKH for me, only 1150 ppm magnesium, and only 360-380 ppm calcium. My only real complaint about IO is the alkalinity is too high for my liking. I keep alkalinity in my reef 7-8 dKH, so if I do a big water change I get a big alkalinity swing. That was one of my main reasons for switching to H2Ocean. Even though the numbers of the H2Ocean are nicer I didn't notice any benefit in my reef after using it for 14 months. My reef is back on IO. I have tried most of the salts on the market, and I have never found my inhabitants to care which salt I used. That's the ultimate factor I think.

[Werbo]

I mix IO and RC. As Myka mention IO calcium is around 360-380. RC calcium is about 450. mixed at 50/50 calcium comes out at 410 but Alk is still a little high for my liking at 11 dKH.

Warning: I have heard that mixing salts can cause "stuff" to precipatate out but so far IO and RC mix just fine.

Oceanic salt is cheap, has a lower dKH but is also high in calcium. I may try mixing Oceanic with IO but the closest I can find Oceanic salt is in Bellingham.

*I'm gonna try bringing 100lbs of white powdery stuff across the border and tell the gaurds it is for my fish tank

[born]

Originally Posted by Tyler Werbowski

*I'm gonna try bringing 100lbs of white powdery stuff across the border and tell the gaurds it is for my fish tank

hahah!!!

[Aquaria]

I change 20% once a week and I have not been dosing alk since starting I also haven't done a test in a while so on Sunday-mon when I do my w/c I'll test tank currently test new water and test the tank after the change and I'll post my findings All I know is my tank has visibly improved since switching so it obviously likes the salt more then standard IO

[lastlight]

Originally Posted by Myka

I keep alkalinity in my reef 7-8 dKH, so if I do a big water change I get a big alkalinity swing.

This is the one issue I have with RC... the Calcium spike because as you said it tests at 450 (tests even higher for me). My 400 tested at Ca 480 and I've yet to begin dosing Ca due to this as levels are dropping much slower in 4x the volume.

[daniella3d]

solution, change less of the water but more often.. I now change 15% every 2 weeks instead of changing 30% once a month. just 15% does not change the alkalinity too much and I stop dosing for a day since I don't need to for a day or 2, then I resume my dosing pumps.

The more I got in alkalinity raise was 8.5 and I keep mine at 7.5

Originally Posted by lastlight

This is the one issue I have with RC... the Calcium spike because as you said it tests at 450 (tests even higher for me). My 400 tested at Ca 480 and I've yet to begin dosing Ca due to this as levels are dropping much slower in 4x the volume.

[lastlight]

Originally Posted by daniella3d

solution, change less of the water but more often.

Yeah this is only a minor complaint of mine because normally I only do 10-15% weekly and factor the small increase into my dosing schedule.

Every now and then I like to do a larger change though and this is when It's a bit annoying.