instant ocean or reef crystals?

[Madreefer]

Originally Posted by Myka

I used to feel the same way as Darryl and Tony about Instant Ocean, but having made the change back and forth between IO and H2Ocean 4 times I've noticed a significant change in my reef tanks each time. I won't use IO on my reefs anymore, I've decided IO is for FO tanks only. I haven't used RC on my reefs in many years, but every once in awhile I use it on my FO tanks when I can't get IO. Besides, H2Ocean is natural sea salt - there has to be a difference using natural sea salt as opposed to synthetic sea salt...there has to be.

What changes have you noticed? You've posted a few times that most of your hicups are when you are away from your tank for extended times. You as well as most anybody else know that tank recoveries are not quick. So if your tank has recovered is it due to you changing of salts or maintaining them better? I'd love to try the H2O salt but it's hard enough to get IO in my town.

[Myka]

I posted just before you, check the bottom of page 1.

My salt changes don't correlate with the times where my tank went from my care to the tank sitter's care. The first time I changed to H2Ocean was while the tank sitter was looking after the tank, but he had been looking after the tank for many months before the salt change. This last salt change was several weeks before the tank sitter was looking after the tank. I tend not to make a bunch of changes at a time so I can see how my tank reacts to each change so I know which ones are worthwhile. I had similar questions as you, and didn't really believe it was the salt until I made the change this time and looked back in my documentation and photos, and now I'm fairly sure it is indeed the salt. Fwiw, the tank sitter is actually doing quite a good job on the 90-gallon reef this time. There was some algae bloom, so I changed my feeding protocol for him and upgraded from two Koralia 3 to a Tunze 6105 4 weeks ago and added a second 6105 on Christmas Day. This upgrade created a much more significant change in the tank than the salt change ever did.

I think a lot of people try a new salt for one bucket which for some people may only be a couple months of waterchanges. I don't think that is enough. I think you need at least 6 months to assess a different salt. I took about a year.

[asylumdown]

Originally Posted by Myka

I used to feel the same way as Darryl and Tony about Instant Ocean, but having made the change back and forth between IO and H2Ocean 4 times I've noticed a significant change in my reef tanks each time. I won't use IO on my reefs anymore, I've decided IO is for FO tanks only. I haven't used RC on my reefs in many years, but every once in awhile I use it on my FO tanks when I can't get IO. Besides, H2Ocean is natural sea salt - there has to be a difference using natural sea salt as opposed to synthetic sea salt...there has to be.

+1. I started using H2Ocean because I was doing 100% water changes on a 5 gallon pico every week and I needed something that mixed clear within the first couple of hours. It was a bonus that the corals never seemed to be too upset with it either. Now it's all I use on my big tank, which is a bummer because it's ridiculously expensive, and I find that per weight, you need more of it to reach the right salinity compared to other brands. I was thinking of changing, buuuuut:

I'm using IO on my QT tanks for the tank transfer method because it's the cheapest there is, and I picked up a couple buckets on a SWEET boxing day deal at Big Al's. Because I'm only using 15 gallon tanks, and they're right next to a sink, I'm filling the tanks and mixing the salt in them directly (not mixing it in a bucket and transferring it). Even within one bucket of IO, the mix is so inconsistent. I always get to the right salinity with the expected volume of salt, but one one transfer, it will mix relatively clear and be totally clear in an hour, but the next mix, a thick, white film will deposit on every surface of the tank, with a white film floating on the surface. Then the next transfer it will be half way between the first and the second in terms of precipitate and cloudiness. I've only done 4 transfers total at this point, but I also mix the H2Ocean directly in the water change chamber of my sump, and I've never once had an issue with the mix leaving weird residues in my tank.

Plus the fact that my tank is really hitting it's stride and starting to look like I always wanted it to... I would just love it if H2Ocean wasn't nearly 100 bucks a bucket

[mr.wilson]

I consider salt brand selection as dealing with a known evil. It's easy for us to use the salt brand as a scape goat for the many unknowns out there when our tanks go awry. Salt often takes the fall for vibrio (bacterial infections), reef parasites such as acropora eating flatworms (AEFW) and montipora eating nudibranchs (MEN), as well as secondary metabolites (coral toxins). These are hard conditions to diagnose and even harder to treat, but changing salt is simple, and more importantly "somebody else's fault"

I'm not suggesting for a second that salt mixes are not to blame for downturns and tank crashes, these can and do happen. Some people change salt brands annually to provide more varied and balanced water chemistry. Perhaps that one loose end parameter such as iodide or potassium will fall in line with a brand change. Perhaps your current salt mix has a surplus of one particular element that your tank inhabitants don't readily utilize; a brand change will likely amend this issue.

With respect to Instant Ocean products, standard IO is best suited for fish only tanks as the calcium level is only 350-400 at 35ppt which is below NSW (natural sea water) levels. The KH of IO and IORC is the same (3.8-4.2, 11-12 @ 35ppt) which is higher than NSW (8). The magnesium level of IO and IORC is the same (1400 @ 35ppt) which is also higher than NSW (1350).

The calcium level of Instant Ocean Reef Crystals (IORC) is 450-500 which is way above NSW. If you were to use IORC in a lightly stocked reef tank and dosed or used a calcium reactor, the calcium level would likely rise to unsafe levels (>450). It is not uncommon for a new hobbyist to blindly dose two part additives without testing.

Some people use IO for reef tanks and test and amend the calcium to 400-430ppm. I have had a few reef tanks drift up to 500ppm due to the high levels in IORC.

I know a few people who stopped using H2 Ocean because the alk of freshly mixed water at 35ppt was 14 dkh. The high alk mixed with calcium reactors and chemical dosing ended up driving their KH to dangerous levels (>14). Apparently, this problem has been amended with the new H2 Ocean mix. A high Kh isn't always a problem. It is entirely possible that a nuisance algae problem could be eradicated with a KH of 12 or greater.

This brings me back to the known evil theory. I have used IO for 34 years. I'm currently using IO for fish only tanks and IORC for reef tanks. I cannot say with any certainty that I have ever had a salt mix related problem, other than high calcium from IORC. That's good enough for me I also look at what others are using and IORC seems to be the most common brand for public aquaria and large scale reef tanks such as Chingchai's in Thailand.