View Full Version : Reef Crystals, Coralife or Instant Ocean Regular?
Ryand63
07/02/2010, 09:31 AM
New to the saltwater hobby and have yet to experiment with salts. The only one I have used so far is Instant Ocean. I recently bought a huge 160 gallon bucket of coralife but was thinking maybe i should just stick with Instant Ocean. Also, I am just starting to get into the reef deal, just got my first coral. Are the reef crystals that much better than instant ocean for reef tanks, do any of you use regular instant ocean for your reefs?
hillscp
07/02/2010, 09:43 AM
I use Reef Crystals because it has more Calcium and Alk. It depends on what corals you want to keep and/or how much you are willing to add calk and alk to your salt water mix to get them to the right levels before adding it to your aquarium.
Ryand63
07/02/2010, 09:50 AM
Honestly, I know most say its addicting to keep getting more coral but I just want a few nice pieces, I just have one frogspawn at the moment and thats it. Maybe want to get three more. I bought a huge 160 gallon bucket of coralife on sale and now im reading that their calc may be way to high in many cases. Any experiences? And will regular instant ocean yield correct calc and alk levels for a few corals?
revstu
07/02/2010, 01:08 PM
I use reef crystals for my reef, Instant Ocean for my FOWLR.
Aquaman101
07/02/2010, 01:34 PM
My LFS uses Instant Ocean and he's got several coral tanks that look good.
Marklu
07/02/2010, 02:25 PM
Coralife FTW.
Its has extra high calcium which is good for maintenance/water changes. I would use reef crystals upon start up of a new system though.
jformani
07/03/2010, 08:28 AM
All of them will work. When you decide to keep more corals Reef Cystals would be my choice. Higher Calcium. I have yet to dose anything, just keep up with water changes and you can get away with it.
Ryand63
07/03/2010, 09:49 AM
I hard that the coralife may have TOO much calcium but I think I'll try it. I have just heard so many negatives lately and online about instant ocean. Then reef crystals if i get more into the corals
cjrudy
07/03/2010, 10:56 AM
Just switched to Coralife,
ludnix
07/03/2010, 11:19 AM
I've been using corallife for two years in my system. It has always tested higher than other salts for in just about every area. I only do waterchanges and kalkwasser though so it's high levels are very welcome.
Ryand63
07/03/2010, 03:52 PM
what kind of corals do you have in there ludnix?
sedor
07/03/2010, 03:56 PM
Any salt mix will do the trick, just try and stick with someone you can get easily and that you are used to using. If I find a bucket of salt that's an unbelievable deal of course i'll pick it up. If your needing a higher Ca content because of corals then you should be dosing anyways, but I see that's not the issue in your case. Personally, I use Reef Crystals and over time I adjusted my tank to match the parameters that it creates so water changes are a breeze and I don't have to adjust anything. Your bucket of Coralife will be perfectly fine.
kylesmoney
07/03/2010, 04:59 PM
Any salt mix will do the trick, just try and stick with someone you can get easily and that you are used to using. If I find a bucket of salt that's an unbelievable deal of course i'll pick it up. If your needing a higher Ca content because of corals then you should be dosing anyways, but I see that's not the issue in your case. Personally, I use Reef Crystals and over time I adjusted my tank to match the parameters that it creates so water changes are a breeze and I don't have to adjust anything. Your bucket of Coralife will be perfectly fine.
Couldn't agree more. There are people who are highly successfully using any of the salt mixes. If you have the budget for it you may find that some of the higher end salts may dissolve faster or another salt may have more of this or less of that, but ultimately they all work
Eel Freak
07/03/2010, 07:13 PM
Another Reef Crystals user here.
Clavius
07/03/2010, 09:41 PM
Reef Crystals
jbird69
07/03/2010, 11:13 PM
nothing but coralife for over 10 years. Lots of sweet t-shirts too :)
on the spot
07/04/2010, 03:14 PM
nothing but coralife for over 10 years. Lots of sweet t-shirts too :)
I'll trade two IO buckets for one sweet T. Extra large. It's because I'm tall.
Been using IO all along myself. It's usually the cheapest when there is a sale so I'll buy between 6 and 10 buckets at a time. Free shipping, what were they smoking? I'll mix 50 gallons at a time, and adjust Calcium/alk as needed.
phenom5
07/04/2010, 03:38 PM
I'll buy between 6 and 10 buckets at a time. Free shipping, what were they smoking?
I usually get some seriously dirty looks from the FedEx guy when I order 400-600 gallons worth of salt from Dr F&S.
ludnix
07/04/2010, 04:52 PM
what kind of corals do you have in there ludnix?
I have a mixed reef, lots of SPS, LPS and zoos. No softies though.
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