What salt are you using in your SPS tank?

[Islander84]

Are you dosing on top of your salt mix or running a rx. or just strictly WC.... please only reply if your tank is SPS dom. Thanks

[jhoff]

Reef crystals and BRS two part.. water change once a week.

[James404]

Oceanic and Baked baking soda/BRS mag and cal via Bubble Magus doser.

[allsps40]

D-D H2Ocean right now but I am having low mag issues. D-D USA says that there no problem with my batch but the fact remains my mag is low. Going to try out Coral Pro next. I have had issues with almost every major reef salt out there!!

[Pallobi]

Instant Ocean, w/ BRS 2 part & BRS magnesium... 10% water change every 2 weeks or so...

[Islander84]

i did a huge water change couple months ago with reef crystals and my mag was low...like 900

[allsps40]

^ I had all kinds of issues with Reef Crystals when they changed the formula. Why in the world did they mess with their salt! It was the best bang for the buck reef salt IMO. Now I wont go near the stuff. I got 3 buckets of RC all mixed up very brown no matter what I did, alk was high in all of them 14+, Ca was high in all of them I stopped testing at 500, mag was low around 1000. Before with the old RC it was fairly consistent at alk 11-12, ca 450-460 and mag 1250-1300. I now always test any bucket of salt I get before I use it in my tank.

[SaltwaterAdict]

Instant Ocean, w/ BRS 2 part & BRS magnesium... 10% water change every 2 weeks or so...

I use IO, BRS two part as well. I like the simplicity of two part!

How do you use the mag when it condenses into a brick? Has anyone else experienced this with brs mag and what's a good alt. route for mag supplementation? The cal/alk are great and never had an issue!

[Peale]

Reef Crystals, Kalk, 10% weekly water changes.

[mark54321]

Red Sea Pro Coral salt,BRS two part,BRS magnesium,10 gal.WC every week.

[mallorieGgator]

Red sea coral pro. Noticed a nice increase in growth and color in all of my corals and I haven't even used a small bucket yet.

[pheen]

50/50 mix of oceanic and reef crystals, I have always used it and have no complaints. but I am thinking of switching to rccp mostly to not have to mix to seperat salts.

[Pallobi]

I use IO, BRS two part as well. I like the simplicity of two part!

How do you use the mag when it condenses into a brick? Has anyone else experienced this with brs mag and what's a good alt. route for mag supplementation? The cal/alk are great and never had an issue!

im not sure what you mean by the mag turning into a brick??? i use the 2 part mag mix... the mixes hold up fine unmixed and the gallon mixes i make dont precipitate at all... seems to all work jus fine for me

[joker295]

tropic marin pro .. once a month and b-ionic 2 part

[ChrisKirkland]

Red Sea Coral Pro- 20% WC once a week to replenish nutrients.

[Islander84]

did moisture get into the bag of mag somehow? not sure on the brs....i use the buckeye fieldsupply mag

[elegance coral]

^ I had all kinds of issues with Reef Crystals when they changed the formula. Why in the world did they mess with their salt! It was the best bang for the buck reef salt IMO. Now I wont go near the stuff. I got 3 buckets of RC all mixed up very brown no matter what I did, alk was high in all of them 14+, Ca was high in all of them I stopped testing at 500, mag was low around 1000. Before with the old RC it was fairly consistent at alk 11-12, ca 450-460 and mag 1250-1300. I now always test any bucket of salt I get before I use it in my tank.

This is very heart breaking for me. I started using RC when they first came out. I never had a problem until they changed the formula. Now the stuff is garbage. It leaves a nasty, slimy, brown film all over the mixing tank. I couldn't put the stuff in the display without running it through a filter sock first. I had to change to Brightwell because that's what my LFS carries.

[Islander84]

looks like alot of people using redsea coralpro or oceanic....does anyone hae specs on these ..Thanks

[MAXreefer]

Tunze Reef Excel. Weekly water change and run 2-part also.
Dissolves very fast and NO residue at all in the mixing container

[dvanacker]

IO and BRS 2 part.

[bobbychullo]

sorry, my tank is not SPS dominated but I thought I could just add something to the discussion.

FYI Red Sea Coral Pro and DD H2Ocean are made in the same plant using the same natural salts from the Red Sea.

and I too have been having Magnesium issues with the DD stuff but I still like it.

[bobbychullo]

looks like alot of people using redsea coralpro or oceanic....does anyone hae specs on these ..Thanks

RSCP:
http://www.marinedepot.com/Red_Sea_Coral_Pro_Salt_Mix_Bucket_Salt_Mix_for_Aquarium_Water-Red_Sea-RS4211-FISM-vi.html

IO/RC:
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4856

DD H2Ocean Pro+:
http://www.marinedepot.com/D_D_H2Ocean_Magnesium_Pro_PLUS_Salt_Mix_6_6kg_Bucket_Salt_Mix_for_Aquarium_Water-Deltec_D_D_The_Aquarium_Solution-DD2211-FISM-vi.html

[Islander84]

thanks for info

[theplatypus]

D-D H2Ocean right now but I am having low mag issues. D-D USA says that there no problem with my batch but the fact remains my mag is low. Going to try out Coral Pro next. I have had issues with almost every major reef salt out there!!


After reading about your issues with mag and h2ocean the bold part is very interesting.

[allsps40]

sorry, my tank is not SPS dominated but I thought I could just add something to the discussion.

FYI Red Sea Coral Pro and DD H2Ocean are made in the same plant using the same natural salts from the Red Sea.

and I too have been having Magnesium issues with the DD stuff but I still like it.
Yes! Someone else that has low mag with D-D salt. Post it up in the D-D forum in my thread and let them know. They need to know something is wrong.

[allsps40]

After reading about your issues with mag and h2ocean the bold part is very interesting.
Yes but the issues have been different. Mixing brown, low ca, high ca, low alk, high alk, low mag ect ect. I will be either going back to HW Reef which I never had any problems with or trying out Coral Pro.

[gig]

Seachem reefsalt

[Moto456r]

I'm using seachem salinity salt love this stuff.

[collie man]

i used to run NSW but now im running tropic marin and love it!

[mozz]

Mine is a mixed tank but I have a fair amount of SPS. I use Esv salt and couldn't be happier.

[Stanley-Reefer]

D-D in my 175 with Geo 618 with Reborn media and 10% Zeomag--if you mix to 36.5ppt on standard refractometer, all the parameters on the bucket are on the money.

Seachem Reef in my 90 with Geo 612 with Reborn media only


I rarely test anything so if my corals and coralline are growing I'm satisfied.

[ryshark]

Mine is a mixed tank but I have a fair amount of SPS. I use Esv salt and couldn't be happier.

Same here for over a year now. Except I could be happier if the price was less. Very expensive, but the mixing ease and cleanliness of the salt make it worth it. Plus it mixes consistently with parameters where I want them to be.

[phenom5]

Currently IO & BRS 2 part.

Interesting to here about the problems with RC, I switched back to IO from RC because the ridiculously high alk in the old RC. I was planning on switching back because of the new formula with low alk.

[bobbychullo]

thanks for info

es no problemo :)

and regarding the low mag. mine is coming in at around 1270 or 1280, not too bad but lower than what they state on their bucket. I was told to check my salinity carefully as if you mix at a different salinity displayed on their charts it will give you different levels of water parameters. I'm not sure how common knowledge that is, it seems common sense but I never thought about it before.

[allsps40]

^ yeah I had a long conversation with DD about this. They had me recalibrate my refractometer which was calibrated, had me mix the dry slat which I already did, had me mix it up to 37ppt and it was still low. I may keep using it but im on the fence still about it. I paid the extra money for H2Ocean because it was supposed to have higher mag. I have also used Pro Reef and had great results and very consistent that and HW Reefer have been the best salts for consistency. I am having good results with the H2Ocean, much better than Reef Crystals I used before, so dont get me wrong it is a very good salt despite the slightly lower mag. Plus all my sps are growing and happy with it. Again just like my salt consistent.

[batt600]

Esv salt all the way and will us nothing else

[aquavista99]

Seachem Reefsalt

[msp307]

Coral life scientific grade marine salt Geo612 Arm large media

[n0rk]

The Pacific Ocean... :) right now it's mixing kind of cloudy, but that comes and goes...

[screamincamaro]

Tried a bunch and ESV hands down is the best. Great params and mixes very consistent.

[M007]

TPM Pro, can't go wrong! Mixes super clean, Mg always around 1380 with no supplements. Every time I switch to those awesome new brands :headwalls:

[Overboard]

I prefer TPM also, but use Reef Crystals because of the cost difference. It is ok.

[rkaires]

I started using ESV a few weeks ago and I'm very happy with the results. I mixed up three batches and so far the parameters are on the money. Mixes up cleaner than any other salt I've used. (TM, TMPR, IO, Red Sea)

[Islander84]

Guess it all depends on how you get your params to that sweet spot. So many different salts out there as well as different methods of reefing. Simply amazing how many different ways to achieve the same goal;)

[R33f3r]

Reef crystals and tech cb 2 part.

[jnc914]

Instant Ocean and two-part.

I was using RC but the alk was consistently between 10-11. I run ULNS and alk was too high, so I switched back to IO and the alk is at 9. I also noticed that RC mixed dirty and left brown residue in the mixing container.

[ReefBum]

Esv salt all the way and will us nothing elseDitto

[pnavarro170]

Redsea Coral Pro, and bIonic 2 part and mag. things have never been better, oh and i do water changes very randomely. ill go a few months with none, then ill do a few in a row.

[Alkamist]

E.S.V. B-Ionic Seawater System best salt i have ever used and not trying anything ever again.

[thebanker]

Brightwell.

[psykobowler]

I use Reef Crystals. To those who are complaining about low Mag, I use 4 cups of MgCL and 2 cups of Epson Salt mixed in rodi water after every weekly water change. I don't think mag can be increased significantly in any partial water changes unless you are doing above 50% every week. i have nothing but good things to say about Reef Crystals and kalk.

[finch6013]

I use Kent reef salt. ALWAYS mixes quick,clean and parameters are what I want from the mix. I have used kent on a sps tank for years with success and it only costs me $35 for a 200g bucket.

[screamincamaro]

I used TPM Pro prior and kept getting new buckets of salt that were solid. I switched to ESV as a result.

"E.S.V. B-Ionic Seawater System best salt i have ever used and not trying anything ever again. "

Ditto that!

[zach_24_90]

i use IO and dose the aquavitro products

[Wolfgang]

Went back to Reef Crystals. ESV Salt Mag levels were testing low, 1000 MG Freshly mixed using two different ELOS Kits. What Mag levels, and test kits are the ESV Salt users getting that posted on this Thread?
My Tank Mag level was at 1050. Tested my Brother In Laws Tank (ESV Salt) and his Tank was at 1100 in his 180 set up since day one with ESV Salt.
Both of us using Digital Scales to weigh the ingredients.
-Wolfgang

[fla_tony]

red sea coral pro salt here. ive noticed a huge improvement in coral growth/coraline growth. params have been more stable when using this salt. w/c now keep eveything up as im not heavily stocked on the sps yet. Im sure i will dose 2 part in the future.

[Islander84]

How many people adjust there water changing params before actually dumping into system?

[Ostentum]

I used Red Sea Coral Pro for about 6 yrs, recently switched since that salt has been running very high on the Alk side. A 22g water change would increase my ALk from 9.4 to 11.6, mixing the salt to 1.025. I did my first water change using the Aquavitro Salinity. Already seeing clearer water and even more polyp extension, not that it was an issue before. This salt rocks if you can get by the funky smell, the heat of the salt, and the white dusting in the mixing container.

[ryshark]

Went back to Reef Crystals. ESV Salt Mag levels were testing low, 1000 MG Freshly mixed using two different ELOS Kits. What Mag levels, and test kits are the ESV Salt users getting that posted on this Thread?
My Tank Mag level was at 1050. Tested my Brother In Laws Tank (ESV Salt) and his Tank was at 1100 in his 180 set up since day one with ESV Salt.
Both of us using Digital Scales to weigh the ingredients.
-Wolfgang

What I do is take, bigger (heaping) scoops of the the Mg because I have also noticed it tests a little low. But I don't remember it testing that low. I will test again on my next batch, I havent tested Mg of my pwc water in awhile. I really don't feel the need to use a digital scale at all. The scoopers work just fine and I usually come out right around the 34ppt area. If I am a little high, I just add a little RODI water. It is rare I am a little low, but if I am I just follow the directions for 1-gallon.