What salt is best?

[jedi582]

I bought a house that had a 75 gal set up and running (dude didn't want to move it so he sold it to me :D ). I bought some salt from petsmart "Oceanic brand". Is this good salt or is Instant Ocean better?

[Krazy]

I use the Instant Ocean "reef crystals"

[sir_dudeguy]

ya reef crystals and tropic marin are sposed to be the best from what i hear...but i just use IO and love it!

[b0wenj]

I am using something called tropic marine pro. It is suppose to be a newly formulated salt to add in all the nutrients for reef tanks. I was using instant ocean and when I mixed that it seemed a little milky when mixed. Tropic marine pro also seems clearer, it almost has a light blue tint.

[Fishy Business]

Thats like asking someone what is their favorite color. I asked this same question about a month ago (Im new too :) ) And heard various preferences. IO seems to be the most popular. But as long as you stay with the same salt, you should be fine. Just stay away from Epsom. ;) Tropic Marin is also popular, however, it is also one of the most expensive. You will be fine with the Oceanic. I use Oceanic, and all my stuff is just fine.

[smcdonn]

There was a thread a while back and Instant Ocean was the most commonly used salt here on RC. But that is not to say its the best. I use reefcrystals and love it. Cheers

[bllfish]

If your IO is murky when mixing you may not be mixing it enough. I mix mine for 24 hrs. before doing the water change. All of the salt and trace elements have completed their chemical reaction. My water is cloudy when I first start but is usually crystal clear in about 2 hours. Are you using RODI water?

[Ti]

Oceanic

[masterqaz]

i think that the majority of people use IO salt because of its price and overal good reviews for not screwing up your tank.

[jakaufman]

i picked up IO - Reef Crystals (the price difference was slight enough I figured I would go for it) and it works great for me

no complaints, not to say it is the best but it seems to be a popular choice

[b0wenj]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7754495#post7754495 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bllfish
If your IO is murky when mixing you may not be mixing it enough. I mix mine for 24 hrs. before doing the water change. All of the salt and trace elements have completed their chemical reaction. My water is cloudy when I first start but is usually crystal clear in about 2 hours. Are you using RODI water?

I did not wait 2 hours before putting it into the tank. I know that is not the prefferred method but I would usually mix and heat my water and within the hour put it in the aquarium. When I did use it I made sure it was mixed completely. I would usually put my hand in and check for any grit in the water. (very scientific :) ) I really did not notice that instant ocean when mixed looked milky until I mixed up a batch the same way with tropic marine pro. Before having the experience to mix both types I would not have known a difference. Of course this had nothing to do with how it works I am sure cause I had no problems when using it. I only switched to tropic marine pro because I was hoping to get a salt mix that had more of the chemicals in it already that I would need to add to get the correct balance that I was looking to obtain. I figured I could spend more money on salt or more on chemicals to put in later. Not sure about the rest of you but the less I have to add the better.

Oh an yes I use RO/DI water. No tap water here.