Which Salt?

[zach202]

My tank is going through some major renovations right now and Im out of salt so I thought this would be a good time to ask which salt people prefer. Ive been using Kent salt since I started and have never had a problem. Ive heard about the issue they had back in the spring though. Also, Ive heard a lot of talk about Reef Crystals. Any suggestions? Also, wheres the best place to buy it online?

[smcnally]

Believe it or not, this question will probably stir up a LOT of arguments. Some people will post that they use Tropic Marin and that Instant Ocean caused massive Algae outbreaks and death of corals/fish. While others will post that they use Instant Ocean and that Tropic Marin caused massive Algae outbreaks and death of corals/fish. You will never really get a straight answer.

Now, for my answer...I have used Instant Ocean and Tropic Marin. I started with Instant Ocean and then switched to Tropic Marin after I read it was sooo much better. After months of using it, my corals didn't seem to look as good as they used to. I switched back to IO and months later my corals looked better again. Was it the salt? I have no idea...I actually doubt it was. The fact is, that most people that have changed salts usually swear by the one they were using when their tank looked its best. Usually, IMO, the tank looked better because of other factors. Maybe they changed the bulbs somewhere around that time...maybe the plugin air freshener in the room ran out and stopped putting chemicals into the tank...maybe they have just learned a lot more about their tank and are just taking better care of it. There are a million things other than salt that can affect it. I personally use Instant Ocean, and I'll tell you why. I haven't had any issues with it at all, and the thing I like about it most is that it disolves very well. The Tropic Marin I used didn't seem to disolve as quickly as the Intant Ocean, and I noticed that the Tropic Marin made my skin itch.

[marinelife]

I use IO and have for 11 years, one reason is because the is the main salt the is sold locally

[jiggly75]

I have used IO, Kent, and Tropic Marin Pro and have not seen any differences except in my wallet. After I use the rest of the bucket of Tropic Marin I'm going back to Kent or IO. Which ever is the cheapest.

[ADA33]

Oceanic here

[Skyesfire]

As far as shipping http://www.fosterandsmith.com/ (http://) is the cheapest. They sell IO Reef Cryatals cheap.

[dc]

I've used IO for years also.

[acwilson]

When you guys say IO, do you mean just the regular Instant Ocean, or the Instant Ocean Reef Crystals?

[scubareef]

I use oceanic.

[petoonia]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8344658#post8344658 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by acwilson
When you guys say IO, do you mean just the regular Instant Ocean, or the Instant Ocean Reef Crystals?

IO = Instant Ocean

[smcnally]

Yup...I use plain IO...Not Reef Crystals

[skidaddy]

i use two..

50% IO and 50% oceanic..

mainly because IO has too little calcium and oceanic has too much.
when i mix the two it comes out perfect..this might stir some arguement mixing two different however it has worked for me.

[SCR]

It seems that the switching from one kind to the other is what effect the tank the most. Ditto on the foster and smith http:///

[kass03]

Ive used IO since I started many moons ago.
I always liked it. Ive switched here and there but never really noticed a difference.
I buy the IO cuz it's cheaper but would use reef crystals if it's about the same price cuz it has more calcium.
Doc Fosters uses reef crystals in their tanks in Rhinelander. Ive been there really nice place.

kass

[AndyB4784]

i use TM pro, when i started my tank i used water from LFS and that's what they mixed and sold. So i decided to stick with it. i think it's all just a matter of personal prefferance though. As long as you are properly buffering the tank and testing your water before you put it into the tank it really dosn't matter IMO.

[Jamesurq]

Mortons...

For the extra iodine.