Good brands of salt?

[Randy]

As some of you know I recently had a major issue with doing a large water change and lost some corals due to not testing my make up water before the change. My question is what are some of you experienced guys using for salt and how often does something happen like this? Keep in mind I have had this tank running for almost 4 years but switched from fowlr to reef about 2 and a half years ago. I have been using red sea pro salt and not had any issues before but I will admit I was not very good about doing water changes and when I did they were smaller 5% or 10% changes. I will not judge this brand of salt on one bad experience alone but for now I am switching and testing every batch. I was thinking of trying Seachems reef salt. Thanks for your input

 

[the floor guy]

are u sure it was due to the salt? i have been using red sea pro i havent had any problems it came highly recommended.

 

[mermaiddreams]

I use Red Sea Pro as well - no problems here.

 

[DaveJ]

Honestly, most brands are fine. You identified the issue you would have with any salt. Your task would be to find a brand of salt to match your parameters and there are few that are that accurate. There are higher end salts that seem to have more consistent quality of parms though.

Deltecs gets good reviews

http://tinyurl.com/8n5sfy

Tunzes as well..

http://tinyurl.com/7pzzok

This one got good reviews on RC when it hit the market.

http://tinyurl.com/7yuynz

I used Red Sea for awhile, but found it too low in dkh for my tastes and while i don't mind buffering, it was getting to be a pain. I now use Reef Crystals and really haven't had to do much with the buckets each change. They have been high in dkh, around 10 or 11 and right on for cal and mg at 420 and 1300+ each time I have tested them.

If your serious about testing, I would recommend you start buying the small mix containers and run through every one you can find until you find one that matches your desired parms out of the box then go from there. Seachem is a fine start, then move onto others. You'll find some mix better and quicker, some require more or less volume to reach the salinity you mix to etc. Just keep notes on details like that and figure out the cost per gallon to mix to your desired specs and go with what fits your budget per bucket for a few months to see how your tank likes it.

 

[Jeff]

Here's a good reef central thread that is doing salt testing.

 

[DaveJ]

@DheereCrossing wrote:

They did the same tests with AWT doing the testing too, and their numbers are questionable due to the equipment they use, in particular the ca and mg tests. While its a good starting point, take the numbers with a grain of salt... Pun Intended. The numbers I would feel comfortable in basing decisions on would be their volume of salt to achieve the salinity. That's something a lot of people don't think about. A few cups more or less here and there add up over time.

I'd trust those numbers a bit more since they used hobby kits, but its a good start, just not a bible.

 

[dp1416]

I have religously used reefcrystals for two reasons. Each time i test new water it is consistent and price value is great. I mix up 200g of salt each time i use it so it is a bucket and a little out of another bucket. I buy 10 buckets at a time and i have been very pleased with the results over the last 2 years...never had a problem.

 

[melev]

As you know, we all use different salts and have different track records both good and bad.

Salt I won't use: Instant Ocean, Oceanic

Salt I've used for years: Kent Sea Salt

Salt I've used less long, but like and use: Red Sea Pro Reef

Testing each bucket as you open it, or as you mix up your next water change is the only way to protect your livestock. Always test the water before you use it. Make any adjustments necessary to match it against the current water parameters.

And don't forget that equipment can and will fail, and results may be misleading. Verify that your gear works, by double checking and using sound reasoning.

 

[Randy]

@the floor guy wrote:

Yes I am sure. I tested with my test kit and my brothers. Then after still getting the same results I took some to Bill at Neptunes and his test proved the same. The water had a DKH of 4-5 on all 3 test kits at a S.G. of 1.025.
<hr class="bbcode_rule" />
As stated I am not judging this brand off of one bad experience but I had to get a different bucket of salt regardless so why not try something different that matches my tank a little better.
I did noticed of on the RC thread that their Red Sea also tested really low on DKH at only 7.

<u>Thanks for all of your advise and help as always guys!</u>

 

[Jeff]

@dp1416 wrote:

How often are you using all that water? Is that a month's supply?