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RJ 
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 Topic: Instant Ocean
Posted: February 24 2010 at 8:26am |
What is eveyone buying? And what would be the best to start a new tank?
120 gal. Reef Aquarium
Instant Ocean
Tropic Marine
HW Marine
Reef Crystals
Thanks, DF
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Ryan Thompson
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Posted: February 24 2010 at 10:37am |
Salt is a huge topic. There is no "best" salt. All of them have strong points and weak points.
I have used three different salts over the years. Oceanic, Reef Crystals and H20Cean. By far the H20Cean was the best. Most consistent and very easy to use. I have had issues using Reef Crystals and will never try it again.
If you are just starting up your tank, I say go buy a 200 gallon bucket of Oceanic at a LFS for like $50. I had better luck with Oceanic then Reef Crystals.
This is all just my opinion. Lots of people use Reef Crystals and love it. I just don't like the high phosphates my bucket came with.
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Turbostud653
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Posted: February 24 2010 at 11:17am |
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I use oceanic and have been very pleased with it. I like how easy to use it is. Like Ryan said, most fish stores carry this brand.
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Here is what a customer said while on hold Oh my gosh! Did you open the door? I told you not to open the door. Dre is in here completely naked and he's got freak'n Macaroni and Cheese in his hands.
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downhill_biker
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Posted: February 24 2010 at 12:01pm |
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I, along with the majority of reefers world wide, use Reef Crystals. I think I will be switching to Oceanic soon, just because it is more easily available to me. I think all of the salts are good, you just have to know their numbers, and know what you have to dose and keep track of that so that overall your system is stable. I really wouldn't use regular IO in a reef, just because they are not enriched at all.
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Make sure you post your best pictures every month in our POTM forum.
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Shane H
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Posted: February 24 2010 at 2:23pm |
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I have always used Instant Ocean. Once in a while I'll get a bucket of Oceanic if I come across a screaming deal, but I typically buy Instant Ocean. Never tried the Reef Crystals though ...
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Ryan Thompson
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Posted: February 24 2010 at 2:36pm |
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Randy Holmes-Farley uses Instant Ocean and doses what it lacks when he makes his new water. He actually tells you to do that with every salt brand out there.
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MadReefer
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Posted: February 24 2010 at 3:00pm |
I have always liked Oceanic but have never tried anything else. If it ain't broken...
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AquariumGuy
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Posted: February 24 2010 at 3:02pm |
I have been looking into the new salinity salt by aqua vitro "seachemâ€. It a bit pricy but looks good. 225gallon bucket is 89.99 The Aquarium has it if you want to look at it. The thing I like the most about it so far is the guaranteed batch analysts.. It’s a bit nerdy but that what I like... if it is just your first tank and need a good salt to start it up I have used oceanic for years and have had good success..
Edited by AquariumGuy - February 24 2010 at 3:02pm
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Ryan Thompson
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Posted: February 24 2010 at 3:15pm |
 AquariumGuy wrote:
I have been looking into the new salinity salt by aqua vitro "seachemâ€. It a bit pricy but looks good. 225gallon bucket is 89.99 The Aquarium has it if you want to look at it. The thing I like the most about it so far is the guaranteed batch analysts.. It’s a bit nerdy but that what I like... if it is just your first tank and need a good salt to start it up I have used oceanic for years and have had good success.. |
I don't want to totally hijack this thread but I am very suspicious of that new salt. Randy Holmes-Farley who is an amazing chemist and huge reef chemist said it is impossible for them to guarantee the numbers they have promised. Brightwell Aquatics tried the same thing with their salt and people caught on real quick that it was a huge lie and marketing gimmick.
He thinks it is a hoax on Seachem's part. So be very careful believing what the company says.
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Reefboy4life
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Posted: February 24 2010 at 4:25pm |
I like oceanic but that is the olnly salt i have used. 
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90 gallon mixed reef
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arthuriv
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Posted: February 24 2010 at 5:57pm |
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I started out using Instant Ocean and it work good then switched to Petco Brand because it is extreamly affordable if purchased online with free shipping and I really liked it then just recently trying Oceanic because it was on sale for less then the Petco brand with free shipping from Petco and it seems to be work well too. With both the Petco brand and Oceanic with regular water changes and no supplementing my CA has been around 500.
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BobC63
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Posted: February 24 2010 at 6:42pm |
Tropic Marin Reef Mix is actually a very good salt but harder to find and pricier than most brands.
I like Oceanic and Reef Crystals personally.
Honestly, I don't think you could go wrong with any salt mix. Worst that could happen is you end up on the low side for things like Ca, Mg or alk and you need to dose more...
It's not like you could mix up a certain brand of salt and it would crash your tank - under normal circumstances, anyway.
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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Roy
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Posted: February 25 2010 at 2:53pm |
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I have always used Oceanic. It has been great for me. It seems finer than other brands. I don't have much salt left after i stir it with my hand a few times.
But this is like choosing one brand of oil for your car over another. they all serve the same function.
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Ryan Thompson
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Posted: February 25 2010 at 3:17pm |
Roy wrote:
I have always used Oceanic. It has been great for me. It seems finer than other brands. I don't have much salt left after i stir it with my hand a few times.
But this is like choosing one brand of oil for your car over another. they all serve the same function.
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I am not arguing with you but the oil thing is a little more complicated than that. So is the salt issue.
I own an BMW and changing oil is more complicated then just running to Wal Mart and throwing in some 5W-30. You will ruin a BMW engine using the wrong oil. A BMW needs very thin oil that has specific ratings. Sure the 5w-30 will lubricate the parts but you will lose a ton of power and build up sludge very quickly.
You have to use oil that has an LL01 rating on it. Mobil 1 0W-40 meets that standard. There are actually only like 4 oils that you can use in a BMW. Even Mercedes and Audi are the same way.
Our tanks are like cars in that every tank is different. It gets treated and abused differently. Some dose everyday and others never do a freaking water change. That is like never changing the oil on your car. Stuff builds and needs to be removed and have some good clean fresh oil(water) put in to clean it up.
Using a salt that is low in certain things and never replenishing those items is bad. For example, my Nano needs to be dosed everyday to keep the levels up. If I stopped dosing and doing water changes my growth would halt and the corals for the most part will stop filtering the water for me.
Therefore a good salt will replenish what I don't dose and it will clean the tank up a little bit. I don't make up a new batch of salt water just to have my tank function and keep my refractometer happy that the SG is 1.0264 or 35 ppt. I use the new salt water to help my tank thrive!
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Roy
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Posted: February 25 2010 at 5:27pm |
i would recomend vegetable oil for that bmw  I was generalizing and didn't mean for anyone anyone to take offense.
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MadReefer
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Posted: February 25 2010 at 5:53pm |
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You did say brand of oil and not weight.
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Shane H
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Posted: February 25 2010 at 6:12pm |
You have to use oil that has an LL01 rating on it. Mobil 1 0W-40 meets that standard. There are actually only like 4 oils that you can use in a BMW. Even Mercedes and Audi are the same way.
Freakin' Germans!
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: February 25 2010 at 6:15pm |
Didn't read the responses above but....
Instant Ocean dominates the market, and nearly all institutional and public aquarium facilities... for what that's worth.
Adam
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TNaisbitt
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Posted: February 25 2010 at 7:11pm |
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I have used IO and am currently using Reef Crystals. I like the higher CA that the reef crystals has. I haven't had any problems with phosphates. I just used it to start my new 210 with RC and haven't had any problems yet (that I would attribute to the salt anyway...). I used IO for years before on my 90 and never had a problem there either.
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"Water which is too pure has no fish."
90 Gal Reef, 12Gal Nano Reef
West Jordan, UT
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thefu
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Posted: February 25 2010 at 8:25pm |
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What about trace elements? Everyone talks about the holy trinity but not many talk about all the other elements...it seems to me that since we don't measure for these (for the most part) , and they are in the natural environment, that we should be concerned about their inclusion in a salt mix and their concentration. I think this could be a huge differentiator depending on where the salt is made and the process to make it. Am I wrong?
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