Review on the different kinds of Marine Salts

[boxfish]

have been using tropic marin salt all the while but since I started to measure magnesium has never gone pass 1300 convicingly. lately try out coralife, just changed about 20% of water and mag has hit 1500!

one up coralife!

and ....tropic marin.... out the window!

[pisces]

I have been a Coralife user since I started reefing and Just yesterday I opened a new Coralife pack ...strange thing happened. even after using a power head to mix the salt for around 8 hours the water was still very cloudy. Never experienced this before.

Generally the water used to be ok in one or two hours....izzit possible that there are duplicates in the market ?

[williammuk]

Yeah.. i know that. Thats why i said i got no grudges against any brands. I just wanna seek opinions.

Anyway this piece of info a bit long time ago le... So cant really find it.

But i seek opinions ya?

Just dont flame me can liao! PEACE!

Just my 2 cents worth...

Just to add my 2 cents also ...

In my opinion, the above test does not show which salt is better for corals (SPS, LPS, softies), fishes or clams, etc, etc. All that it seems to show is that certain salts may be better for jellyfishes or not.

For example, I think I also heard that certain clams and softies do well in water with some nutrients. But such water may not be ideal for keeping SPS.

Please correct me if I'm mistaken. Thanks.

[williammuk]

Hi all, just want to share the test results of AquaMedia SeaSalt mixed with tap water treated with Seachem Prime. Mixture was allowed to stand for one day before testing.

Date of test : 23 Jan 2005

SG = 1.025 (~27 deg C)

pH = off the upper scale 8.7 (using Seachem MultiTest)

pH = 9.0 (using JBL testkit range 3.0 - 10.0)

dKH = 7.6 (Salifert)

Ca = 240 (Salifert)

Mg = 870 (Salifert)

NO3 = 5 (Salifert)

PO4 = 0 (Salifert)

NH & NO2 not tested.

[RAV-65]

Hi all, just want to share the test results of AquaMedia SeaSalt mixed with tap water treated with Seachem Prime. Mixture was allowed to stand for one day before testing.

Date of test : 23 Jan 2005

SG = 1.025 (~27 deg C)

pH = off the upper scale 8.7 (using Seachem MultiTest)

pH = 9.0 (using JBL testkit range 3.0 - 10.0)

dKH = 7.6 (Salifert)

Ca = 240 (Salifert)

Mg = 870 (Salifert)

NO3 = 5 (Salifert)

PO4 = 0 (Salifert)

NH & NO2 not tested.

Assuming the figures are pretty correct, I tink the salt is not good enough... if we do a major water change like 50%, all the parameters would go haywire... the low magnesium would cause the kH and Ca to be unstable too...

Juz my $0.02...

[AlfaRomeo]

I dunt think this is the correct salt from the AquaMedic range for a reeftank. William, maybe you should try the Aquamedic ReefSalt instead. That salt have parameters that are perfectly in range at 1.025

[williammuk]

I dunt think this is the correct salt from the AquaMedic range for a reeftank. William, maybe you should try the Aquamedic ReefSalt instead. That salt have parameters that are perfectly in range at 1.025

This is the left-over from what I used to start up the tank with. It's a mistake that I didn't measure the parameters initially. I was wondering how come my dKH, Ca and Mg is so low ... now I know.

Anyway, I just mixed another batch using Oceanic. Will let it rest a while before doing a test. So far, I'm impressed with the solubility already.

I think I'll throw the other one away. Hmmm ... anyone wants 40 litres of saltwater? It's free. Bring your own containers.

[williammuk]

Hi all, I'm back with the test results of the Oceanic salt mix. Once again, it is mixed with tap water treated with Seachem Prime. For this case, the mixture was allowed to stand for only one hour before testing.

Date of test : 23 Jan 2005

SG = 1.025 (~27 deg C)

pH = 8.2 (Seachem MultiTest)

dKH = 9.0 (Salifert)

Ca = 580 (Salifert)

Mg = 1440 (Salifert)

NO3, PO4, NH & NO2 not tested.

OK. The above is good enough for me. I'm gonna do the water change now.

PS: Free AquaMedic SeaSalt 20kg bag to give away. Still has half a bag left. PM me if interested. Else, I'll be throwing it away in the next few days.

[shoelevy]

wow.

looks like oceanic has caught my attention

i've been using coral marine all these while for changing water regimes...doesn't seem to do anything good or bad for my lifestocks

then i switched to coralife

what i've gotta say is coralife solubility is much better and somehow, my frogspawn and hammer colour up better

wonder if its placebo effect....

[moi_dar]

Why is there no review on Marinium Sea Salt? I have been asked to buy from lfs and is using it at the moment. Anyone have tried and can comment on it?

[Marineman]

I have been a Coralife user since I started reefing and Just yesterday I opened a new Coralife pack ...strange thing happened. even after using a power head to mix the salt for around 8 hours the water was still very cloudy. Never experienced this before.

Generally the water used to be ok in one or two hours....izzit possible that there are duplicates in the market ?

I faced the same problem!

I have been using coralife for the last 5 yrs becos it has very little residue and water is clear. However about a yr ago, I noticed that the water turns milky after mixing it for as long as 10 days, whether it's 1 day or 10 days, colour still the same. I have to leave it for a few hours without the pump so that the "white powder" sinks to the bottom for the water to be clear.

I normally buys a box of 3 * 6.6 kg. I believe the problem lies in the production, was told that it was manufactured in China, therefore inconsistent quality. I have experienced 3 batches over the last yr.

Switched to IO (was told it was manufactured in China as well), water slightly milky not crystal clear...............

I do not test for the quality of various salts, I only judge them by the warer clarity and minimal residue after mixing, afterall I think all salts are more or less the same as long as they are manufactured by the big boys.

[patrick123]

I could be wrong, but water milky could be an indication that some of the minerals did not mix or dissolved properly. This could be due to some of the chemical reaction or leak of chemical reaction. Using the salt water may be ok, but you may have some mineral deficiency in the long run. Better switch to a better salt.

Any one have different opinion?

[piero]

Hi all, I'm back with the test results of the Oceanic salt mix.  Once again, it is mixed with tap water treated with Seachem Prime.  For this case, the mixture was allowed to stand for only one hour before testing.

Date of test : 23 Jan 2005

SG = 1.025 (~27 deg C)

pH = 8.2 (Seachem MultiTest)

dKH = 9.0 (Salifert)

Ca = 580 (Salifert)

Mg = 1440 (Salifert)

NO3, PO4, NH & NO2 not tested.

OK.  The above is good enough for me.  I'm gonna do the water change now. 

PS:  Free AquaMedic SeaSalt 20kg bag to give away.  Still has half a bag left.  PM me if interested.  Else, I'll be throwing it away in the next few days.

Thats quite consistent with my readings. I bought the whole bucket of oceanic to start my tank. I am using a salinity of 1.0234-1.024. It gives me a good value of around 1300 ppm for MG, 480-500ppm for CA and around 8+dkh for alkanlinity. Its my fav so far and solubility is very very good. Mostly fully dissolve with some stirring. But I am used to keeping it over night.

[illusionary888]

Hi... I'm new here. Can anyone tell me where I can buy Instant Ocean Salt Mix and where the particular shop is located? Thanks very much.

[TayHongSiang]

Hi... I'm new here. Can anyone tell me where I can buy Instant Ocean Salt Mix and where the particular shop is located? Thanks very much.

Bro, you can try Reborn at lavender or Reef Depot at Thomson, they carry a few brands like instant ocean, Grotech, oceanic, tropic marin, etc...

You can ask for recommendations.

For me, i tried coralife b4, solubility is no good, but it does not promote algae growth.

[Vlamingi_cont]

Hi... I'm new here. Can anyone tell me where I can buy Instant Ocean Salt Mix and where the particular shop is located? Thanks very much.

Other than instant ocean you can oso try Marine Environment i used it since i bought it but no offence that's just my comment...

[uLtRaMaN]

Bought a pack of IO to try out today. Turned out to be a real disappointment. The solubility sucks, water still very cloudy after more than 12 hrs and a lot of undissolved salt below tank even after using a powerful pump to circulate. RS is much much better man, although cheaper. Still got about half a pack left and if anyone interested can have it for free.

[jyoon]

HI All

I have been a supporter for Topic Marine salt. So far it works for me.

However read a book named "50 Ulitmate Aquarium in the world" and out of 50 fanistic aquarium kept, 20+ uses Instant Ocean. They have great results. Maybe majority of these aquarium are in US, that's why they use Instant Ocean salt.

Coral Life and Red Sea I dare not touch as the reviews are so so....

[yikai]

i use the one from jir@h marine >.< dunno what reefmax salt.... quite ok leh so far... my fishes still alive and healthy lol..

[andyboss]

bro ultra,

RS is wad brand?

Bought a pack of IO to try out today. Turned out to be a real disappointment. The solubility sucks, water still very cloudy after more than 12 hrs and a lot of undissolved salt below tank even after using a powerful pump to circulate. RS is much much better man, although cheaper. Still got about half a pack left and if anyone interested can have it for free.

[uLtRaMaN]

bro ultra,

RS is wad brand?

Bro it's red sea. walao eh, d IO more than 24 hrs liao still cloudy............really sibe regret getting it man

[TayHongSiang]

Bro it's red sea. walao eh, d IO more than 24 hrs liao still cloudy............really sibe regret getting it man

Now can get Reefmax at Reborn....no need to go to the one at west coast, Jiireh liao.

Reefmax pretty good. Fast to dissolve, high calcium and magnesium and value for money.

[pokmingsheng]

hey guys...

Just started this hobby and the first salt i used is Red Sea salt...

i've got no idea which was good i just grabbed the first one i saw.. haha..

turn out after reading so many bad comments about this brand,

i'm thinking of switching it to Tropic Marine, after reading all the feedback..

few questions here,

1) changing my sea salt, will it affect anything? currently only have fishes and live rocks, no corals yet...

2) whats the price range of Tropic Marine sea salt? any recommended places to get it?

3) is Red Sea salt really that bad??? haha....

[thxwong]

Kent Marine is good ? but how the price? where to buy?

[Jameshong]

hey guys...

Just started this hobby and the first salt i used is Red Sea salt...

i've got no idea which was good i just grabbed the first one i saw.. haha..

turn out after reading so many bad comments about this brand,

i'm thinking of switching it to Tropic Marine, after reading all the feedback..

few questions here,

1) changing my sea salt, will it affect anything? currently only have fishes and live rocks, no corals yet...

2) whats the price range of Tropic Marine sea salt? any recommended places to get it?

3) is Red Sea salt really that bad??? haha....

Use Redsea coral pro salt leh....S$85/25Kg selling at C328 !