Can't get Instant Ocean online?

BlueWorldJeff · Aug 22, 2017

Instant ocean is no longer carried by BRS or Marine Depot, is there something I missed? Is it no longer produced? I see it on Dr Foster and Smith and Amazon. I'd hate to have to change salt mix now that my tank is finally settling in...

ksfulk · Aug 22, 2017

Its still being produced. Ryan (@Ryanbrs ) mentioned it has to do with the parent company not wanting to partner with them and instead focusing on brick and mortar stores, I believe. DFS and Amazon do have it for cheap (~$40 a box), and thats where I get mine from.

mckinney0171 · Aug 22, 2017

Might not be a bad time to stock up on it. Seems it may be going away shortly from DFS as well perhaps?

Water Dog · Aug 22, 2017

Buy it from Dr. Foster & Smith. It's the cheapest I've found online and they often have coupons. In fact they're running coupon 15% of right now, 15AUGUST. BRS and Marine Depot always sold it for $10 to $15 more than DFS anyway.

BlueWorldJeff · Aug 22, 2017

If they are indeed focusing on brick and mortar, good on them. Might be hard to get it off of amazon though. give the LFS a chance!

BlueWorldJeff · Aug 22, 2017

Should I try reef crystals? I have my dosing set up to keep my levels ideal for IO, but does the extra trace elements in reef crystals make a difference?

mckinney0171 · Aug 22, 2017

I mix reef crystals and instant ocean at a 40/60 ratio. When I was using reef crystals by itself my dKH and mag levels were through the roof. Yes I have had good results with reef crystals. Trace elements are a subject of debate. But, I think they are important if you are relying on water changes only and don't dose them separately.

Water Dog · Aug 22, 2017

RC has higher Alk levels than IO, so you may have to compensate for that in your dosing.

saltyfilmfolks · Aug 22, 2017

Io is 11 dkh and rc 13.

Coastie Reefer · Aug 22, 2017

I highly doubt that IO is going away. It's used by some of the big names in the hobby. Jason Fox just said in one of his talks that he orders 2 pallets at a time! I get my buckets of IO from DFS or Amazon. I'd guess BRS doesn't carry it because they just didn't sell enough to justify stocking it. It's costs money to stock an item that just takes up space in the warehouse.

oceanfreak09 · Aug 22, 2017

Dr. Foster's & Smith is awesome, you should buy from them. They even have free shipping on orders over $40. (I'm pretty sure)

Ryanbrs · Aug 22, 2017

Coastie Reefer said:
I highly doubt that IO is going away. It's used by some of the big names in the hobby. Jason Fox just said in one of his talks that he orders 2 pallets at a time! I get my buckets of IO from DFS or Amazon. I'd guess BRS doesn't carry it because they just didn't sell enough to justify stocking it. It's costs money to stock an item that just takes up space in the warehouse.

I shared earlier in this thread why we are unable to offer it. Recent events suggest I have reason to hope that may change sometime in the future : )

Coastie Reefer · Aug 22, 2017

Ryanbrs said:
I shared earlier in this thread why we are unable to offer it. Recent events suggest I have reason to hope that may change sometime in the future : )

Hmmm, Not seeing your post... but sounds good to me, more BRS points to earn.

Big G · Aug 22, 2017

I buy the 200 gallon mix box on Amazon. Best price I could find. And I don't need more buckets. So the four 50 gallon mix bags are just perfect. The delivery guy hates them.

Ryanbrs · Aug 22, 2017

Coastie Reefer said:
Hmmm, Not seeing your post... but sounds good to me, more BRS points to earn.

LOL sorry, that was a similar thread on the same topic. Here is the post I shared earlier : )

We were contacted by the conglomerate that owns Instant ocean, Spectrum brands, and told they were going to remove instant ocean products from all online outlets. We have done our best to make a strong case as to why we were a strong partner and should be allowed to continue to offer this line to the reefing community. There are a variety of reasons why they may be willing to include us but they have not let us know definitively one way or another. Hopefully, that will happen soon but until then we will not be able to offer that particular salt.

This move seems to be to strengthen the brick and mortar distribution chain and almost certainly stabilize pricing to support that. In relation to Dr's I don't know this to be fact but my best guess is because they are owned by Petco which is a very dominant Brick and mortar retail company, Dr's will continue to offer instant ocean products online. However, I would not be surprised if there were some retail pricing changes that match Spectum's new strategy.

Again I certainly hope this is something that changes in the future because IO does offer value to the reefing community and something we would like to offer.

http://www.spectrumbrands.com

Coastie Reefer · Aug 22, 2017

Ryanbrs said:
LOL sorry, that was a similar thread on the same topic. Here is the post I shared earlier : )

We were contacted by the conglomerate that owns Instant ocean, Spectrum brands, and told they were going to remove instant ocean products from all online outlets. We have done our best to make a strong case as to why we were a strong partner and should be allowed to continue to offer this line to the reefing community. There are a variety of reasons why they may be willing to include us but they have not let us know definitively one way or another. Hopefully, that will happen soon but until then we will not be able to offer that particular salt.

This move seems to be to strengthen the brick and mortar distribution chain and almost certainly stabilize pricing to support that. In relation to Dr's I don't know this to be fact but my best guess is because they are owned by Petco which is a very dominant Brick and mortar retail company, Dr's will continue to offer instant ocean products online. However, I would not be surprised if there were some retail pricing changes that match Spectum's new strategy.

Again I certainly hope this is something that changes in the future because IO does offer value to the reefing community and something we would like to offer.

http://www.spectrumbrands.com

Thanks Ryan. Helpful as always.

DarkSky · Aug 22, 2017

So Ryan, when are you guys going to start offering your own BRS salt?!

PSLReefer · Aug 22, 2017

Amazon and eBay for cheap

Antics · Aug 22, 2017

DarkSky said:
So Ryan, when are you guys going to start offering your own BRS salt?!

I'm sure the main reason BRS hasn't gone into this already is weight.

Potatohead · Aug 22, 2017

Ryanbrs said:
LOL sorry, that was a similar thread on the same topic. Here is the post I shared earlier : )

We were contacted by the conglomerate that owns Instant ocean, Spectrum brands, and told they were going to remove instant ocean products from all online outlets. We have done our best to make a strong case as to why we were a strong partner and should be allowed to continue to offer this line to the reefing community. There are a variety of reasons why they may be willing to include us but they have not let us know definitively one way or another. Hopefully, that will happen soon but until then we will not be able to offer that particular salt.

This move seems to be to strengthen the brick and mortar distribution chain and almost certainly stabilize pricing to support that. In relation to Dr's I don't know this to be fact but my best guess is because they are owned by Petco which is a very dominant Brick and mortar retail company, Dr's will continue to offer instant ocean products online. However, I would not be surprised if there were some retail pricing changes that match Spectum's new strategy.

Again I certainly hope this is something that changes in the future because IO does offer value to the reefing community and something we would like to offer.

http://www.spectrumbrands.com

If they want to go B&M only with IO and RC they should create another product/brand that is available online as well, it would be bizarre not to. Also tell them they need a low alk NSW salt option

.