Salt mixes/brands: What is everyone currently using?

[The new fish on the block]

How is the aquavitro salinity? It seems to have numbers listed in the marketing that I would prefer. I remember it mixing clean too from when it first came out.

I have used it off and on without a problem, my only problem with it is the price. It on the expensive side.

 

[1fishkeeper]

Well for decades I used Kent’s Marine and it was great. Then when the stopped making it I went to HW and used it for years but for the last 5+ years now I have been using IO. I figured it’s as basic as you can get and I can adjust it as I see fit. But the thing is I don’t have to make adjustments and the only extra thing I use is Kalk. Zero issues other than the little brown crud in the mixing container. But it’s something I can live with.

 

[Gill the 3rd]

I get my salt from the LFS

 

[alexanderthefishlover]

Seachem vibrant sea salt for me and haven’t had issues yet

 

[twiatr2001]

I use Red Sea Coral Pro Salt, Black Bucket, it mixes great, I noticed if left overnight after mixing there is a foggy white residue on the inside of the bucket, assuming mixing agent, not sure. Currently getting from LFS, looking at switching to Fauna Marin and using their ICP system along with it, it has a good amount of elements, some more trace elements then most, their ICP also has an AI function that warns you if you are trending towards algae blooms etc. It also can see trends on intake of trace elements and tells you what you will need coming up and ups the dosage for you.

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

Let's expand on this . . . . . .

Where is everyone getting their salt from?

LFS, Mail order like BRS), amazon, Premixed from LFS or ?????

I get mine thru Chewy and pick up at Petsmatrt as many dont know, but Chewy owns Petsmart

I get my HW when BRS runs a special. Next will probably be Black Friday.

 

[Frenchy]

As this subject came up today, In an ever changing industry, What salt brand are you using currently and what brand were you using previously if this applies?
Did you find better results with the current salt and which was better?

If your favorite brand was no longer available and out of stock, what brand would be your next choice and why?

I have been using and currently use Tropic Marin Actif, and previously used the pro version until the issue with Turkey had occurred. I have a few buckets of Reef Crystals salt now on hand as I stocked up before the price increase in February but I do have a small bucket of AquaForest salt to use first.

If I did not have the extra salt on hand, I would seek Seachem Salinity salt as it is my all-time favorite mix.

Tropic Marin Pro for the same reasons others indicated. BRS puts it at 20% off a couple of times a year. I stock up. Poor UPS guy. Those boxes are heavy.

 

[Koty]

I started with Aquaforest but had issues with it. Thus, I continued with Fauna Marin (still have that 1st bucket). There are no issues with it. However, when I think of it, I use Tropic Marine salt mix. That is because, after nearly 3 years of no water change, I am dosing TM Balling ABC. So after close to 3 years of daily dosing, a total of about 270 ml to the 110g tank, more than half the salt is TM. (When the density creeps up I remove about 500 ml.

 

[Flame2hawk]

Let's expand on this . . . . . .

Where is everyone getting their salt from?

LFS, Mail order like BRS), amazon, Premixed from LFS or ?????

I get mine thru Chewy and pick up at Petsmatrt as many dont know, but Chewy owns Petsmart

Chewy or Petco usually have best sales. Stock up when they do. AS an example Petco just had a 20% off up to $20 max so bought 2 buckets of IO for $80 and free shipping. These days that’s a good deal for IO.

 

[Flame2hawk]

I started with Aquaforest but had issues with it. Thus, I continued with Fauna Marin (still have that 1st bucket). There are no issues with it. However, when I think of it, I use Tropic Marine salt mix. That is because, after nearly 3 years of no water change, I am dosing TM Balling ABC. So after close to 3 years of daily dosing, a total of about 270 ml to the 110g tank, more than half the salt is TM. (When the density creeps up I remove about 500 ml.

Curious what issues you experienced with AF? I did get a bad batch of boxes about a year ago for BRS but they replaced it. The salt came rock hard.

 

[rd62rdstr]

I’m using Red Sea blue bucket because I like the parameters. It’s consistent and mixes clean. Previously used IO and developed a brown sediment over time.

 

[B&CinB.C.]

Let's expand on this . . . . . .

Where is everyone getting their salt from?

LFS, Mail order like BRS), amazon, Premixed from LFS or ?????

I get mine thru Chewy and pick up at Petsmatrt as many dont know, but Chewy owns Petsmart

I use Red Sea blue bucket mostly because it's what the closest ( 30 miles away) LFS with salt water supplies, sells.
A new Petsmart has opened up locally but they don't sell saltwater fish . Their website says they sell io and reef crystals but I haven't seen it there.( I don't like the brown scum I get with it). Getting salt online is ridiculously expensive because of the extra shipping charges due to the weight. Amazon ships it for free but it's really expensive on Amazon,ca

 

[Koty]

Curious what issues you experienced with AF? I did get a bad batch of boxes about a year ago for BRS but they replaced it. The salt came rock hard.

The Mg was way too high. This led me to the impression that, in my opinion, they do not do ICP to every batch as they claim.

 

[Flame2hawk]

I use Red Sea blue bucket mostly because it's what the closest ( 30 miles away) LFS with salt water supplies, sells.
A new Petsmart has opened up locally but they don't sell saltwater fish . Their website says they sell io and reef crystals but I haven't seen it there.( I don't like the brown scum I get with it). Getting salt online is ridiculously expensive because of the extra shipping charges due to the weight. Amazon ships it for free but it's really expensive on Amazon,ca

Petco and chewy ship free as far as i know, everywhere if you meet minimum purchase.

 

[petcellar]

Petco and chewy ship free as far as i know, everywhere if you meet minimum purchase.

I've used Reef Crystals for years, and to be honest it has done pretty well for me. No real problems to speak of.

However, more recently I've been having a little more trouble finding the 200 gal box (I like it better than the bucket) with it being frequently on backorder.

I ordered some of the blue box Fritz to give it a try.

Are Aquacraft salts a thing anymore (Bio-Sea, Marine Enviroment, etc)? I used to use Bio-Sea years ago before I switched to Reef Crystals. I didn't have a problem with it, but it cost much more than Reef Crystals and didn't seem to be much benefit.

 

[cromburger]

I used to use reef crystals in my nanos, it gave great results with 2 part dosing. Then i changed to aquaforest and had nothing but algae problems, poor coloration and die off. I did notice that there were large swings and no consistency with the mixes even though i did the same measurements. Now i switched to fauna marin pro for the last year and did a tank swap. This is the cleanest i have seen my tank and everything is colored and growing. Tank and inhabitants look happy and healthy.

 

[Joe.D]

I’ve been using Tropic Marin Pro frankly because that’s what the LFS started me out with a little over 2 years ago. I’m only doing 10 gallons per week, or sometimes I’ll go 2 weeks and do a 15 gallon change - so the price doesn’t bother me much. That said, I buy it when BRS has it 15% off a couple of times per year.

If I was to change - any recommendations on a salt with Alk around 9 and Ca around 450? That’s closer to what I run my system at.

I see other salts with Alk at 10 or higher. I’d been told to aim to keep Alk around 9. Advantages/disadvantages to running higher Alk?

 

[Pntbll687]

Salts I have used
IO and Reef Crystals. Stopped using after I got a box of IO that was 13dkh in two of the bags and 7.5 in the other two within the same box. I lost over 100 frags doing water changes and swinging parameters before I tested the fresh mix stuff.

Currently using
Aquavitro Salinity. I work for a distributor so I'm getting it for about what any LFS is paying for it. Mixes up DIRTY. To where it clogs a 300 micron sock after two boxes (I run a filter sock in the mixing station to get as much crud out as possible). But everything has been doing great on it. It's expensive (even at my price).

Looking to use
Fritz Blue. We just brought this in where I work, and it looks pretty good parameter wise. Cost wise, it comes in above IO but below Reef Crystals. I'll most likely be switching when I run out of the current box of Salinity

 

[disaster999]

Used to use Reef Crystals for the longest time since it was the cheapest, but prices have increased dramatically this past year to the point of "premium" salt prices so I stopped buying it. Im using Aquaforest Reef Salt + now since it has high dkh and it mixes fast and clean and only $1.30 more a bucket and I can get it delivered for free to my door.

 

[Pntbll687]

How is the aquavitro salinity? It seems to have numbers listed in the marketing that I would prefer. I remember it mixing clean too from when it first came out.

I've used it for the past year. It mixes really dirty. I had to run a filter sock on the mixing station, and it would clog after two boxes. I'll be cleaning the mixing bin after my last box, before I switch to Fritz. Parameters were SPOT ON, using hanna for alk testing it mixed up right to where the box said. Only thing that really annoyed me was they list alk in meq/l instead of dkh on the box, so I had to find a conversion calculator everytime.