Time to switch out salts....

[RaymondL]

I have an LPS dominant tank with some soft corals, and fish, and since I started the tank 2.5 years ago, it's always been Instant Ocean Reef Crystals, but as I run out of this salt (I had purchased the 200 Gallon box) and it has lasted me all this time! It's a small tank so doesn't surprise me.

Given that it lasted so long, I've decided to switch to Tropic Marin Pro - it's at a higher price point yes, but since my tank is so small, it doesn't matter to me. I'm tired of the brown dirty residue that I'm getting from IO Reef Crystals. I can take a plastic cup and scoop some newly made water up from the bucket, and I can see brown specs all over the glass sides. I prefer not to put this into my tank and for the past 2.5 years I know different.

My dkh right now is at 8.3 - based on others who use the same salt, some have reported dkh of over 12 with this salt, but I have not seen that. So if Tropic Marin Pro salt is at 8.0dkh, I should be able to make a complete switch without any issues.

I'm wondering if there's a certain procedure that one should follow when switching salts that I need to be mindful of?

 

[Formulator]

Reef crystals is one of the best brands out there and I don’t think the brown stuff is from the salt. I have a brown film in my mixing bucket from years of use, but that is organic matter deposited over time as I don’t clean the mixing tank and always have some mixed salt water in the tank in case of emergency. I don’t think it is in the fresh salt.

That said, if you are intent on switching, there is not really anything special you need to do other than match your alkalinity. I would test the alk of the new salt and adjust it if more than 0.5 dkh different than you keep the tank. You can also slowly adjust your tank alkalinity to match the new salt mix so you won’t have to adjust the new water every time.

 

[Spare time]

The brown stuff is simply precipication. It is harmless and all salts can get it. Tropic Marin's is less likely to show it due to having the lowest acceptable alk level of nearly any salt mix in one of theirs (though the one you are referencing is at 8kh from my understanding).

 

[merkmerk73]

Consider Nyos PURE

Excellent salt with great parameters

Not quite as premium pricing as Tropic Marin.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Since your tank is running at a higher alk than the TM salt mix you will need to adjust your salt mix accordingly. Because you have a small tank this is important. Do you also use two part?

 

[Uncle99]

That change may change your water chemistry.
Some might not appreciate that.

Some of the best tanks I’ve ever seen where done on IO.

It’s not the salt, it’s the user.

 

[rtparty]

Good for you not dealing with IO’s lower quality and standards.

If you are dosing your tank, just continue as normal. If you have leftover IORC then you can do a slow transition to TM Pro. Mix like 75 old and 25 new for a couple weeks. Then 50/50 and so forth

 

[VintageReefer]

Reef crystals only user here 15+ years

Lps dominant 75g on IO RC since it’s creation.

It’s not the salt

 

[Sophie"s mom]

IO is all have ever used. Yes you do get the residue in buckets, but the salt is great. I have never had an issue with it.

 

[rtparty]

Why do people keep saying “it’s not the salt?”

The OP said they were sick of the brown residue. That is 100% the salt. Welcome to IORC. They didn’t complain about the salt in any other way.

Reading is hard

 

[VintageReefer]

Then it’s something with how the salt is being handled / stored

 

[Spare time]

Why do people keep saying “it’s not the salt?”

The OP said they were sick of the brown residue. That is 100% the salt. Welcome to IORC. They didn’t complain about the salt in any other way.

Reading is hard

The point is it can happen with any salt. That is why many people do and don't get the residue with the same salts.

 

[VintageReefer]

This 160g bucket of RC is a spare and has been used 50% and stored, for 4 years at least

 

[Joe31415]

Another IORC user. I get some type of film in my saltwater mixing bucket, I just clean it with vinegar once or twice a year.
However, I do a few things that probably help the situation. First, I never run a heater in it and I only run (circulating) pumps for a day or two while making a new batch. I leave the pumps running for about 24 hours after I get to my target salinity and then shut them off. Something I remember reading is that, at least with certain salt mixes, the pumps can cause the precipitation. Maybe it's right, maybe it's wrong, but it works fine for me.
The other thing I do is filter it. I keep a small return pump in the bucket and run a hose up to a filter sock that's hanging over the side of the bucket (so the water is getting pumped from the bottom of the bucket, into the sock and back into the bucket). This is one of the pumps that I use to help mix the salt, but it picks up whatever else is in there as well. I usually end up swapping the filter sock out about once a year or so.

Unrelated, but I always get the big boxes of salt. The few times I got the buckets, there was a lot more pieces of orange plastic in them than I would've expected. But that return pump grabbed them all.

 

[rtparty]

The point is it can happen with any salt. That is why many people do and don't get the residue with the same salts.

I can think of a half a dozen salts I’ve never had precipitate when mixing new. Not like IORC. It is more than just a calcium carbonate precipitate in IORC. They use anti caking agents in their mix. They add vitamins for some unknown reason.

Red Sea Coral Pro also has terrible precipitation issues because of the elevated and unstable parameters they try to run.

ESV, NYOS, TM Pro, TM Classic, a couple of the Aqua Forest salts, and others have never precipitated for me. I have seen some of them get a dark green buildup and this is believed to be an iron/manganese precipitation. This is far more common than the nasty brown sludge and particles that IORC is so well known for. Many salts have elevated iron and manganese. My ICP testing showed this to be true with many salts over many years.

 

[merkmerk73]

No need to get snarky with eachother

Most people don't like IO because it has a reputation for being dirty - that stuff ends up in your mixing station or coating your equipment in your tank (perhaps moreso than cleaner salts)

But it's also cheap and has been in use for a very long time, and would be my go to if I had a super tight budget for the hobby.

 

[kvansloo]

I have an LPS dominant tank with some soft corals, and fish, and since I started the tank 2.5 years ago, it's always been Instant Ocean Reef Crystals, but as I run out of this salt (I had purchased the 200 Gallon box) and it has lasted me all this time! It's a small tank so doesn't surprise me.

Given that it lasted so long, I've decided to switch to Tropic Marin Pro - it's at a higher price point yes, but since my tank is so small, it doesn't matter to me. I'm tired of the brown dirty residue that I'm getting from IO Reef Crystals. I can take a plastic cup and scoop some newly made water up from the bucket, and I can see brown specs all over the glass sides. I prefer not to put this into my tank and for the past 2.5 years I know different.

My dkh right now is at 8.3 - based on others who use the same salt, some have reported dkh of over 12 with this salt, but I have not seen that. So if Tropic Marin Pro salt is at 8.0dkh, I should be able to make a complete switch without any issues.

I'm wondering if there's a certain procedure that one should follow when switching salts that I need to be mindful of?

Yeah for you going against the populace. Please do pay attention to your parameters some of your corals might not like quick changes take it slowly with small changes at first.

 

[VintageReefer]

I pay money to supplement manganese lol my macro consumes both these elements

I never noticed a precipitation with RC. I put in a bucket with a powerhead for 12-24 hours. Then I rinse the bucket and let it air dry

I used to keep a 50g brute with heater, 3000 gph powerhead, filled a all times with premade water. It never had film or precipitate

 

[VintageReefer]

No need to get snarky with eachother

I didnt detect any snark. I hope it wasn’t from my side because that was not my intention

 

[Spare time]

I can think of a half a dozen salts I’ve never had precipitate when mixing new. Not like IORC. It is more than just a calcium carbonate precipitate in IORC. They use anti caking agents in their mix. They add vitamins for some unknown reason.

Red Sea Coral Pro also has terrible precipitation issues because of the elevated and unstable parameters they try to run.

ESV, NYOS, TM Pro, TM Classic, a couple of the Aqua Forest salts, and others have never precipitated for me. I have seen some of them get a dark green buildup and this is believed to be an iron/manganese precipitation. This is far more common than the nasty brown sludge and particles that IORC is so well known for. Many salts have elevated iron and manganese. My ICP testing showed this to be true with many salts over many years.

I know randy has analyzed it before and said it was precipitation. I am pretty sure he looked at either instant ocean or reef crystals.