Instant Ocean Reliability

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I switched to plain Instant Ocean a few months ago after my bucket of Tropic Marin Pro Reef ran out. I have been fairly satisfied with the IO results so far: each box is very consistent, and each bag mixes up to exactly the same parameters as the bag before it (or at least well within the margin of error for Salifert test kits).

 

I have, however, experienced inconsistencies between boxes. I have observed the typical box to be between 800-1,000ppm Mg, 10 dKh alkalinity, and 375 Ca. I don't really care what these numbers are. I literally test every single new batch of saltwater I mix, so supplementing is pretty cheap and easy with bulk dry additives. However, every once in a while I receive an odd-ball box. The odd box usually has Mg of 1,450ppm, Alk between 10 and 11, and Ca of 425. My current box is one of these "odd-ball" boxes. With this box, the mix does not clear and remains  somewhat cloudy for a good 24 hours plus. It does eventually clear, but it takes a very long time. Typically with IO, my experience is that the water clears within a few hours (usually less than 8).

 

I contacted Spectrum Brands support and asked what causes this variation, and if this batch I received was "bad." After providing some information, they didn't say the batch was bad or that any of my concerns were valid, but they did ship a new box to me. I do genuinely appreciate the gesture. It just feels like quality is not their top priority.. it feels symptomatic of a large corporation with many different priorities. Their response to my concerns is to give me something free to make me happy.

 

It's just a bit concerning. I know that IO is a bargain salt, and I can definitely tolerate some fluctuation between batches. It just seems like there is a lot of variation. At what point would you be concerned with the quality and reliability of IO salt mix?

[brandon429]

  why I would not be concerned: the large pro aquaria that get it in pallet shipments are using the same mixes the nano reefers are, variations included, and we just don't see tank loss in that kind of variance. 

 

we have so many thousands of nano and pico reefs running them using no dosing, just water changes, in fact the longest used salt mix of all of nano reefing in my opinion, that the variations just don't seem to affect even the most sensitive reef systems of no dilution whatsoever...

[RayWhisperer]

How could they even confirm your batch is off? It's out of their hands already. Sure, like any large mfg company, they probably test random boxes out of each batch. If it passes within a certain margin of error, it's shipped out. Add to that, most box salt brands are made to be mixed all at once. So, they have no way of verifying that your particular case is due to settling. I think it's just easier for them to not ask questions and send a free box to keep their customers happy.

[Water Dog]

It almost seems like your oddball box is behaving like IO's Reef Crystals in terms of parameters and mixing characteristics.  I wonder if it is at all possible that they mislabeled a batch of RC as IO...

[chipmunkofdoom2]

@brandon429, I know IO is pretty popular and a lot of people use it. And like I said, I don't really care what the parameters are as long as they're low and I can adjust them up (if they're too high, I can't really reduce them). I'm just uneasy about how different batches are. Track record is not a great reason to just blindly trust that a salt mix is safe. Especially when test results are off.

 

7 minutes ago, RayWhisperer said:

How could they even confirm your batch is off?

 

I don't know, I don't manufacture synthetic salt. I do know, however, that mailing me a new box will do nothing to establish whether the batch is off or not. Off the top of my head, there are a few ways they could at least try to tell if something is wrong. They could gather numbers from customers to establish a trend of "off" readings with a certain batch. They could go back to logs and see if there was in fact a problem with the batch. They could see if something different was done during the manufacturing process, or if a different source for minerals was used. Like I said, I don't know. They didn't mention anything like they weren't seen any other complaints or concerns. Nor did they even attempt to assure me that they have a robust testing procedure to ensure that all salt that makes it out the door is safe. They just sent me a new box. Which I do appreciate. I can accept the idea of budget support to go with the budget price of IO. My concern, again, is reliability.

 

24 minutes ago, Water Dog said:

It almost seems like your oddball box is behaving like IO's Reef Crystals in terms of parameters and mixing characteristics.  I wonder if it is at all possible that they mislabeled a batch of RC as IO...

 

An interesting thought. Could be they had to ship IO and ran out, and just filled the boxes with RC instead. It's happened a few times. Maybe that's SOP over at Spectrum Brands?

 

Just to reiterate, I didn't start this thread to complain about a batch of salt being different. My concern is about the overall quality and reliability of Instant Ocean. There aren't too many great indicators if a batch of salt is "bad," besides testing Ca/Alk/Mg. When a batch has Ca 20% higher than a previous batch and Magnesium 70% higher than a previous batch, I start to wonder.

[Clown79]

IO is known to have quality issues and not answer questions. They don't provide a batch number so they can't answer if the batch was bad.

 

I stopped using IO and RC due to constant inconsistency, salt turning to rock, and length of time it takes to disolve.

 

I personally don't like using salts i have to dose the mixed up water.

 

I think for pico's its fine to use as most do multiple water changes a week but I found using better salts gave me more consistency. 

[Water Dog]

At the same time though, I think we as hobbyists tend to over think things also... especially things like salt.  I'm guilty of it too as I just switched from RC to Aquaforest Reef.  I can do so as my tank is just a Biocube 29, a very small volume relatively speaking.  However, there are members in my local reef club, some of whom are regular posters on Reef Central who have been in the hobby for 30+ years who own 200+ gallon SPS dominated tanks.  The one thing they have in common is that they all use IO.  In fact our club just organized a big group buy for IO last fall.  So it can't be all too bad based on the results I've seen from very successful, very experienced reefers.  In short, there are many other factors beyond just salt choice that lead to successful tanks.

[Asureef]

I'm pretty bad, I don't even test my salt.  I just make sure the salinity is good and mix is clear.  I've tried all different brands never noticed a difference and always come back to IO, which is what I'm using now.  I normally mix the salt for 2-3hrs with a power head and heater before I do a water change.  

[Clown79]

7 hours ago, Water Dog said:

At the same time though, I think we as hobbiests tend to over think things also... especially things like salt.  I'm guilty of it too as I just switched from RC to Aquaforest Reef.  I can do so as my tank is just a Biocube 29, a very small volume relatively speaking.  However, there are members in my local reef club, some of whom are regular posters on Reef Central who have been in the hobby for 30+ years who own 200+ gallon SPS dominated tanks.  The one thing they have in common is that they all use IO.  In fact our club just organized a big group buy for IO last fall.  So it can't be all too bad based on the results I've seen from very successful, very experienced reefers.  In short, there are many other factors beyond just salt choice that lead to successful tanks.

Its funny you mention that. When i had my 55g I used IO with no issue but I wasn't as diligent either.

I recently switched to aquaforest and so far I am really liking it.