Joe Mac Posted December 30, 2004 Share Posted December 30, 2004 Instant Ocean, bar none. A proven product and super consistant. Joe Mac Link to comment
lobo41a Posted December 30, 2004 Share Posted December 30, 2004 Now I use Reef Crystals. When I lived in Hawaii I used to go to the Hawaiian National Laboratory and get there natural sea water. Link to comment
exel170 Posted December 30, 2004 Share Posted December 30, 2004 So what is the best salt to use? Link to comment
HumblePie Posted December 30, 2004 Share Posted December 30, 2004 Everyone has a different opinion on this one. If you do a search on the forums, you can find a lot of threads on this that may help. Personally, I have used Reef Crystals, Instant Ocean in the past and am now using Oceanic. All my tanks have done well. I think a couple of the most important factors are the lighting and the flow. Don't skimp on your lighting or you will regret it in the long run. And as for flow, figure out what you want to keep in your tank and then configure the flow accordingly. Link to comment
Bordello Posted January 4, 2005 Share Posted January 4, 2005 I'm using Oceanic also. HumblePie, I disagree. The most important factor is your water. With improper lighting and low water flow, you system can still survive for a while. But with bad water, that's just disaster. Water quality is on the top of my list. Link to comment
steelhealr Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Ditching Oceanic today and switched to Tropic Marin. My lfs told me that were using Oceanic and totally dumped it for TM (BTW..they stocked both). Oceanic is TERRIBLE with alkalinity. The mix, tested today at s.g. 1.025 had a dkH of 5-6. I can say ONE good thing about Oceanic..it dissolves fast. I think the momentum is going towards Tropic Marin....count me in. SH Link to comment
BKtomodachi Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Tropicmarin. Good salt, and seems to keep my pH/alk stable between water changes. More so than oceanic did, at least. Link to comment
tMoney Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 I was planning on using tropic marin, but now my interest has been sparked with the catalina seawater. It's easier to use, more conveinient, and not as messy. Taking a trip to Petco on Wednesday to pick up a few boxes. Link to comment
Kool-cat Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Im using oceanic salt right now and i have some algae issues: cyano, hair algae, and im going to switch to tropic marin to see if my algae problems go away. If not I need to buy a new ro, but my ro is only 1 and a half years old. Link to comment
Styxnpicks Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Originally posted by NCNBilly Bio-Sea here - love it. I too use Bio-Sea. and will never use anything alse EVER Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Tropic Marin but Oceanic if I need a last-minute mix. Link to comment
TroyT Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Tropic Marine Started using it in the 80's and when I got back into the hobby I started with TM again. For a brief time I switched to Oceanic and had a really bad hair algea outbreak. I switched back to TM and no algea at all. There is a lot of talk of how bad Oceanic salt really is and what it does to your tank and critters. Search other forums for the information and opinions. Not selling any specific brand here, just sharing what happened to me when using Oceanic. TM is not the best but at least it is stable. Link to comment
arbee Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 I just tested. Oceanic water mixed with Distilled in 12 gal DX nano cube. Calcium 500 and Alk is 2.5. Hmmmmm I will be switching too. Been cycling for almost 2 weeks and hope I can do a water change soon so I can start using the Catalina I just had delivered. Hopefully this will even out some of the results. Link to comment
Kool-cat Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 I got 50 gallons of oceanic salt left and Im waiting for fishtown usa my lfs to get tropic marin in. They say theres none in the country? cant get any in.... Link to comment
bobioden Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Originally posted by arbee I just tested. Oceanic water mixed with Distilled in 12 gal DX nano cube. Calcium 500 and Alk is 2.5. Hmmmmm I will be switching too. Been cycling for almost 2 weeks and hope I can do a water change soon so I can start using the Catalina I just had delivered. Hopefully this will even out some of the results. If you are just two weeks into your initial cycle, you shouldn't be concerned with your CA or ALK. It is going to take awhile for you tank to balance out and stabalize. I used Instant Ocean for years and didn't like the fact that I had to add lots of Liquid Calcium and Magnesium weekly to maintain levels. Both which are not cheap. Having a heavly stocked calcium sucking tank, the switch to Oceanic was a nice change. It might have low ALK, but adding baking soda to raise that is nothing. Easy and cheap. Tropic Marin Pro sounds like it has potential. Anyone try it? Bob PS- Did I miss something.. Where is the POLL?? Link to comment
artarmon42 Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Hmmm, going against the trend here, but I've been happy with Oceanic. In the 1.5 years I've been using it (gone through 4-5 big containers), I've never had a problem. CA ~450, Alk 9-10, etc. Mind you, I just got talked onto Catalina NSW and might switch next week. Bought a box and tested it today. But thought I'd stand up and put in a good word for Oceanic Link to comment
pandabehr Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Tropic Marin Pro Stuff is exspensive but hands down the best I have ever used. Link to comment
bobioden Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Originally posted by pandabehr Tropic Marin Pro Stuff is exspensive but hands down the best I have ever used. How does it test? CA, ALK, and MG? Does it dissolve pretty fast. Thanks, Bob Link to comment
revance Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 I use Tropic Marin. I have been pretty happy with it. I started with Oceanic and got ####ed off with its low alk. I have heard others have no problems with it. I think they must be really inconsistent... either way, not for me. Link to comment
Caesar777 Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Anyone know of good places to buy salt? Around here it's $60 a bucket... Link to comment
Caesar777 Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Oh, I've been using Red Sea--not the best, really--but I've heard only excellent things about REEF CRYSTALS. Link to comment
lostdog Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Wow, all this and no one mentions Red Sea Salt. It's what I use, and although I don't really know how it compares to others, my tank is ok with it. Link to comment
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