What brand of salt to use?

"Eric" wrote in message news
I use Bio-Sea MarineMix, but I don't buy it from these folks. I'm very
happy with it, but one can find people that are happy and unhappy with
any brand of salt. Bio-Sea costs about the same as IO. (IMO, the cost
of salt is so small compared with the cost of just about everything else
with a reef tank that the cost difference between brands is insignificant.)

How do you calculate this? Depending of how much and how often
salt is very important item on the budget. Other stuff like skimmer
or pumps you pay for once and use them almost forever - salt you
use on regular basis for water changes.

Anybody knows where the full S-15 report is located?

Subject: What brand of salt to use?
From: "Pszemol"
Date: 7/5/04 9:53 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Message-id:

"Rod" wrote in message
...
A few months ago, I would have posted the exact same thing, but I have
switched
to Oceanic salt, and I am very happy with the results. Much better CA, and
alk
levels. disolves much faster/more clearly, no precipitate left like the IO
leaves behind, no faded corals like the bio-assay left.

Rod, do you dose CA/Alk between water changes?
Or you rely on Ca/Alk levels in the salt mix entirely?
If you dose them anyway, like I think you do, why is it so important?

Oceabnic still comes in a 200 gal mix bucket, where the IO 200 gal mix
is now 4 seperate 50 gal bagsthat are tossed into a box.

This last one could be a good thing...
Especially if you do not use up whole bucket at once.
The rest of salt remains sealed for the time you use it.

Why do you think it is bad thing? I would like it...
Anyway, I heard IO is now in 150 gallons mix buckets.
Am I wrong or they stop making 200 g mix buckets?

Anyway - anybody have seen full S-15 report and knows details?

Go to the main page for that site and there are more details there.

Subject: What brand of salt to use?
From: Fishnut
Date: 7/5/04 6:03 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Message-id:

On 04 Jul 2004 03:07:59 GMT, (Mandarin333) wrote:

Hi all. I just read the "S-15 Report" at
http://www.aquacraft.net/s9910.html

This is truly shocking stuff. I've been using Instant O. for years and
Coralife only to find out they're not so good based on the S-15 report. I
tried to find online retail sources of the top three ranked salts (Marine
Environment, BioSea, and Coral Marine) and couldn't. Anyone got any
recommendations?

Hello Mandarin333,

As the other posters have said, there seems to be a commercial profit
motive behind the Report. This is disgraceful, but it isn't the first
time that it has happened.
Use the salt you are happiest with. Probably each salt has pluses and
minuses. If something as amiss with your setup, the cause will
probably lie elsewhere than the saltmix.

Regards, Fishnut.

Thanks. Mail ordering salt would add quite a cost to my tank expenses.

Thanks. Mail ordering salt would add quite a cost to my tank expenses.

in the end that depends on so many things, the shipping of salt, the origional
cost, and your local market ive bought several buckets online, the cost savings
when I did so was significant, though I was going thru salt very fast. its also
not a sure thing, locally right now i can find IO buckets for $45 for 200g
buckets when ive bought them online the shipping was in the low $20's per bucket
+- any volume discounts.


richard reynolds

Rod, do you dose CA/Alk between water changes?
Or you rely on Ca/Alk levels in the salt mix entirely?
If you dose them anyway, like I think you do, why is it so important?


Its much easier to maintain levels when im not starting off "in the hole" to
begin with. Why work harder to maintain the levels when I can start off an NSW
levels. (not to re mention the other benifets of oceanic)



This last one could be a good thing...
Especially if you do not use up whole bucket at once.
The rest of salt remains sealed for the time you use it.

if I am only mixing 25 gal, I can reseal the remaining 175 gals worth in the
bucket. if its in th ebags, I have 3 sealed bags, and another that is not
sealed. Besided I like th ebuckets for other uses ;-).

Why do you think it is bad thing? I would like it...
Anyway, I heard IO is now in 150 gallons mix buckets.
Am I wrong or they stop making 200 g mix buckets?

I am pretty sure that they are 160 gal mix, but will cost as much as the 200
gal mix that comes in a box.

"Mandarin333" wrote in message ...
Thanks. Mail ordering salt would add quite a cost to my tank expenses.

For me mail ordering turned out to be cheaper than buying retail in LFS.

"Rod" wrote in message ...
Rod, do you dose CA/Alk between water changes?
Or you rely on Ca/Alk levels in the salt mix entirely?
If you dose them anyway, like I think you do, why is it so important?

Its much easier to maintain levels when im not starting off "in the hole" to
begin with. Why work harder to maintain the levels when I can start off an NSW
levels. (not to re mention the other benifets of oceanic)

Sure, you are right, but I would not place Calcium levels with
such a high wages in the comparison... S-15 report gave it 10 points.

This last one could be a good thing...
Especially if you do not use up whole bucket at once.
The rest of salt remains sealed for the time you use it.

if I am only mixing 25 gal, I can reseal the remaining 175 gals worth in the
bucket. if its in th ebags, I have 3 sealed bags, and another that is not
sealed. Besided I like th ebuckets for other uses ;-).

I have never ordered in box before - did not know such option is available.

Why do you think it is bad thing? I would like it...
Anyway, I heard IO is now in 150 gallons mix buckets.
Am I wrong or they stop making 200 g mix buckets?

I am pretty sure that they are 160 gal mix, but will cost as much as the 200
gal mix that comes in a box.

How one can order IO in 200-gallon mix sized box? What is the price?
I have not seen it in stores...

This report is about 5 years old and many of the formulations have changed
since then. IO in particular. The other important thing to note is the
report was sponsored by Aquacraft AND Aquacraft does not just sell the top
rated brands in the study, they MANUFACTURE them! The S-15 report has long
been dismissed as biased and inaccurate.

Do a search on www.reefcentral.com, there is plenty of good reading there.

"Mandarin333" wrote in message
...
Hi all. I just read the "S-15 Report" at
http://www.aquacraft.net/s9910.html

This is truly shocking stuff. I've been using Instant O. for years and
Coralife only to find out they're not so good based on the S-15 report.
I
tried to find online retail sources of the top three ranked salts (Marine
Environment, BioSea, and Coral Marine) and couldn't. Anyone got any
recommendations?

Sure, you are right, but I would not place Calcium levels with
such a high wages in the comparison... S-15 report gave it 10 points.


I would not place the s_15 with high wages.

I have never ordered in box before - did not know such option is available.


I dont think the 200 gal mix bucket is still available unless they are old
buckets. The box with 4 individual 50 gal bags has replaced the buckets.

How one can order IO in 200-gallon mix sized box? What is the price?
I have not seen it in stores...


Your LFS should be able to get them.. we used to have them all the time before
switching to Oceanic. The going rtate for this area was about $56.

It did not sound right to me just from the beginning... Thanks! :-)

"Beaker020" wrote in message news:YkKGc.44$2i3.4@clgrps12...
This report is about 5 years old and many of the formulations have changed
since then. IO in particular. The other important thing to note is the
report was sponsored by Aquacraft AND Aquacraft does not just sell the top
rated brands in the study, they MANUFACTURE them! The S-15 report has long
been dismissed as biased and inaccurate.

Do a search on www.reefcentral.com, there is plenty of good reading there.

"Mandarin333" wrote in message
...
Hi all. I just read the "S-15 Report" at
http://www.aquacraft.net/s9910.html

This is truly shocking stuff. I've been using Instant O. for years and
Coralife only to find out they're not so good based on the S-15 report.
I
tried to find online retail sources of the top three ranked salts (Marine
Environment, BioSea, and Coral Marine) and couldn't. Anyone got any
recommendations?