Salt question

[lilfish07]

I used Instant Ocean or Reef Crystals for years with no problems but hated the sludge build-up in my mixing barrel. Looking for something better to used for my tank any recommendation?

 

[Jbissell1289]

I use Red Sea coral pro and love it

 

[PSU4ME]

Watch the brs videos on salt, there are many things to consider when picking one. Sludge, availability, price, mixing fast, stability in storage etc etc. Consider those in how they fit your care schedule.

Tropic marin, brightwell, HW, fritz - all say they mix without sludge. I’m sure you’ll find post that conflict so there isn’t a clear answer

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

I use brightwell neo Marine. One thing to note about it is, you need to heat the water to temp before adding salt mix. Also, you should let it mix at least 24 hours to bring pH up. Other than that I enjoy the results.

 

[MarvinsReef]

I use the fritz rpm blue box salt and get the buildup of brown crud on the mixing barrel. It mixes clear every time but to be safe I install and filter through a 5 micron filter sock before it goes into the tank. The salt is readily available and not too expensive. The parameters match my tank perfectly so I just live with it.

 

[nashlake]

I also use Brightwell marine, mixes well, no deposits in mixing tank and it is close to the parameters in my tank.

 

[N_E_M_O]

If you want 0 deposits, fast mixing, and high quality ingredients (not pool grade chemicals) then Tropic Marin is the salt for you

Personally I use Red Sea Coral Pro, but I don't mind cleaning my mixing container every so often.

 

[coralfishreef]

Tropic Marin Pro mixes completely clean, but it’s $100 for 200 gal. Red Sea Blue and Black bucket salt leaves a small amount of film or residue in the mixing container. The residue is minor and easy to clean away.

 

[FishieBusiness]

I swithed from IO reef crystals for the same reason SLUDGE. Im using brightwell neo marine. Mixes clean no messy cleanup and cost is good with me.

 

[ReefAddict]

Why does the caking agents / clay not bother me. I use IO exclusively and just don't worry about it. Don't get me wrong it def cakes up my mixing container but I just let it be, maybe clean the container once a year.
I do run the fresh mixed saltwater through a filter sock during adding though.

I do at times think of trying another salt, but the extra cost for something that isn't broken turns me off. I did years ago try many others salts and never saw any differences.

 

[coralfishreef]

I’ve used IO, TM Pro, RedSea Blue, and RedSea Black. They’ve all worked.

Regarding salt cost, BRS has an video from 2019 comparing cost of different salts when mixed at 1.026 / 35. If you trust their data, the cost of going through 40 gal per month was around $6 - $7 higher when using the more expensive salt mixes.

As of today, 2021, TM Pro is $100 a bucket, and therefore the cost per gal went up to $0.575 or about $1 more a month for 40 gal or $23 (2022) up from $22 (2019). IO 160 gal bucket also sells for around $38 a bucket, and therefore the cost per gal is closer to $0.27. This brings IO to around $10.80 for 40 gals versus $23 for TM Pro, but, depending on your tank size, the extra cost may not be much.

 

[coralfishreef]

I used Instant Ocean or Reef Crystals for years with no problems but hated the sludge build-up in my mixing barrel. Looking for something better to used for my tank any recommendation?

I saw a post where someone put a filter sock in the mixing container and ran the end of the mixing return pump through the sock in order to filter out the sludge.