Ironman,
I just switched from Oceanic. In my experience, it's low on pH and Alk. Mine was mixing up at 8.0 pH and only about 2.6 Alk. Calcium 450. Thats testing it in the mixing bucket. No tank water involved.
I dose my water up and get the pH up to 8.4+/- and Alk to 4.2 while it's still in the mixing bucket. In the tank I dose 1 teaspoon of SeaChem Reef Buffer into the 35g system every other day to maintain those levels.
I just switched to Kent. My first 8g that I mixed up with my 6-stage RO/Dual DI unit came out at pH of 8.3 and Alk of 3.6. Calcium was 420. I am still dosing water in the mixing bucket, but less overall. I'm still dosing every other day in the tank, but may go to every 3 days because it seams to be more stable for a longer period of time. I am able to hold those levels of pH 8.4 and Alk 4.2 for up to about 60hrs before it needs more Reef Buffer to bring the levels back up. I don't know if it will effect my corals to have larger swings in pH and Alk over a longer period of time. I was trying to dose a little bit more frequently and hold a more steady overall level. Hope that makes sense. Feel like I'm rambling again. :shock:
I was (still am) tempted to buy a 50g bag of each one and record the results of about 10 water changes in my tank with each brand. It would cost me an extra $50--$60 for all the different salt mixes in 50g bags, because you get it cheaper when you buy it in the bucket. But I don't want to invest enough money to invest in a bucket from each manufacturer. That would cost a fortune.
I think they are all probably pretty good. You just need to test it the first couple times and see where it mixes up with your water and methods. Then dose it up in the mixing bucket to get the levels you want before you put it in the tank. My water spends the first 24hrs just coming to temp and dissolving salt. On the 2nd day, I check and adjust salinity. Temp is always the same. The heater stays put in the mixing bucket all the time. Salinity adjusted to 1.025. On the 3rd day, I test/dose to get the pH and Alk where I want it. Then it sits there until Sunday when I change 5g in the 30g tank and about 1or 1.5g in the 5.5g nano.
I think everyone will have opinions about which one is the best. But what works for Jim, may not work for Bob and you. Different water, different rocks and substrate. Too many variables to predict how any salt will react in your tank. In the end, I'd say experiment if you like to tinker and see how things effect your corals. If you are just looking to pick one and stick with it--then toss a coin. Pick one and then dose it to where you want it. They all have strong points and weaknesses. None is perfect. :Cheers:
