:Cheers: Hello to every one and I hope all is well, Ive been wanting to get my corroline alge to start growing, I do have some in my tank from a bunch of rock I had bought from my friend He shut down his tank,since then it seem to be bleeching out, . Any how I bought some purple up and also bought another water test kit a reef master from a.p.i. Well it was a good price but some say there not that good of a test kit. Anyways Im using oceanic salt mix and was useing instant ocean, Some one i know at the lfs told me that oceanic was a better salt than instant ocean about 4 month ago so thats what i started useing as though im still learning all about this hobby. Well befor I started useing some purple up i did the right thing, read the directions So i checked my calcium and kh levals and they were a bit high so i was told not to and any purple up and to stop useing oceanic salt and start useing Instant ocean from a diffrent dude at the same lfs, because oceanic had high levals calcium around 500+ @ mix up and I think he said my kh would be a little high which it was. Now i know my water levals will all come down with time untill i do another water change useing oceanic and then it all start over again. Ive read a bunch of revews online about severl if not all salt on the market and found out that they all seem to be full of :pooh: on what to use whats good and what bad. Sorry for such a long bla bla bla:grumble: note but what kind of salts do most of you all use And who has the best of luck growing corroline alge and good corral heath? Mine seem to be doing fine but would like to get things purpled up in my tank.... Art
Salt mixes
- Thread starter AHill40
- Start date
dustin_P74
Reef enthusiast
i use kent but will start using reef crystals once i run out of kent, and most people use reef crystal. and as for the purple up its a calcium additive so itll up your calcium
stagofdoom
Phi Kappa Psi
I used oceanic and then i just picked up some instant ocean but I am going back to oceanic asap.
daugherty
part time reefer
i like oceanic but have thought about using seachem reef
stagofdoom
Phi Kappa Psi
I have heard Tropic Marin is good as well.
yote
In Memoriam
Art,I used Oceanic right up untill I set my 125 up.Then I switched to the SeaChem Reef salt.Oceanic does have more calcium in it,but once coralline takes off,it'll suck that extra calcium down quick.I think the last time I tested a new mix of Oceanic,the alk was either 9 or 10 DKH.
I personally never had a problem with Oceanic,and if something comes up that I cant get the SeaChem,I'll probably go right back to Oceanic.
I personally never had a problem with Oceanic,and if something comes up that I cant get the SeaChem,I'll probably go right back to Oceanic.
AHill40:
How old is your tank now? Your profile indicates 6 months? The reason I ask is I had very little coraline growth until about 9 months or so. Then it took off like nuts and now covers my entire back and side glass. My tank is now about 14 months old. I recall reading that coraline is impacted by the algae cycle new tanks go through. For you it may only be a matter of letting your tank mature a few more months and it might take off too.
For what it's worth I have used reef crystals salt since the beginning and have added nothing else to encourage the algae growth. IMHO I don't think one salt brand is going to encourage coraline growth over another. Calcium is only one piece of the puzzle. Lighting, nutrient load and "unkowns" impact it as well.
It sounds like everything else in your tank is doing great. I would pick one of the name brand salt mixes and stick with it for a while. My guess is your tank needs a little more time to mature and the coraline will start taking off.
How old is your tank now? Your profile indicates 6 months? The reason I ask is I had very little coraline growth until about 9 months or so. Then it took off like nuts and now covers my entire back and side glass. My tank is now about 14 months old. I recall reading that coraline is impacted by the algae cycle new tanks go through. For you it may only be a matter of letting your tank mature a few more months and it might take off too.
For what it's worth I have used reef crystals salt since the beginning and have added nothing else to encourage the algae growth. IMHO I don't think one salt brand is going to encourage coraline growth over another. Calcium is only one piece of the puzzle. Lighting, nutrient load and "unkowns" impact it as well.
It sounds like everything else in your tank is doing great. I would pick one of the name brand salt mixes and stick with it for a while. My guess is your tank needs a little more time to mature and the coraline will start taking off.
JAG107
Reef enthusiast
I love my Oceanic. I first started with IO like most people, went to reef crystals, now I'm loving the higher levels from Oceanic. Also, it seems to mix better for me. IO has some of the lowest levels of calc, magnesium and trace elements of the majority of salt brands. Good for fish only, not so good for a reef. Tropic Marin is highly acclaimed, but is also quite expensive. I'd use it maybe if money wasn't a concern for me, but since Oceanic buckets are only $40 at drsfostersmith.com, I'll be sticking with that for a while. HTH
Bifferwine
I am a girl
I use Oceanic, SeaChem Reef and Kent Marine. I buy whatever is on sale at the time I need it. I've never had any problems with those three.
