True Or False?

[ALowe]

True or false? Changing salt brands can have a devestating effect on your reef.

 

[reefgeek]

True for some, false for others. Make the change slowly using 25% new to 75% old one month then 50 50 and so on until you are using the new salt entirely. Chemically speaking salt brands can have some major composition differences, its on the same level as switching lighting. The system can be shocked and if so will react negatively.

 

[ALowe]

True for some, false for others. Make the change slowly using 25% new to 75% old one month then 50 50 and so on until you are using the new salt entirely. Chemically speaking salt brands can have some major composition differences, its on the same level as switching lighting. The system can be shocked and if so will react negatively.

Very well said. I will keep this advice in mind.

 

[pulpfiction1]

for years i have always just bought whats on sale and never had any issues

 

[heath]

I am glad that someone started this thread, presently I am buying 2 different kinds of salt...PITA....

 

[TORX]

False, I switched to H2O this year for about 6 months and just went back to IORC. But only do to availability in my area

 

[ALowe]

for years i have always just bought whats on sale and never had any issues

I have too until I noticed a shock to my system after switching from fluval sea to instant ocean reef. I'm going to have to buy soon so was wondering if it's a pain to switch it up or if I should just stick to instant ocean.

 

[ALowe]

False, I switched to H2O this year for about 6 months and just went back to IORC. But only do to availability in my area

Just jumped right into it or did u do an acclimation process?

 

[TORX]

Well I didn't do a 100% water change. 10% water change is pretty much an acclimation process.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

 

[ALowe]

Well I didn't do a 100% water change. 10% water change is pretty much an acclimation process.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

Ya of course not a 100% change lol. I was just wondering what reef geek said earlier about mixing the new salt with the old during changes until you get to 100% new stuff.

 

[Kman]

I have seen issues with SPS growth and color after switching salts for some people. It took them a few months for the SPS to color back up and start growing again. Others don't have any issue at all. I would start with small water changes if you end up switching.

I myself stick with one brand of salt as all salt brands very between brands of what they put in them and ratios they use. As with most things in saltwater reefs stability is key to success so if you switch all the time you can cause issues. But it will not necessarily cause anything.

 

[heath]

I have seen issues with SPS growth and color after switching salts for some people. It took them a few months for the SPS to color back up and start growing again. Others don't have any issue at all. I would start with small water changes if you end up switching.

I myself stick with one brand of salt as all salt brands very between brands of what they put in them and ratios they use. As with most things in saltwater reefs stability is key to success so if you switch all the time you can cause issues. But it will not necessarily cause anything.

as we all know what works for one reefer doesn't always work for others...it would be too easy if it did..

 

[Kevin Tran]

What Kman said seem right! We bought coral from different member/store and salt brand are not always the same to our own aquarium "it will not necessarily cause anything"

 

[Kman]

If you do switch there are a few things you should do when making up new water. Allow your new saltwater to mature for 24 hrs with an air stone and heater in it. This allows the new saltwater to stabilize chemically for things like PH and KH and gives time to stabilize. All salt brands will mature and stabilize at different rates but will normally be stable after 24 HR. Good quality salt brands claim they stablize within an hr others not so much. You can normally tell by sticking your arm in for about 30 sec and if it comes out slimy it is not ready. That means the PH is still to caustic and is breaking down the top layer of your skin. Letting it sit will help cut down on fluctuations.

As a rule I always let my new saltwater sit 24 hrs with air and heater but some people don't.

 

[pulpfiction1]

ive still never had a crash due to different brands of salt,and i will say that some salts did
have a higher chemical composition but only my dosing was adjusted when it was real apparant,
then i realized that any better mix concentration duration was for such a short time that i didnt even adjust my doser
but that being said i still never changed salt and had a single issue due to the fact i used a different salt and no i did not do any acclimation process as stated by another member a 10 or 20% water change would be kinda like one

 

[jroovers]

I can't speak from experience, as I've only ever used IO and never seen the need to stray from that. Certainly lots of people claim to have had issues with changing brands of salts, which I don't dispute. There is certainly a wide range of reported levels of MG, CA, ALK, and other elements that differ widely from brand to brand (and even from batch to batch within the same brand).

IMO the type of reef you have is also going to impact your decisions on how to integrate a salt change... if you have a ULNS full of mature SPS colonies, I certainly hope you would integrate a salt change very gradually, changing out small amounts of water and mixing the salts to be cautious (and if you've reached that level of success, why you would change salts is beyond me). I also hope one would observe things very carefully in this instance. If however you have a tank full of softies that are less sensitive to changing parameters and fluctuations, you can probably be a lot more aggressive in your approach as these corals are less likely to respond as negatively.