Switching Salt

[ScubaSteve]

I decided to try switching things up for this bucket of salt and have decided to give Brightwell's salt a go as I've been hearing good things. I've been using Seachem for about the past year and a bit back when I was keeping mostly softies and LPS., however, over time I got fuzzy stick syndrome and the tank has become SPS dominated. Lately I've been feeling that the salt I've been using just isn't quite cutting it and I want to give a "higher quality" salt a shot to see if it makes a difference.

As the old rule goes "make changes slowly" but other than than, is there anything I should know in particular when switching salts?

[gobytron]

what do you base your perception of high quality vs. low quality salt on?

I went from I/O to DD to Seachem and am now very happy with seachem reef salt...

tests the best in alk, mg, ph and ca in my experience...what is it about this salt that makes you think you can do better?

[ScubaSteve]

what do you base your perception of high quality vs. low quality salt on?

I went from I/O to DD to Seachem and am now very happy with seachem reef salt...

tests the best in alk, mg, ph and ca in my experience...what is it about this salt that makes you think you can do better?

Hahahahaha! I knew someone was going to start this... But first post? It seems the ol' salt discussion is just as heated as the tang police.

I am not sure actually if it makes any difference to switch to a new salt and don't really believe all the hype behind pretty much every product out there... Heck, I don't even really believe in dosing all of these additive people always talk about. So, that's why I said "high quality".

I have no particular complaints against my current salt but I do feel things could be better (not going to go into the reason why). What it really comes down to though is that I would like to try something different to see if it does do anything different. Some times you have to try things for yourself to really find out and see the effect yourself.

But this is not the discussion I was aiming to have. I have seen enough people in other forums get ripped apart at the mention of switching salts...

When you changes salts though did you do it cold turkey, did you blend salts for a bit, smaller water changes, etc?

[lastlight]

Regarding the take it slow bit...

In speaking with Dez I think he changes his salt brand with each new bucket. If I'm remembering right he suspects certain salts may be lacking in one thing or another and changes it up all the time. Maybe he can chime in but I thought it was interesting. I'm not sure if he just up and switches or blends brands to switch over.

[Dez]

Regarding the take it slow bit...

In speaking with Dez I think he changes his salt brand with each new bucket. If I'm remembering right he suspects certain salts may be lacking in one thing or another and changes it up all the time. Maybe he can chime in but I thought it was interesting. I'm not sure if he just up and switches or blends brands to switch over.

Yup, I go through about a bucket or bucket and a half of salt a month, doing about 40-60 gallons weekly of a water change. When I'm almost out of a bucket, I will buy a new brand of salt and just mix my almost done bucket with the new brand salt. I have so far used IO, Seachem's Salinity, Reefer's Best, DD H2Ocean and Brightwell. I just buy a different bucket/box every time. My theory is that every salt has its positives and negatives. If I stick with one brand then the negatives are going to accumilate over time. So far it works for me. I'm just about done using a DD H2Ocean bucket so I think I'm going to buy Brightwell next cause I haven't used that in a while. My theory might be totally wacked, but that's just what I've been doing. Plus it varies my cost in spending. Instead of always buying Reefer's Best and spending an arm and a leg, I sometimes spend a bit more and sometimes spend a bit less.

[ScubaSteve]

Thanks Dez! I'm kind of under the same impression and so I want to try something different... I don't however plough through salt quite at the rate you do. I do maybe a paltry 40 gallons a month!

[Wayne]

Yup, I go through about a bucket or bucket and a half of salt a month, doing about 40-60 gallons weekly of a water change. When I'm almost out of a bucket, I will buy a new brand of salt and just mix my almost done bucket with the new brand salt. I have so far used IO, Seachem's Salinity, Reefer's Best, DD H2Ocean and Brightwell. I just buy a different bucket/box every time. My theory is that every salt has its positives and negatives. If I stick with one brand then the negatives are going to accumilate over time. So far it works for me. I'm just about done using a DD H2Ocean bucket so I think I'm going to buy Brightwell next cause I haven't used that in a while. My theory might be totally wacked, but that's just what I've been doing. Plus it varies my cost in spending. Instead of always buying Reefer's Best and spending an arm and a leg, I sometimes spend a bit more and sometimes spend a bit less.

Hum I like that idea! Thanks :wink: