Aqua forest reef salt

1bigfish · #1 08-11-2017, 10:05 PM

Who is using aqua forest reef salt and what is your thoughts about it?

kyl · #2 08-11-2017, 10:13 PM

I switched from reef crystals, overall I'm happy:

Alk is pretty consistent between batches, hovering around 7.7-8, not the lottery that RC seemed to be. Boxes seem more readily available too, but their buckets are an odd size and the lid is kind of a pain to remove. There's also far less sludge/residue after mixing and storing it for a couple days, if that matters.

Some people are stating they've had cyano / dinoflagellate issues after switching, not entirely sure what would be causing that though.

spedly · #3 08-11-2017, 10:14 PM

I've been using it for a couple of years. I really like it.

albert_dao · #4 08-11-2017, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyl

I switched from reef crystals, overall I'm happy:

Alk is pretty consistent between batches, hovering around 7.7-8, not the lottery that RC seemed to be. Boxes seem more readily available too, but their buckets are an odd size and the lid is kind of a pain to remove. There's also far less sludge/residue after mixing and storing it for a couple days, if that matters.

Some people are stating they've had cyano / dinoflagellate issues after switching, not entirely sure what would be causing that though.

You can get cyano/dinos from trace element imbalances. I'm not saying it's endemic to the salt, but it's something that happens.

JamRobo · #5 08-11-2017, 10:44 PM

Ive switched to af reef salt and had major cyano and dino issues. 2 water changes with instant ocean and dinos / cyano is gone and my corals arnt getting smothered anymore....

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1bigfish · #6 08-11-2017, 10:57 PM

I have been reading of a few people having diatom cyano problems with using aqua forest reef salt also. I just picked up 2 pails after reading a bunch of great reviews, and am now second guessing my choice.

DKoKoMan · #7 08-12-2017, 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamRobo

Ive switched to af reef salt and had major cyano and dino issues. 2 water changes with instant ocean and dinos / cyano is gone and my corals arnt getting smothered anymore....

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I'm with you on the issues. Here is to hoping that by switching back to RC from AF that I get rid of the slime and my corals stop getting smothered.

DKoKoMan · #8 08-12-2017, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1bigfish

I have been reading of a few people having diatom cyano problems with using aqua forest reef salt also. I just picked up 2 pails after reading a bunch of great reviews, and am now second guessing my choice.

That is exactly what I did, started nice and slow and wham-o got purple brown slime in LR. Then it got worse and dinoflagellates started and stringy goo was everywhere. I ended up losing 4 coral frags, a colony and some I'm not sure will pull through. May not be the same for everyone but It was very disheartening for me and not worth the lower parameters.

1bigfish · #9 08-12-2017, 02:16 AM

That sounds awful....sorry for the loss. Nothing worse then battling Dino cyano, might just stick with RC. Maybe someone will want to trade me 2 pails of AF reef salt for RC.
Thanks for sharing your experiences everyone.

DKoKoMan · #10 08-12-2017, 03:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1bigfish

That sounds awful....sorry for the loss. Nothing worse then battling Dino cyano, might just stick with RC. Maybe someone will want to trade me 2 pails of AF reef salt for RC.
Thanks for sharing your experiences everyone.

It's just like anything in this hobby, every tank responds different. I initially made the switch to AF eager as I had heard nothing but good things. Since my experience I have saw similar circumstances posted with using the AF Reef Salt so now it seems more then a coincidence.