[Poseidon]

Well I ran out of Reef Crystals this weekend and decided to try the Crystal Sea salt. I did read some posts where the salt somehow was blamed for bleaching of the corals ? Anybody have any results they want to share? I know Ninong is using this salt with great success (obviously). I haven't done a water change with the new salt yet but I do have it mixing in my trash can ( I always keep 20 gallons of Salt water and 20 gallons of fresh ready to go for top off and emergencies)

All opinions will be most appreciated,

Mike

[Ninong]

That's a tough decision. Some people have reported problems after switching from other brands (especially Instant Ocean) to Crystal Sea Bioassay and other people have switched with no problems. Some people have reported minor problems after switching that eventually went away and others have reported major problems.

I'm using Crystal Sea Bioassay salt but I have never used anything else in my tank. My reading of the very lengthy thread on this topic on Reef Central is that those reporting problems were all switching from another brand of salt mix in an established tank to Crystal Sea. A few folks did post to that thread that they switched with no problems but they were outnumbered in that thread by those who switched and reported problems. I have a feeling that a lot of people have switched without problems but just didn't post to that particular thread.

I don't know what to tell you. Dr. Mac switched all of his personal tanks and his holding tanks from Instant Ocean to Crystal Sea Bioassay salt many months ago without any problems. There is an LFS owner who has posted to the RC thread who states that he switched more than two years ago without any problems and that he sells lots of CS Bio salt to his customers without problems. I know that CS Bio is used by about 50 LFS around the country (maybe more) and I doubt that they would continue to use it if it was causing them problems. The US EPA uses it, too.

However, I do find the reports of problems that some people have experienced when switching to this salt from other brands worrisome.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Poseidon

I always keep 20 gallons of Salt water and 20 gallons of fresh ready to go for top off and emergencies.

That is my goal. I have the two white 20-gal Rubbermaid containers for that purpose, I just haven't really set them up yet. I also have a gray 32-gal Rubbermaid that I keep in the garage. I usually start a new batch of saltwater on a Saturday or Sunday and use it the following Wednesday or Thursday. So far I have never had to use saltwater that was less than 72 hours old.

There are a few points that I would like to mention. Perhaps they are important and perhaps not. In no particular order:

• I heat my water to 80 F before adding the salt mix.

• I add one cup at a time stirring vigorously for about 15 seconds after each addition and then I stir vigorously (with a large white plastic spoon) for about a minute after all of the mix has been added.

• I use an airstone to aerate the water after I have finished stirring it. I stir it again usually once or twice more during the next couple of hours and then I leave it alone. My experience is that it takes 24 - 36 hours for it to become crystal clear. Remember that I am not using a powerhead and I do not stir it again after the first couple of hours. The airstone is weighted down with a 3/4" PVC 90-degree elbow and it stays pretty much in the same spot in the bottom of the container.

• I wait at least 12 hours before checking the salinity with my ATC refractometer. Usually I do not have to make any adjustments because I know exactly how high up inside the container the water should be so that 9 cups of mix gives me 34.5 - 35 ppt salinity. I think I'm making about 17 gallons of saltwater but I have never measured it exactly.

• I let the saltwater age with the heater and the airstone for the next three to five days before using it.

• My experience is that there will be a small amount of tan sediment in the bottom of the white container after about 24 - 36 hours -- about 1 tbsp, maybe a little more. I leave this alone on the bottom of the container, I do not stir it back into suspension as this clouds the water and it will take another 24 hours or so to clear again. This sediment accumulates in the depressed outer area of the bottom of the container away from the airstone that I try to keep in the center of the bottom of the container. I don't know for sure what this is but my guess is that it is some sort of clay. I have never experienced the white chalky residue on the sides of the mixing container that Randy Holmes-Farley and others say is routinely found when mixing Instant Ocean.

[Poseidon]

Great Info is always a plus... I too heat the water b4 adding the salt to 78 degrees and I have an 802 power head in the can with a 100 w heater my fresh container also holds a 100w heater but it uses a 301 powerhead just to keep the water moving. Both buckets are in a closet behind closed door to prevent Algae growth. (when we move out the people who buy are REALY going to wonder why there is a 4 plug outlet in a bedroom closet??? ) I hope my water clears I added the salt last night and this morning I could see to the bottom pretty easily but I still need to add a little more salt right now SG is 1.022 at 78 F I will do a 10 gallon change first and wait for any ill effects then a 15 in 2 weeks or so then I'll get back to the normal 20 I do around the first of every month... I know I should prob do 20 every 2 weeks but can't quite budget that much salt yet

Once again thanks for the help!!!

Mike

[Ninong]

Mike,

There are people on this board who will disagree with that plan based on their own experience in switching salts. My decision was easier because I wasn't switching salts, I started out using CS Bio from the very beginning. Because you are switching from an Aquarium Systems product and because of the problems that some people have reported on this board and Reef Central, you might want to consider a more gradual switch. If I were in your situation I believe I would change only 5 gallons and then wait three weeks before changing 10 gallons and then wait another three weeks before proceeding. Both manufacturers will tell you that there is nothing wrong with their salt and blame any negative interaction on the other brand but the fact of the matter is that a certain number of people have had problems when making this switch.

If I thought Instant Ocean or Reef Crystals was a better salt I would have used them. I still have several bags of Reef Crystals in the closet. I decided to try CS Bio solely based on its claimed trace metals concentrations. I do not yet have enough experience with it to make any claims for or against it. I can only tell you that the artificial salt mix topic is more confused now than ever, especially with the recent extremely high alkalinity problems with certain buckets of Instant Ocean.

P.S. -- Many of the people who reported problems when switching reported a noticeable reduction in coralline algae and nuisance algae shortly after switching. My experience so far is that I have been unable to grow any nuisance algae at all no matter how much I feed and I am having no trouble whatsoever in growing coralline algae; my only problem is in trying to keep if off the back of the tank and the equipment.

[Poseidon]

thanks for the heads up...

thats a great problem to have though as far as Coralline growing TOO fast, I really need to stay on top of the Ca levels more my tank is mostly softies and seem to do great no mater what the Ca or Alk levels are, and the only Corals I had were LPS like blasstomousa and Hammer Galaxia which have grown significantly in the time I've had them (I'm sure they would have grown faster with better Ca levels)

But.... I lost most of the purple coverage to my rock Completely MY FAULT I need to get some more "good" rock to help reseed the tank... I do have some patches growing here and there but not what I want!!!

Mike

[LittleFishBoy]

I also use CS Bio Assay without any problems. Couldnt be happier.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by LittleFishBoy

I also use CS Bio Assay without any problems. Couldnt be happier.

Javier,

Thanks for your input. Please tell us how long you have been using CS Bioassay and whether you switched an established tank from another brand or not.

[captivereefs]

I was at the HH Backer pet trade show last weekend in Chicago an talked with a company rep from Marine Enterprises. He told me they attribute the problems to the higher PH and Alk of Marine Mix over IO.This is bad if the water change is big enough. I guess if you are concerned do smaller more frequent changes rather than one large one like everyone has been doing. I for one would not worry about it much.

[Poseidon]

thanks for all the input... I put the same post on Reef central and I get alot of negatives, but reading Dr Rons report from top to bottom I can not for the life of me figure out why I should NOT switch salt!!!

I've decided to take it very slow and see, I'll do a 5 gallon change in about a week and post B4 and After pictures say an hour or 2 after that should give anything that is going to react badly plenty of time to do just that wouldn't you think?

We'll see, I must say I do like the price!!!!

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Poseidon

I've decided to take it very slow and see, I'll do a 5 gallon change in about a week and post B4 and After pictures say an hour or 2 after that should give anything that is going to react badly plenty of time to do just that wouldn't you think?

Most of the people who reported problems didn't notice anything for at least two or three weeks.

[LittleFishBoy]

Ive been using the mix for about a year now. All my corals look healthy, and i seem to have no problems with it. I did start using outright, and did not transition from another salt. IMO it does everything that IO does, and is way lower in price. What more can you ask for? Great product, and I have connections, so when i buy, ..... i buy by the pallet. 2 thumbs up from me with my personal experience.

[Reefland]

I hear ya, buying by the pallet load huh!

[zhenya]

Well,I'm one of the people who switched from IO to CS in my 75g tank and had only one colony bleached and then recover. For all I know this bleaching event might be totally unrelated to salt change,I just simply don't have enough information to say that it was to blame. Way to many other variables in my case-light bulb changes(big drop in intensity),calcium reactor problems at the time,etc....
I am staying with CS salt though for the same reason that Ninong had stated-less heavy metals.

[Poseidon]

Thanks for the votes of confidence,

I agree less metals could only be a good thing...