[Ninong]

Originally Posted by The R/C Man

Please let us know why you use that brand and how you like it......

None of the above.

[Poseidon]

Originally Posted by Ninong

None of the above.

Still Crystal Sea Bioassay?

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Poseidon

Still Crystal Sea Bioassay?

Yes.

[cofstl411]

Has anyone tried this brand? I went to a different store the other day and this was the only brand that they carried. I made up about 25 gallons of it but I don't like the way it looks. There seems to be a film on top of the water and it foams up some due to my airstone. I am hesitant to use it but I dont want to waste 25 gallons of RO/DI water.

[ghofmann]

I just switched from IO to Reef Crystal and have been happy so far. The only differnce I've noticed is now my alk has been running a little bit lower.

[SeaMe]

None of the above. And of course I use none of the above because I think it works the best for me.

[My2heartboys]

Originally Posted by dougc

I am using Reef Crystals lately.

I started my tank with Oceanic and had chronic problems with brown algae, as others have reported. I also had to dose baked baking soda to keep the pH and alkalinity up.

I switched to Instant Ocean, which got rid of the algae infestation, but was then unable to keep calcium above about 350, even with a calcium reactor and kalk reactor running full-tilt. My alkalinity also went through the roof.

With Reef Crystals, my calcium level is creeping up, although at 380, it is still a bit low. Alk and pH are stable now. I would try Tropic Marin, but it means a trip to Hidden Reef in Philadelphia. At $3 a gallon, gas figures more significantly into the price of salt.

Doug, did you test your Mg at that time? Could have been that your Mg was low.

[My2heartboys]

A few years back, I jumped on the Crystal Seas Bioassay bandwagon


OK, here goes the question again. What was this bioassay? Is there a place to read about it (probably just opened another can of worms there)? Is there any posts left that I can read about it?

Anne

[My2heartboys]

Originally Posted by The R/C Man

Please let us know why you use that brand and how you like it......

Thanks!


I started with IO and it worked great.... After seeing the new Oceanic with its less expensive price and claims of higher calcium levels I tried..... Preoblems with hair algae and cyno soon followed as well as other issues. I changed back to IO and the tank is once again flurishing.....

We bought IO because it was on sale at the time thus a little cheaper. DH seems to think that RC or another one of them is a little cheaper, still. If I have my say--I will stay put.

Yes, the IO could be the cause of some of my problems thus the need for supplementing-but I have to have some excuse to work on the tank. Otherwise I probably would not get a chance to look at it.

It has also given me a chance to observe one of the main corals in my tank and can tell when "something is off" as a result.

Anne

[SeaMe]

Originally Posted by My2heartboys

Yes, the IO could be the cause of some of my problems thus the need for supplementing-but I have to have some excuse to work on the tank. Otherwise I probably would not get a chance to look at it.

Anne

Anne: You are an officially addicted reefer!

[j_man]

I love my IO

[My2heartboys]

Originally Posted by SeaMe

Anne: You are an officially addicted reefer!

Probably so, but beats my last addiction by a long ways. I gave up smoking for this.

Anne

[apophis924]

Well i like the price of IO, and it seems to always gvie me good results, i tried other salts but i was not as happy with them as IO, and yes IO's numbers are not text book as in Ca++ levles and sometimes the Alk and Ph is a bit off but corals dont read text books and i now go by how my tank looks and how healthy the life is in there : Not by numbers on a test kit. Granted numbers do have a place , But i am not going to panic if my Ph is 7.9 but all my corals are open, and growing great and i have no algea or cynano problems.Why try and force the Ph to 8.2 when all is good at 7.9??

[My2heartboys]

Originally Posted by apophis924

Well i like the price of IO, and it seems to always gvie me good results, i tried other salts but i was not as happy with them as IO, and yes IO's numbers are not text book as in Ca++ levles and sometimes the Alk and Ph is a bit off but corals dont read text books and i now go by how my tank looks and how healthy the life is in there : Not by numbers on a test kit. Granted numbers do have a place , But i am not going to panic if my Ph is 7.9 but all my corals are open, and growing great and i have no algea or cynano problems.Why try and force the Ph to 8.2 when all is good at 7.9??

Good point.

Anne

[The R/C Man]

Hey apophis924!

I don't believe there is a need to panic either. However, nature keeps the water at certain perameters for a reason. These are optimal conditions for the inhabitants and while they may appear healthy they be under some amount of stress. I am no chemist but PH seems to be proportionate to ALK. If you add buffer to the tank the PH also rises. Also ALK and Calcium affect one another proprtionaly. So your tanks perameters are probably not optimal...

[apophis924]

RC, i have caused more trouble and done more harm, trying to force my tank into the text book readings, Better to just keep the temp in a good range and keep up a steady regime of weekly water changes, and do not over stock or overfeed. AS far as stress goes ALL reef tank life is under "stress" you take any life form that lives in unlimted ocean space and put them in a glass box most times with other life forms they do not naturaly cohabitait with and you cause them "stress" and even if your tank is 250 gallons it can no way compare to even the smallest of tide pools, Not to mention the vibration, stray electric currents/ unnatural light cycles and our constant adjusting of the enviroment, No matter how well a tank is "maintiained" by text book standards, NO reef tank condtions are optimal compared to the natural enviroment these things were designed to inhabit.

[The R/C Man]

Hey!

I do you agree with you on some aspects. I just believe that optimal water conditions are definitely better than. I know it takes some messing with to get the parameters into Ionic balance but there they seem to stay.....

[My2heartboys]

Originally Posted by apophis924

RC, i have caused more trouble and done more harm, trying to force my tank into the text book readings, Better to just keep the temp in a good range and keep up a steady regime of weekly water changes, and do not over stock or overfeed. AS far as stress goes ALL reef tank life is under "stress" you take any life form that lives in unlimted ocean space and put them in a glass box most times with other life forms they do not naturaly cohabitait with and you cause them "stress" and even if your tank is 250 gallons it can no way compare to even the smallest of tide pools, Not to mention the vibration, stray electric currents/ unnatural light cycles and our constant adjusting of the enviroment, No matter how well a tank is "maintiained" by text book standards, NO reef tank condtions are optimal compared to the natural enviroment these things were designed to inhabit.

I agree with you there apophis924. I am trying to keep my tank limited to stuff that has been cultured in another tank somewhere. That would be my ideal, but also know that it can't always be done.

Anne

[apophis924]

Originally Posted by My2heartboys

I agree with you there apophis924. I am trying to keep my tank limited to stuff that has been cultured in another tank somewhere. That would be my ideal, but also know that it can't always be done.

Anne

Me too, I prefer aquacultered and tank raised corals. Besides the price they are healthier than wild harvested corals and you can get vaild info on how they were raised and the enviorment they were growing. There is no way to get that with wild harvested corals.

[jagsy]

I use oceanic, but sometimes io. I never have had an outbreak with either and all corals are doing great. I do pre-mix my salt and let it run for 24-48 hours before the water change./