Why does Instant Ocean suck so bad?

[Tangerine Speedo]

Long story short had to set up some hospital tanks quickly. I had some old IO from last time I had to do this, but it was a bit clumpy and tried to use it. Lots of participate, cloudy water, seemed like I had to use a lot to get the salinity up. I felt it might have been ruined by some moisture. So I got a brand new bag (Why am I paying so much?) Mixed up a new batch... Still have to use a lot... If I get 40g @1.025s.g. out of this 50g bag I will be lucky. Still cloudy, takes forever to mix up and there is still participate...
All of this effort to mix it up, is not worth the effort or savings for basic salt mix.
Rant over....
P.S. I do know some of you use it, and have for years, etc. I am glad you can make it work for you.

 

[joseserrano]

Salt has become truly out of budget for most. Anything quality is retail above 100

 

[Greaser9999]

Can't go wrong with red sea salt mix. I strongly believe this is one of those things where it's better to spend a few extra dollars and get something good. I've had zero issues with my slate mix since I started using the red sea brand

 

[drexel]

I only use it for QT and that's it. It's not homogenized, so you need to roll the bucket or mix the dry salt before use. And yes, anything quality is 100+
I still use for TM pro for everything non QT, as I can mix and use it within an hour every time. Plus, you can store the mixed salt tightly covered and it will still be the same (parameter-wise) a month later. But I understand the frustration with IO.

 

[joseserrano]

Can't go wrong with red sea salt mix. I strongly believe this is one of those things where it's better to spend a few extra dollars and get something good. I've had zero issues with my slate mix since I started using the red sea brand

Red Sea has a chance to introducing algae’s or pathogens into your tank since it’s harvested salt. I prefer synthetic if I’m paying that much

 

[banuvatt]

Honestly I just weigh 156 grams of instant ocean reef salt and usually its dead on 1.026 s/g.

 

[jay2525]

Honestly I just weigh 156 grams of instant ocean reef salt and usually its dead on 1.026 s/g.

this is also my experience

 

[joseserrano]

Most salts don’t mix up stated gallons at reef salinity.

 

[DETANE]

I use IO with no issues.

Same Principle Applies: roll the bucket or bag, no matter what brand you use, so all of the ingredients are well mixed together prior to introducing them to RO/DI water.

I also use FRITZ and TM, depending on what is on sale since I buy it all in bulk.

 

[DETANE]

Should we do a BULK BUY on salt? Let me know

 

[Tangerine Speedo]

I use IO with no issues.

Same Principle Applies: roll the bucket or bag, no matter what brand you use, so all of the ingredients are well mixed together prior to introducing them to RO/DI water.

I also use FRITZ and TM, depending on what is on sale since I buy it all in bulk.

IO still mixing for a day... Still hazy, has a bunch of white stuff at the bottom of my Brute... water is heated and being mixed with a powerhead. TM same procedure. Crystal clear in less than a couple hours?
If I am doing something wrong, let me know.

 

[Jimbo327]

I'm using TM Pro and it's good stuff. Dissolves clean and fast. But it's pricey. And with big tank, it cost a fortune to do water changes. I'm dosing my own DIY elements to try to stretch out the water changes.

IO will probably have white stuff on the bottom, and that is probably precipitate that won't dissolve. Need to slowly add the salt to water, and not dump the salt in.

Try increasing the temperature of the water temporarily while mixing, and that might help dissolve more. But when you test salinity, the temp must be back down to normal tank temps.

 

[joseserrano]

IO still mixing for a day... Still hazy, has a bunch of white stuff at the bottom of my Brute... water is heated and being mixed with a powerhead. TM same procedure. Crystal clear in less than a couple hours?
If I am doing something wrong, let me know.

From what I recall it’s an imbalance in elements? Thus the suggestion to mix whole batch or roll bucket. I don’t think it will crash a tank, but I’m not expert.

 

[drexel]

IO isn't homogenized like TM or other high quality salts, so it absolutely needs to be "premixed" by rolling or dumping into another container. It's precipitating out of solution, so it will do this the more you use. One way to help would be to mix one or two cups at a time until it's clear until you get you desired salinity.

 

[Smite]

I've never had too much of an issue with IO but I mostly used it for QT. preheat water, add salt mix in 1/4-1/2 amounts every 5-10 minutes, or when I saw there was no salt on the bottom. My pumps a little over kill for my 50g barrel and I tend to mix a whole bag at a time that way. That procedure usually gets me clear water pretty quick with IO.

I do hate the brown residue it leaves after mixing a couple batches, so I mostly used other brands, RS or TM since it'd save me cleaning a barrel and plumbing on my station.

 

[jessesoto33]

I’ve been using instant Oceans Reef Crystals for over 20 years and never had issues.

 

[scaramanga]

Just need one of these bad boys to mix. Clear and heated in 2hrs lol. Been doing this forever. Also definitely have to roll that bucket