Instant Ocean Sea Salt O.K. for hosting Corals

[Hank The Tank]

Newbie here with my first tank (15G Waterbox). I purchased at large bag of Instant Ocean Sea Salt for Marine Aquarium not knowing there is a difference between it and their Reef Salt. I looked at the price and thought that was a good deal. Not anymore. Anyway, I'm about to start to cycle my tank with it and add a couple of clown fish after tank cycles. I also intend to start adding a few corals (soft and LPS) in a couple of months. Can I continue to use up this salt? Can I host corals with this salt? Seems like a waste to throw this bag of salt away. Can I use half this salt and half reef salt so I can use it up? Anyone knows if there are the necessary trace elements in Instant Ocean sea salt for corals? Would love some advise. Thanks all.

 

[Flippers4pups]

I've used IO in all my reefs since 93.

I don't supplement anything except kalkwasser in my ATO reservoir.

Instant Ocean is perfectly fine reef salt.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Yes.
Once upon a time , there was only instant ocean regular formula and hobbyists used it exclusively for their marine systems and in fact many public aquariums use Istant Ocean today to support their marine systems.

 

[Hank The Tank]

I've used IO in all my reefs since 93.

I don't supplement anything except kalkwasser in my ATO reservoir.

Instant Ocean is perfectly fine reef salt.

WOW. You have a beautiful and healthy tank. So, in your opinion, the regular Instant Ocean will do fine for corals. I don't have to throw it away and repurchase the Instant Ocean Reef salt until I use the regular one up. I don't have to purchase supplement to use with it unless I run into trouble. Thank you.

 

[Hank The Tank]

Yes.
Once upon a time , there was only instant ocean regular formula and hobbyists used it exclusively for their marine systems and in fact many public aquariums use Istant Ocean today to support their marine systems.

Thank you Vetteguy. Sounds like I can use it up and not waste it. Best Regards

 

[Homebrewer]

Yes. I believe there is a rather famous coral vendor that uses nothing but regular IO

 

[PTXReef]

I’ve used IO sea salt (mainly because I also did not know there was a difference) for the first year of reefing and all the corals looked great. They were sitting at 6.5 dKH for the longest time as I also had no idea what dosing was. I have recently switched (maybe 2 months in at most) to Red Sea Coral Pro. I’ve noticed some LPS splitting (not sure if it’s just the natural timeline or a sped up growth rate due to feeding and higher alk/calc) and also some montis growing quickly. I recommend little steps at a time as stability is key to happy corals. Happy reefing!

My 95g Wave:
Please excuse the mess as I am moving corals around.

 

[mfinn]

I've used Instant Ocean mostly for 35+ years on my reef tanks.

 

[Crustaceon]

I’m also using regular IO salt. 1% tank volume gets changed every day.

 

[PatW]

Instant Ocean is a perfectly good salt and should do well with most corals.

For acropora corals, it has some issues. The calcium levels are ok at about 400 ppm. If you want higher, adding some calcium chloride (2 part) is an easy boost. The magnesium levels are ok at 1300. Many like these higher for SPS corals and a mg 2 part additive will solve that. The alkalinity levels are a bit high at about 10. SPS tanks usually run at 8. Reef Crystals has higher levels of calcium and mg and similar with ALK. I adjust my Reef Crystals down with muriatic acid. I like the extra Ca and Mg. I could save some $$ and get Instant Ocean and add it myself but it is easier this way.

Randy Holmes-Farley runs Instant Ocean. He adjusts the mix a bit to suit his needs.

Instant Ocean does mix up a bit bad. It leaves a brown crud. I don’t know what it is. But it can be cleaned out easily with dilute muriatic acid. Reef Crystals leaves some crud just less. Might be the added Mg.

 

[Hank The Tank]

I’ve used IO sea salt (mainly because I also did not know there was a difference) for the first year of reefing and all the corals looked great. They were sitting at 6.5 dKH for the longest time as I also had no idea what dosing was. I have recently switched (maybe 2 months in at most) to Red Sea Coral Pro. I’ve noticed some LPS splitting (not sure if it’s just the natural timeline or a sped up growth rate due to feeding and higher alk/calc) and also some montis growing quickly. I recommend little steps at a time as stability is key to happy corals. Happy reefing!

My 95g Wave:
Please excuse the mess as I am moving corals around.

Thank you for the reassurance. Your fish looked happy and healthy. I will use IO and slowly introduce IO Reef salt by combining the two types of salt together. Maybe do a 3 to 1, 2 to 2, 1 to 3, until I use up the regular IO, then switch to Reef IO entirely. I'm not being cheap, just hate storing something or having to throw it away in a landfill.

 

[corky1618]

Instant Ocean is a perfectly good salt and should do well with most corals.

For acropora corals, it has some issues. The calcium levels are ok at about 400 ppm. If you want higher, adding some calcium chloride (2 part) is an easy boost. The magnesium levels are ok at 1300. Many like these higher for SPS corals and a mg 2 part additive will solve that. The alkalinity levels are a bit high at about 10. SPS tanks usually run at 8. Reef Crystals has higher levels of calcium and mg and similar with ALK. I adjust my Reef Crystals down with muriatic acid. I like the extra Ca and Mg. I could save some $$ and get Instant Ocean and add it myself but it is easier this way.

Randy Holmes-Farley runs Instant Ocean. He adjusts the mix a bit to suit his needs.

Instant Ocean does mix up a bit bad. It leaves a brown crud. I don’t know what it is. But it can be cleaned out easily with dilute muriatic acid. Reef Crystals leaves some crud just less. Might be the added Mg.

How do you go about adding muriatic acid to lower ALK with reef crystals? I am thinking about using reef crystals but the ALK is not where I would want my tank to be.

 

[Billdogg]

I've used pretty much every salt there is over the last 30+ years, but my go-to is IO or IORC. I keep both on hand. I do dose BRS Ca and Alk, so depending on just how the levels are trending will determine which I use on water change day.