Talking about the best reef salt blends is always a passionate discussion between saltwater enthusiasts and coolers. An important part of maintaining your reef tank is adding reef salt.
Reef salt is used to introduce vital compounds that corals need to grow and become strong and vigorous. There are several types of salt sold for use in reef tanks, so it is important to choose the best reef salt for your aquarium.
Comparison Table
Custom | SiteStripe Image | Title | Review | Buy |
---|---|---|---|---|
TopBest Pick | Instant Ocean Sea Salt For Marine Aquariums | 4.8/5.0 | Check Price | |
Top Performance | Brightwell Aquatics ABANMAR150 Neomarine Marine Salt | 4..6/5.0 | Check Price | |
cheapest | Tropic Marin ATM10581 Pro Reef-Bucket For Aquarium | 4.6/5.0 | Check Price |
Some people rely on one brand of the salt blend, while others go out of their way to tell you why this brand of the salt blend is so much better than others. The purpose of this post today is to lay out the facts and find out which salt mix works for you and your budget. I want to avoid all the marketing fluff and just tell you what works for your tank and your needs. Then let’s get started.
Top 7 Best Reef Salt for Your Coral Reef Tank
Best Reef Salt Reviews
1. Instant Ocean Sea Salt for Marine Aquariums
It doesn’t matter what size aquarium you have. Instant Ocean Sea Salt offers one of the smartest and easiest ways to bring the ocean into your home. As such, scientifically formulated sea salt is a carefully formulated product.
Instant Ocean is also one of the most preferred sea salts in the world. As such, it has been used by hobbyists, scientific research facilities and public aquariums. This is because Instant Ocean Sea Salt has set a standard for quality, value and consistency.
You will see that the product dissolves quickly. So you don’t have to wait long before adding your marine life. However, you may want to aerate your water to get the right balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen.
You can find a variety of sizes, from 10 to 200 gallons. Buy the one that best matches the size of your aquarium for best results.
Of course, this sea salt has all the necessities needed for a healthy aquarium. In addition, it contains no phosphates or nitrates.
All you need to do is mix this product with plain water or purified water. It is also possible to prepare smaller quantities from larger boxes. Use only about ½ cup of the product with a gallon of water.
Check Price On Amazon2. Brightwell Aquatics ABANMAR150 Neomarine Marine Salt
Do you want a product that has been thoroughly tested and researched? Brightwell Aquatics ABANMAR150 Neomarine Sea Salt is ideal for you. It has been researched for years to make sure it fits with marine biology and chemistry.
This sea salt is formulated to mimic the proportions of sea water for each significant element. However, it also reproduces all the small details and traces. In this way, the water is ideal for its marine fauna.
In fact, the inhabitants of the aquarium probably don’t notice any difference between the aquarium and traditional seawater. They will continue to bloom and grow without worry.
While many salts use evaporite from seawater, this company does not. As such, you can rest assured that the elements are supplied by the actual minerals and vitamins. They are not man made.
You will see that the product is manufactured in Brightwell Aquatics’ production facilities. You never outsource to anyone else. Therefore, it maintains the strictest standards to offer higher quality items.
Each batch is sampled to ensure quality. You will notice that each particle is similar in size to the next. This is to ensure that the product mixes easily with the water to create seawater that is safe for your marine life.
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3. Tropic Marin ATM10581 Pro Reef-Bucket for Aquarium
Using the right sea salt for your marine aquarium is essential. The Tropic Marin ATM10581 Pro Reef-Bucket is therefore an excellent product. This pharmaceutical grade sea salt is specifically designed for the needs of modern reefs.
You will find that this sea salt meets the unique needs of reef aquariums. Provides optimized concentrations of magnesium and calcium. These two elements help promote coral growth over time.
Of course it is easy to achieve a lower buffer and the correct pH values. These things help stabilize the natural values ​​of the water. It mainly focuses on carbonate hardness and calcium reactors.
Most people do not realize that without it they cannot have a stable and natural condition for their delicate marine life. You need to balance all the influencing factors and this product can help you do that.
Tropic Marin Pro-Reef Sea Salt is an ideal base for cultivating and caring for your marine life. This includes corals, fish and other invertebrates seen in modern reef aquariums.
It is possible to use this product to start your new aquarium and create balance for the current aquarium. In addition, you can use this sitting salt for regular water changes in your saltwater aquarium.
Check Price On Amazon4. Omega Sea Premium Reef Salt
Omega Sea Premium Reef Salt has been scientifically researched and formulated. Therefore, you can cater for all the needs of your marine life.
This includes corals, invertebrates and fish. It is a revolutionary mixture that is made with the best raw materials and little water.
It is primarily designed to stay dry before use and dissolve faster in water. This also allows it to produce about 20 percent more seawater than other salt products. You will also find that this product contains no phosphates, nitrates or other chemicals.
This premium quality reef salt from Omega Sea contains all the important elements. It also has the 70 trace elements. They also all have the exact proportions found in tropical seawater.
Contains a unique buffer system to ensure the correct pH value. Naturally, the product has been modified to ensure that natural water can be stabilized and converted into seawater.
You will see that this reef salt contains more magnesium and calcium. The product also contains improved alkalinity and does not add additional bromide. This ensures that you have an ideal environment for all reef inhabitants.
Of course it is important that the marine fauna in your aquarium can grow and develop as needed. The product comes in an unbreakable and resealable 60 gallon bag.
Check Price On Amazon5. AquaForest Probotic Reef Salt – The Only Salt That Is ICP Tested
AquaForest has quietly made a name for itself in the reef industry. They started in Europe in the late 1990s and recently entered the US market. With brands like Instant Ocean and Red Sea dominating online and Fritz’s presence in local fishmongers, AquaForest is an unknown to most hobbyists.
However, this is the best salt on the market today. Each batch is tested with ICP. In fact, you can look up your test results online with every bucket of salt you buy. The owner of AquaForest uses all his products in his tanks. If you’ve seen their Instagram channel, you can see how amazing their tanks look.
Check Price On Amazon6. Red Sea Coral Pro Salt – Salt Made From the Actual Red Sea
Red Coral Professional Sea Salt is one of the most trusted blends used by SPS stickheads and shard suppliers. There are actually two mixes that the Red Sea sells. The professional mix has a higher alkalinity, while the regular Red Sea mix has a lower alkalinity. They both work fine but I would lean on regular mixing if you have a heavy SPS tank for better alkalinity stability.
The biggest problem with the Red Sea Coral Pro is availability. Chain stores don’t sell it, and for the most part you’ll see high-end local fishmongers specializing in sea creatures carrying them.
Check Price On Amazon7. Fritz Reef Pro Mix – Readily Available Quick Mixing Salt
If you follow reef YouTubers, you’ve probably heard of Fritz Reef Pro Mix. Fritz has a great marketing machine that sponsors a lot of YouTubers and they are usually at all the local fishmongers. While they’re everywhere, this isn’t the best reef salt mix on the list. It’s usually here because it’s so widely available from local fishmongers and they regularly go on sale where you can pick up boxes at huge discounts.
The great advantage of the Fritz Reef Pro Mix is ​​that it mixes very quickly. I would say the mixing time is around the Brightwell product. For a mixed reef and smaller reef tanks I would say this is a great salt mix for you. However, if you are serious about Acropora corals, I would avoid this mix.
This is because it is well documented that Fritz has had quality control issues in the past. When they were first released, there were a few batches with different alkalinity numbers. I’ve also seen some mixes that didn’t pass ICP testing, with several parameters too low. For those reasons, I would not recommend this mix for Acroporas.
However, it is readily available from local fishmongers and online, meaning you don’t have to worry about getting your usual salt mix soon if you have to buy it locally.
Check Price On AmazonWhat is the Best Reef Salt to Use?
If you are new to buying reef salt for your aquarium, you should go for Instant Ocean Reef Crystals Reef Salt.
This salt comes from one of the leading brands that makes the highest rated reef salt for use in an aquarium. In addition, salt is made to contain more important compounds, such as calcium, which promote the growth of large and small corals. You will always get the best coralline algae growth when using this product.
The manufacturer has also added trace elements that ensure strong coral growth. With the metal detoxifiers also used in this salt, you can be sure that the heavy metals found in your household water supply are easily removed.
What is the Best Reef Salt Mix?
The question of what the best reef salt mix is ​​is a common one on many forums.
Many people like to give their opinion on what makes a reef salt mix, but the important thing is that you understand the basic components of the best combination.
The first thing to look for when choosing a reef salt mix is ​​the differences between the different brands. All brands have a label stating what they can expect from their sea salt.
The composition of the salt will also be stated on the label. The composition can vary greatly from brand to brand, but some also have common ingredients. The varying composition of the salt mixture causes the differences between one brand and another.
If you want to get the perfect match, there are a few things to consider when making your decision. Common parameters to compare between brands are the amount of calcium, magnesium and alkalinity.
The calcium compound is the main component of reef salt. Corals and other types of invertebrates need it to build their skeleton. The recommended concentration for good results is 400 ppm. PPM stands for part per million.
Magnesium is another important mineral found in reef water. It is often considered the most abundant trace mineral found in salt water. Magnesium works with calcium to balance the alkalinity of the aquarium water. The recommended concentration is 1250 ppm.
Alkalinity affects the pH level of the reef tank. With the addition of salt, you can expect the water to become more alkaline. You should consider alkalinity to ensure you understand the level of bicarbonates in your water. You may need to adjust the alkalinity where possible. The alkalinity of the saltwater aquarium is recommended to be 8-11 dkh.
Now let’s go back to the question. From the details above, you want to have calcium in the range of 400ppm, magnesium 1250-1400ppm and the alkalinity between 8-11 for the salt mix.
How Much Reef Salt Per Litre?
This varies from brand to brand, but in most cases it will be 35g per liter of RO water. You can always refer to the label for manufacturer’s recommendations.
How to Mix Reef Salt?
The first thing to do is get the best sea salt for your aquarium. You can easily buy it from a store near you that sells aquarium related items. Usually you get the synthetic reef salt dry so you can mix it with water.
The next thing is to gather all the supplies needed for the job. You need water to mix and the best option is to use deionized water for this process. You can only use tap water if the water quality is excellent.
You can purchase deionized water from a store near you. Additional process supplies include a clean bucket, immersion heater, stirring tool, hydrometer, and floating thermometer.
Fill the container with deionized water and add salt in the appropriate amount according to the manufacturer’s directions. Each manufacturer provides information about the amount of water to use to dissolve a certain amount of salt. Leave the mixed salt water overnight before adding it to your aquarium.
Conclusion
Keeping your reef aquarium in good condition goes a long way when it comes to making sure you have the best coral in your tank. Now that you know about the best reef aquarium salt, choose one for your aquarium.
Make sure you understand the composition of each type of salt before purchasing. Having the right type of composition goes a long way in choosing the best salt for your marine aquarium.
Within a few weeks of using the correct reef salt, you should be able to see some differences. The differences make their corals look even more vibrant and better.