Tropic Marin Pro Reef vs. I/O Salt?

[MikeyZO]

I know there have been several threads on which salts are better and which people use, but I found this interesting and was wondering if anyone had heard the same.

I was talking to the owner of a LFS who has been in the reef business for over 10 years. He was telling me they used to use tropic marin pro reef until recently when they went to a seminar about salts. He said the person who invented TM Pro Reef was there, and he basically said that unless you are an advanced reefer who knows how things work chemically in the water, you shouldnt use Pro Reef because it can lead to a huge alkalinity imbalance in your tank, particualrly making it spike. Apparently the new thinking (supposedly backed by some studies) is that Instant Ocean salt is the best to use now. I was using Tropic Marin for about 6 months until I ran out and then switched to Pro Reef figuring that since I was really getting more into corals, it would help. I havent really seen a problem with my water chemistry. Wondering if anyone else has heard anything along these lines.

 

[reefman]

interesting, i didnt know pro reef was invented by 1 guy. what is his name?

 

[MikeyZO]

lol hey dont shoot the messanger

 

[KathyC]

Can't say that I've heard about this fellows statement, but it sounds like a lot of hooey to me.
What the heck makes an advanced reefer different in regard to a particular brand of salt?
While different companies mix differing amounts of Ca/Alk/Mg and the other elements into their salts, the reefer themselves ought to be testing their fresh SW to see what the mix is like, and making adjustments from that point.
I can't imagine they'd put in so much extra Alk to the point that you'd have to dose only Ca & Mg to keep from throwing your parameters off.

Add to that, when switching salts, it's said that you are supposed to do it slowly by mixing greater & greater quantites of the new salt in with your old salt until the change over is complete so as not to cause issues or shock your tank.

Yes, many of the salt mixes are made differently, though I will say that the TMPro salt melts/mixes very quickly.
Can't say that I noticed that IO rose to the top of the heap on the last couple of salt studies I read, it was Coralife that looked to be spot on with all of their numbers.

Will say I'm curious as to what brands of salt the LFS you spoke with carries...

 

[Mr. Softy]

One vote for TM.

 

[ZANYMASTER]

I've heard the same of TMP.Too much calcium and may throw your system out of whack if not buffered correctly.I'm a fan of Seachem Reef.Tunze is good too.

 

[MikeyZO]

see? I'm not the only one who heard it. :tongue1: lol

 

[lunner]

Over the years I had made 2 switch, each lasted a six months:
I/O Reef Crystal -- > Tropic Marin Pro -- > I/O Reef Crystal --> Red Sea Coral Pro
--> I/O Reef Crystal

As far I can tell, there isn't much different as far as growth but then I dose daily...
Last time I change to Red Sea Coral Pro because of the hype... but I don't think I will switch my salt again. I think it is better to keep your salt grade constant.

 

[nanoreefer22]

I've always preferred to use IO. Maybe it's just me but my tank seems to fair better, even if just slightly with IO.

 

[LeslieS]

Just to be clear, Tropic Marin and Tropic Marin Pro Reef are two different salts produced by Tropic Marin

 

[MikeyZO]

Just to be clear, Tropic Marin and Tropic Marin Pro Reef are two different salts produced by Tropic Marin

Right.

 

[NYreefNoob]

read somewhere on rc about tm having higher phosphate's as well, ive tried io, tm, tmp, rc. and have went back to using red sea coral pro, keeps my levels up, atleast what i check for, cal, mag and alk. allowing me to have to dose less, i think you can achieve same results with about all the salt's, just some you have to dose more of this or that to get levels correct

 

[MikeyZO]

i've only used TM and TMPro and my phosphates are .05 and I just started using a phosban reactor.

 

[Wes]

i dont see how it can cause an alkalinity spike. For me Tropic Marin Pro mixes to 8.5 dkH @ 1.026 and calcium around 450.

This is very close to the params i like to keep in my tank and in my experience it has been the most consistant and balanced out of the other brands i've tried.

I tried, TM Pro Reef, TM "regular", Red Sea Coral Pro, and Reef Crystals. After trying a bucket each, I went back to TM Pro because the parameters match my tank the closest.

 

[marrone]

I was using TM Pro for a number of years and I always had a problem with hair algae. I switched to Coral Life and within a couple of months of using it the hair algae problem was all gone. From some of the studies it seems there is a lot of phosphates in TM Pro than other salts.

I was also running Phosban during the time I was using both salts, and actually had a larger bio-load after I switch salt. So I've coming to the conclusion that the hair algae problems was because of TM Pro.