Water changes whats better Salt mix or ocean water

[Reefwater]

:roll: Well I make lots of water changes and my local pet store is far from my home so I mostly have to mix my own salt water with ocean salt mix what do you guys recommend salt mix or ocean water from pets store? Thank you :roll:

[evoracer]

Ocean water is sooo damn expensive!

[thomas1102]

nothing compares to ocean water imo, but you can always get a batch with something in it. i will just go for the best mix i can get. :D

[Reefwater]

So what kind of mix would you recommend for a reef tank?

[fattoni]

what kind of salt mix? I would use Instant ocean or oceanic salt mix.

kris

[Reefwater]

But you say it's better to use real ocean water that the pet shops provide?

[joanadam]

You may find this study and comparison interesting.

http://216.168.47.67/cis-fishnet/JAAS/Jaas_8_2.pdf

I think you will find though that if you get a good grade synthetic mix there is not alot of difference to warrant the price/hassle of getting real ocean water.

[nyfireman3097]

not sure if i read that correct but IO looked the best next to SW
Nick

[Travis]

Oceanic Salt with RO/DI water!!

[SaltyMist]

I use to use natural sea water sold in the LFS, then I realized two things:

1. It costs me $28.00 to do a 5 gallon water change per week over a months period of time, compared to

2. Buying a bag of saltmix for about $20.00 that will last me 3 to 4 months, so a savings of about $276.00 per year.

I just switched over a short time back though when I found a 6 stage RO/DI water filter system on ebay for $100.00 with shipping and insurance, so while it may take me 6 months to recooperate that initial purchase, I'll still be $176.00 ahead of the game (give or take, dependant on the cost of filters, membranes etc) at the 1 year mark.

The only downside to mixing your own, is getting it to the right salinity level. I've got a batch sitting at home in a 5 gallon bucket with a powerhead, and even though I used 2.5 cups of mix (according to the directions) to 5 gallons of RO/DI water, it still only mixed it to about 1.21 salinity levels measured with a refractometer with ATC. So I had to add some more mix and wait till it fully mixes in and measure it again till I get it up to about 1.24 or so. Thats the only real downside to mixing your own. Since Im moving to the desert next month, I dont want to have to lug around any more 5 gallon containers, plus the LFS in the desert charges like $1.15/gallon of natural sea water.

I use Instant Ocean now, and was 10 or more years ago when I was mixing it up myself on my larger tank. It's served me well in the past, and so far so good.