[wasabi]

i just finished reading a massive thread on the other board, about hobbiest's that switched to crystal seas salt. its very sad most of the results are very negative. i haven't heard many reefer's horror stories here on this site. i am so glad i listened to some of the old salts on this board, (who seemed to be in the majority) and kept using my metal tainted instant ocean. this kind of lesson is very valuable. it will keep me from ever making a sudden change on my tank because someone makes an unsubstantiated claim. are there any good or bad results from anyone on this side of the fence?

 

[seamonkey]

Sry not me I am to afraid to use anything for the tank that was never used before. I meen hell it took me 4 months to get the courage up to take off my bio wheel.

 

[Buzz_Hog]

Most of the old salts here, as well as the new ones, tend not to ask how high when someone says jump....

We watch others jump first, then decide if it's safe to do so....

I'm not saying we're smarter than them, although we are smarter than them.... :idea:

 

[cyberchef]

I'm not saying we're smarter than them, although we are smarter than them.... :idea:

Actually I just consider us better educated and not a bunch of mindless sheep...

 

[Alice]

So is someone going to cut the head off the good Dr.'s statue and drag it behind a boat as an anchor?

 

[Guest]

i was in a band
i play guitar
but since i dint read the message just the sig i now feel like an idiot

 

[foobuddha]

Why fix what ain't broke???

 

[tdwyatt]

i was in a band
i play guitar

This one time, when I was at Band Camp...

 

[Spanky]

This one time, when I was at Band Camp...

WE don't need to know that Tom!

:funny:

Cliff's Notes Version

Way back in the beginning Ron began promoting DSB's as the end all and be all of reef tanks. When these DSB's began falling apart and people's tanks started crashing, he came up with the idea that it was because of heavy metals.
He then began a campaign of promotion designed around a series of tests leading up to prove this. The last test was the sea urchin test.
Based on this test that was designed to prove his hypothesis, he concluded that certain salts would be better to use in a reef tank than others. A lot of people immediately changed to a particular salt that he had concluded was best and quite a few of them had major problems in doing so.

 

[Geoff]

back in my earlier stupid years as a reefer, oh wait i am still stupid. i made the mistake of going from one salt to another during a major water change. needless to say, way bad aftermath. i am not going to do that again. i do not know if it really matters which salt you switch to. i think it is a problem with the switch itself. each and every salt is a little different. i think our critters get used to the composition of the salt we put in there. when we change it, everything wiggs out. i have even seen the problem going from one salt to IO, also many years ago. my guess is if you do it really slowly you could be alright. once again the fast, slow attage is at work again.

right now i use IO.

G~

P.S.- i have prolly been to more band camps than all of you combined.

 

[Ray1214]

I have switched between Kent's Reef Crystals and Red Sea Salt (Bought a ton when Petco had it for 30 bucks a bucket). I guess since I consistently switch between the two (every other water change I switch) I haven't had a problem. However I guess the horror stories have got me concerned a bit. But it has never been really detrimental in my tank.

Ray

 

[SAT]

I started my 300G back in February using CS, before Ron's publication. No problems that I can attribute to salt. And my urchins love it. In Philly you can get CS for $18/150G.

 

[SouthernReefer]

my switch from io went off without a hitch either, i switched to hw marine mix, got to say i like hw better than io. any water quality issues have been my fualt, and not the salt manufacturer. i know a few reefers and clam rustlers using cs salt, and they have not reported any problems.

 

[asmith]

I use Instant Ocean and have never had a problem. My theory is like many others. If it aint broke, don't fix it.

Andrew

 

[Buzz_Hog]

How dare you all not pay hommage to the great Dr. Ron...

I'm telling and the great one will cast a spell that will crash all of your tanks...


:funny: :funny:

 

[cyberchef]

So is someone going to cut the head off the good Dr.'s statue and drag it behind a boat as an anchor?

Probably make a better marker bouy than an anchor... :funny:

 

[Spanky]

Bob Spellman at MEI has been sending out this letter to people that have contacted him.

"After considerable review of testing our raw materials, we were fortunate to find sources for two of our elements in a more refined form (at higher cost) which we believe have improved the clearing and dissolving rate. The composition of Crystal Sea is still the same. We would sincerely appreciate your opinion on this very recent upgrade. We've sent you (today) a 150 gallon size BioAssay Laboratory Formula. Please let us know what you think, pro or con. If you don't wish to participate, I understand. The BioAssay is yours to keep. The above adjustment in raw materials does not resolve the larger issue of mixing various salts and the effects thereof. We are working on this as well."

>"After considerable review of testing our raw materials, we were fortunate to find sources for two of our elements in a more refined form (at higher cost) which we believe have improved the clearing and dissolving rate.<

This tell me there's been a problem with it all along. That they were buying a lower grade (cheaper) element/ingredient.

>The composition of Crystal Sea is still the same.<

The composition is the same, they're just improving the quality of the ingredients.

>The above adjustment in raw materials does not resolve the larger issue of mixing various salts and the effects thereof. We are working on this as well."<

Sounds like they've realized it's a CS problem and they need to address it.

Just my personal opinion, I wouldn't be using the old mix until they resolve these problems.

Kudos to them. They realized that there's a problem and they are trying to fix it. You can't get better than that. It's unfortunate that this salt was so highly recommended without researching and knowing all this in the first place though.