Buying Salt Part 1 - What is Most Important?

[NaH2O]

Thanks MDGRL Mom!

The next few polls will be regarding artificial salt mixes. I'm not looking for this thread to get into heated debates on which salt is the best, but I'm curious about how we purchase salt, and what is most important for us as consumers. If we all behave , then the last poll will be which is our favorite salt .

In part 1 of the salt polls, lets see what is most important to us. Price, Quality, Consistency, Ease of Use (mixing, or lack of supplementing, as examples), Availability, or maybe some other reason.

Let's see what the masses think.

In part 2 we'll learn in what types of quantity we purchase salt....

 

[Scooterman]

I had to consider this for a moment then voted other. I look for availability, brand, price, and quality etc, all of the choices really. Hey If I can save a buck & still get good results then I'm game but for the most part I do want it to be as consistent as most other salts, & available because I don't like switching salts unless I would be in a real bind. I would have to say ease of use would be a last reason because probably would have to go through similar procedures & maybe even make similar adjustments when mixing the salts.

 

[LakeEd]

I am going to have to go with "Consistency". I know, for my needs, buffering in one way or another is going to have to be accomplished. What I've looked for is a brand that tends to be the most consistent, so my needs and buffering is very similar from batch to batch.

 

[spongebob lover]

i vote quality and consistency because more than saving money... i really really want my tank to always be balanced and know that the salt i'm buying has all the good stuff for my corals (mainly ) and fishes .
Now if i could save a couple bucks here and there .... well that'd be even better .

 

[szidls]

I vote quality and consistency also. We found some great sea salt and garlic mix at Costco. Comes with it's own grinder. It tastes great on the tri tip steak last night.
Scott

 

[NaH2O]

I also voted for quality and consistency. I want a salt without really skewed parameters (I don't mind supplementing the mix water), and I want it to be consistent in its quality. I don't want one batch, then find the next batch I buy to be all messed up. Availability is probably my last choice. With Premium Aquatics in our town, the majority of salts are readily available

szidls - ROFL!

 

[DonW]

I had to consider this for a moment then voted other. I look for availability, brand, price, and quality etc, all of the choices really. Hey If I can save a buck & still get good results then I'm game but for the most part I do want it to be as consistent as most other salts, & available because I don't like switching salts unless I would be in a real bind. I would have to say ease of use would be a last reason because probably would have to go through similar procedures & maybe even make similar adjustments when mixing the salts.

Agreed, I only use IO so that makes the decision making part easy. Price is always a concideration. I usually wait for a group buy or find a retailer that will give me a good deal on 20 buckets at a time.

Don

 

[Meche]

- Scooter, if you assumed a particular brand was reasonably available and priced, would CONSISTENCY would be your top factor?

- Don, you only buy IO. Why? Because it is consistent?

I would guess that if someone made a dead reliable, consistent, "properly formulated", and balanced mix; everyone that had a basic understanding of the chemistry behind salt mixes, would try to buy it.

If it was reasonably available and reasonably priced what else could you ask for?

I am not an expert in salt-mixes but I have paid attention to several salt comparisons and they have all led me to the same conclusion; there is no excellent salt choice.

Are you listening Seachem? Are you listening Twopartsolution?

I know this is easier said than done but... :doubt:

 

[Scooterman]

I don't think you can make every batch exact consistently forever with a high cost & then still fall short of perfect, I think they shoot for a tolerance & test what they can practically. Most salts will work fine IMO & most better names probably fall in that consistent range, it is up to you to determine what you need to do to it when mixing to get the results you need, If anything. Unless you test & measure exactly each batch you make, how can you know your making consistent mixes also. I buy large buckets, shipping cost adds to the price, so I compare that local products available & hope it is constantly available, with that I should be able to maintain my replacement water as consistently as I can get it. IO been around over 35 years, used commercially & is reasonably priced, went through ups & downs & quickly found out that if they don't keep it as consistent as they can, it will affect their sales.

 

[chris&barb]

i wanted to click 2 choices. i picked quality/consistency but price is a very close second. i can get IO for $32 in a few places close to me and RC for $34 if i drive for a few hours. i use to use TM but IO is just as good IMO and i can get 2 IO for 1 TM

 

[DonW]

-
- Don, you only buy IO. Why? Because it is consistent?

I use IO because its been a sort of industry standard for many years. Ive made the mistake off jumping on the Oceanic band wagon when it first came out. There used to be alot of cheaper salt makers 10+ years ago but they seem to have fallen by the wayside. There is no perfect salt but IO is probably going to be around longer than most of us due to the fact that they are the trusted brand.
Besides the fact they make it easy to negociate a good price on large quantities at most any dececnt LFS.

Don

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Don said it all, IO in the large pails. Consistent and when regularly on sale, affordable.

 

[brianblack]

I use IO since I started then the LFS had some Kent on sale so I got 2 pails well the system seemed to grind to a halt in growth and extension. Switched back to IO and it started comming back to itself which is just been recently. I just switched to IO Reef Crystals and seems to be good. LPS are growing like mad SPS look good.

 

[NaH2O]

brianblack - we can get into this deeper into this in one of our later polls (your personal experiences) when we talk about what brands everyone uses, however, it seems that your post is based on quality of salt?

Here's my next question for everyone that voted "quality" (even if you didn't vote quality - post your opinions)..... to quote the great mojo when deciding on a salt "pick your poison". None are perfect, but.....What defines a quality salt to you?

 

[Elmo18]

I voted for Quality/Consistency.

I have used IO from the beginning. Probably will not try any other type of salt unless something goes wrong with them. Obviously, there are other better salt mixes...but they are more expensive, such as Tropic Marine sea salt. For what I'm doing at the moment, IO when on sale is such a steal.

The two salt mixes I will use are: Instant Ocean and Tropic Marine.

Best,
Ilham

 

[Frankie]

I too voted for Quality/Consistency.
I also watch threads on products and adds to see whats new and hot. I have switched salts a few times over the last few years looking for the "golden nugget" (might have found it now). The stuff i started with is not avalible here where i moved to so i was forced to try others.

 

[Elmo18]

I too voted for Quality/Consistency.
I also watch threads on products and adds to see whats new and hot. I have switched salts a few times over the last few years looking for the "golden nugget" (might have found it now). The stuff i started with is not avalible here where i moved to so i was forced to try others.

Hi Frankie. What salt are you using now, or (forced into using now)?

Best,
Ilham

 

[Frankie]

Sera. It seems to be good so far. It mixes well and dissolves clear. The water tests look good also.

 

[plack]

I assume a certain level of consistency with i.o. wich is a brand. I believe many who voted quality or consistency also judge that by a brand's name !!!

 

[NaH2O]

plack - I agree to a point. Certainly, if you shop by brand there is a reason behind it. It may not be because of quality or consistency. I through the choice "brand" into the mix to see if people really think about why they buy the salt they do. Is it because of consistency, quality, etc....or is it because everyone recommends it, or the person just hears the name over and over as a good brand, so that is why he/she buys it. Does this make sense? "Brand" can kind of be looked at as the "chicken and the egg" thing....what came first? The quality/consistency or the brand?

Does the occasional "bad batches" of different salts weigh on anyone's choice for consistency/quality?