- Not all salt water mixes are created equal,
you could pay as little as 33 cents per gallon,
or well over 55 cents per gallon.
And there is one mix that's just better for beginners.
My preferred way of referring to this is seawater mix.
To me when I say salt or salt water mix,
it could be any type of salt like table salt,
kosher salt or even Epsom salt.
Whereas a seawater mix contains a lot more.
Ocean water is a mixture of 96.5% water
with 2.5% different kinds of salt,
and 1% major, minor, and trace elements.
A dry synthetic seawater mix seeks
to emulate the chemical composition of the ocean.
Albeit with a few tweaks that some reefers will prefer.
So if you were to fill your salt water aquarium
with a mixture of table salt and water,
you would be missing out on all of those major,
minor, and trace elements that are especially important
for coral health and growth.
We sell over 10 different seawater mixes here at BRS,
and let me get the obvious out of the way first,
they're all gonna work just fine.
But depending on your tank and livestock goals
there will definitely be a seawater mix that's best for you.
The first consideration is price,
and you can't trust the label here, but you can trust Randy.
This video he made is a couple years old,
so the prices have probably gone up a little bit.
But you can see that when mixed to 35 parts per thousand,
most salt water mixes fall
in that 50 to 55 cents per gallon range.
Next look at the calcium and alkalinity levels
of each salt mix.
Most hobbyists will likely keep their calcium levels
somewhere between 400 and 425 and their dKH levels somewhere
between seven and nine.
While most saltwater mixes will fall somewhere
within that range, there are a couple outliers.
For instance, both the Red Sea Coral Pro
and the Instant Ocean Reef Crystals
have significantly higher calcium levels.
While Brightwell Aquatics NeoMarine
and Tropic Marin Classic seem to mix on the low side.
Switching over to alkalinity by far the highest dKH levels
are found in this bucket of Red Sea Coral Pro
while the lowest levels of alkalinity are found
in the Tropic Marin Pro Mix.
There are also some other factors you may wanna consider
when choosing the perfect seawater mix
for you such as how long does it take to mix?
How long can I store it for?
Does it need to be constantly heated and circulated
or will it precipitate out or even cause
that brown slimy sludge that will coat the inside
of my trash can and mixing bucket.
But to make this simple and to answer all of those questions
for all of you beginners out there,
just don't worry about the answers.
Just follow our seawater mixing procedure later
in this video and we'll be able to mitigate
all those issues.
That's all well and good Matthew,
but you didn't actually give us any help
in how to select the right seawater mix for us,
and you are completely right,
but that's what this chapter's for.
First up, we have the most budget friendly option available
and there's one clear winner here,
Instant Ocean standard, the purple bucket.
According to Randy's testing,
it mixes to 425 parts per million calcium and 10 DKH.
Our third winner is for those of you who just want
the seawater mix with the highest calcium
and highest alkalinity out there.
At first glance Instant Ocean Reef Crystal seems
to be the obvious answer
because the calcium levels are above 500
while the DKH is above 10.
But if a crazy high DKH is more important to you
then you're gonna wanna go with Red Sea Coral Pro.
With a slightly are modest but still elevated calcium
at 450 parts per million.
The alkalinity level is off the charts
coming in at 12.3 DKH.
Our fourth salt selection is
for those of you who just wanna build a FOWLR tank,
a Fish Only With Live Rock.
You just don't need anything fancy here
and you certainly don't need elevated calcium
and alkalinity levels.
The first good option here is Tropic Marin Classic.
It comes in with a lower calcium level
of around 400 parts per million,
but an elevated DKH of about 9.6.
Brightwell Aquatic NeoMarine has lower levels all around
with a calcium level of around 400 and a DKH of around 7.8.
Our fifth category for salt is the best salt
for stony corals.
If you keep up with your weekly water changes,
you may be able to get away without having
to dose calcium and alkalinity.
This can best be accomplished with a seawater mix
that is high in calcium and high in alkalinity.
My favorite here is Red Sea Coral Pro.
With a calcium level of around 450 and a DKH above 12.
This mix will help you keep your stony corals growing
and happy with just a weekly water change.
And the category you true beginners may have been waiting
for, our choice for best beginner seawater mix.
If you have no clue what to buy
but you think you will probably add stony corals
at some point then just go with one of these two options,
both of which have elevated calcium and alkalinity levels.
Red Sea Coral Pro, or Instant Ocean Reef Crystals.
They're both about the same price,
Reef Crystals on the one hand has higher calcium levels
but lower DKH levels, but it does mix quite dirty.
Red Sea on the other hand mixes a little bit cleaner,
has higher DKH levels, but lower calcium levels.
Really it's a toss up, just go with either one.
Randy and Ryan have made an entire series on how to mix
and store seawater with some really surprising results.
Believe it or not, it actually matters how long you heat
the water for.
It matters how long you stir it for,
and it matters whether or not you follow the directions
on the seawater mix.
But lucky for all of us, there is one overall best way.
Step one, read the instructions on the saltwater mix.
Step number two, start with room temperature RODI water,
somewhere around 68 degrees Fahrenheit,
or 20 degrees Celsius.
Step number three, plug in a small utility pump
such as the NEWA MP 1200 to circulate the water.
Step number four slowly, add in your seawater mix
until your desired salinity is reached.
For us, that's usually 35 parts per thousand
or a specific gravity of 1.025.
Step number five, plug in a heater and set it to 78 degrees.
Step number six, allow your freshly made seawater
to mix for at least 48 hours before using for best results.
After 48 hours of mixing
you can store your freshly made seawater for several weeks
either with heat and circulation or without it,
just make sure you have a lid on it to avoid evaporation.
But for the most consistent long term storage results,
use the heater and utility pump all the time
and mix at least 48 hours prior to use.
If you need saltwater mix faster than 48 hours
then try to let it mix for at least 24 hours.
But obviously if there is an emergency situation
you can just mix your seawater and use it right away.
Personally, I always keep about 60 gallons
of seawater ready, it's circulating all the time
and it's heating all the time.
That way, when I'm ready to a water change,
it's available to me or in case of emergency I have it
there as a backup.
I have been making my own salt water
for over eight years now
and I have tried almost 10 different seawater mixes.
And no joke, no joke until watching this video last week
I was still making three of these common mistakes,
don't be like me.
Just watch the video here,
and as always, thanks for watching, happy reefing, be well,
we'll see you next time.