(03/04/2009) - I have used Tropic Marin salt for the past 6 years with no complaints. I upgraded to the Pro-Reef as soon as it was available. For those who switch back and forth between different brands: expect adverse reactions in your tank; corals and other organisms rely on consistency. Abrupt change, of any salt brand, could bring about negative reaction.
The plastic bag and bucket also offer excellent moisture protection of the salt; I have never had clumping issues with this product.
(01/25/2009) - I agree with Brian S's review. All my coraline algae died off and went grey. Also my hammers that I had for about 4-5 years did not like it at all. A bunch of heads started to fall off. I have since switched back to reef crystals and everything is doing great. My tank has never looked better. It took about 1 year for my tank to get back to normal. Also a freind of mine bought this stuff and started his 75 gallon reef tank with it and has had nothing, but trouble until recently. I am very, very disappointed and will stick with reef crystal.
(10/16/2007) - Tried em all. Other than also liking the seachem reef crystals, This salt performs the best in my tanks.
Although for my tank size I usually mix 30 to 50 gallons at a time for water changes.
I don't see the drastic changes other comment on with diffrences in readings. Most likely due to larger quatities being mixed allowing better absorbtion.
Premium almost a year ago when I first set up my tank said they used tropic Marin and I went with what the PRO's were using. A year later I tried everything else and I personally see why they would put there name behind something like this.
Great stuff.
(12/13/2006) - I am always willing to try something new and have no issues paying more money if a product stands out above the rest. I have seen some very nice tanks that use this salt, so I put it to the test; not the scientific ones but the most important test of them all, my observations of the tank. This salt mixes very well and the parameters are spot on; good calcium, pH, and alk (I like the idea that the alk is more towards 7 than 11 as it is much easier to control.) This salt was used in conjunction with saturated limewater for topoffs and a calcium reactor for maintaining Ca and Alk. I was able to keep my parameters steady as can be with little or no deviations. This is where I give this salt a 5. My observations were a little less impressive. I had to clean the glass daily using a magnet cleaner. I would normally do this twice a week, but for some reason or another it had to be done more often. I also noticed that everything (mostly the LR) had went from a nice deep purple to an ash grey. The tank really lost it's "POP" that makes people say, "WOW!" It simply looked dull. SPS growth wasn't too bad (it doesn't grow very fast anyways), but the colors of the corals seemed to drift towards dull. I have seen tanks that have results contrary to mine, so I would most certainly say to give this salt a try. For some reason or another, my tank didn't really care much for this particular salt, so I no longer use it.
(12/10/2006) - For those reading the reviews - the S15 report seems to fly in the face of experience/reality. I wonder who paid for the report?
I have been using Tropic Reef salt since it came out. My tank is very healthy.
I will agree that the magnesium levels are not consistant and adjustments are necessary. Despite this fact - it is clearly the best salt I have used.
(11/02/2006) - I just mixed up 15 gallons of this salt. Calcium was way over 500, magnesium was at 375. It gave a PH of 8.15, I mix to SG 1.025. For the extra cost all I got was a headache and have to adjust magnesium to proper reading. After I go through this 200gal bucket I will try another brand. This is just BS.
(08/16/2006) - WOW, what an awsome salt. I have never used a finer product than Tropic Marine Pro Reef Salt. Some people have said that they can't notice a differance between this product and other brands such as instant ocean. Let me be the first to say that I noticed a dramatic differance, all for the betterment of my reef especially my sps.
(01/12/2010) - I have been using this salt for five weeks now in three different systems. I was skeptical of the cost, but decided to give it a try. Reefers in Europe have been using this salt for over a year with amazing results ($130/bucket). The second water change was when the changes happened. Polyp extension/color is amazing and the growth is out of this world. I feel that this is the best reef salt I have used in the last 16 years. Try it and post your reviews.
(01/18/2009) - I have used this salt for about a year now in my 40g. tank and I have had no problems or issues. The calcium levels are very good as is alkalinity. One thing I like is that this mixes up to 1.025 with the standard 1/2 cup per gallon of R/O measurement. Many other salts only mix to 1.023 so you have to use more salt to get the correct salinity.
I know several other reefers who use this salt as well with equally good results.
(03/16/2008) - I bought this because everyone said it's the best of the best. I sprung for the extra monay and I am very disappointed. I used it for about 3 months and my hammer corals that I have had for 4-5 years started to decline. The heads started to fall off of the base. So I switched back to Reef Crystals and all of my LPS are looking better. Very disappointed. Lost about 12 heads of my very very nice green and purple hammer coral. Will not buy again or reccomend to anyone. I have about 80-100 gallons of salt left that will probably get tossed in the end.
(02/25/2007) - In my opinion, I don't think so. In actual dollars and cents the cost difference between IO and TM is $5US. When I mix these two in the same manner, (RO/DI airate 24hrs, add salt to 1.025, and mix 24hrs) the IO is is usually at 340/350ppm calcium and 9.5-10dkh alkalinity. With TM it is 410-420ppm calcium and 10-10.5dkh alkalinity. The latter is much closer to what I want so I don't have to add additives to the TM to get there like IO. Plus, compared to the cost of the critters in my tanks, the extra $5 is really a non-issue. Again it is probably me and the way I do maintenance, but I always get more green turf like algae when I use IO.
(09/21/2005) - If I were spending someone else's money, I would have to buy Tropic Marine, because it truly is the most rapidly disolving product I have used, and the quality control is outstanding. However, Instant Ocean is just as effective, and it is cheaper so...
