High Tide Aquatics

Salt comparison : Instant Ocean Regular vs Tropic Marine Classic - Cost different is not as high as it seems

newfly

Supporting Member
I have been using TM Classic for 1+ year now. Bought a 50g bag of IC to try out since its much cheaper based on list price. I'm on my 2nd WC with IC and noticed i need ~30% more IC compared to TM to get to 1.025 salinity. The first WC, i didn't think too much of it. With the 2nd WC, its clear that i need approximately 4 cups of salt to 9g of water ration for IC , versus ~3 cups/9g ratio for TM.

Taking that into consideration, the actual cost is different is less significant. I probably will stick to TM since it works well for me.

I cannot comment if one brand is better than the other. I think this is a very subjective topic and there is no right answer. Just sharing my observation.
 
Agree. BRS did an Investigates on this topic a couple years ago and found basically that all salts are similar price when made up to the same salinity. Of course prices have gone up since then. IO/RC in particular gets their apparently low price down by cheating and quoting gallons for a hyposalinity fish-only tank, not a reef tank.

People have lots of preferences and I’ve found many salts are similar to each other. Except for Tropic Marin Pro, which is overall better than the others in every way and worth paying a bit more for.
 
Agree. BRS did an Investigates on this topic a couple years ago and found basically that all salts are similar price when made up to the same salinity. Of course prices have gone up since then. IO/RC in particular gets their apparently low price down by cheating and quoting gallons for a hyposalinity fish-only tank, not a reef tank.

People have lots of preferences and I’ve found many salts are similar to each other. Except for Tropic Marin Pro, which is overall better than the others in every way and worth paying a bit more for.

Just ordered the 200g bucket TM Pro from saltwateraquarium. Its only $14 more for the 200g bucket. Thanks for the tips. I like the higher ca and mag in the Pro.
 
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