Instant Ocean Sea Salt

If you’ve decided to enter into the world of saltwater aquariums, using a salt mix that accurately replicates natural seawater is a must.

Instant Ocean® Sea Salt is a carefully formulated  sea salt used by many of the leading large-scale aquariums and research facilities across the country. It's like bringing the ocean home, 

The goal is to provide your marine aquarium the closest match to natural seawater, for that reason their formula contains all important major and minor trace elements and vital nutrients necessary (with no nitrates or phosphates) which provides marine fish, invertebrates and plants a healthy aquarium.

This product is easy to mix and dissolves quickly in water with exceptional solubility and uniform particle size. By creating a fully dissolved and homogenous saltwater solution, precipitation is less likely to occur inside your storage container and you will reduce the risk of bio-irritation to corals and fish tissue from the undissolved particles.

Can be added to ordinary dechlorinated tap water or purified water as a close match to natural seawater. It quickly achieves and maintains ideal pH, free of nitrate and phosphate. This is a great product with the correct salinity.

So, if you are an aquarist who wishes to re-create a thriving ocean habitat in your own home, then Instant Ocean is a brand of marine salt with a strong reputation for creating an ideal marine environment. The sea salt withstands separation during packaging and shipping and no special additives are required. The consistent formulation is ideal for mixing small or large quantities. This sea salt is sealed to ensure freshness and ease of use.

Depending on the environment and the amount of vitamins and trace elements its inhabitants require for optimum growth you have to choose between two types of salt:

Instant Ocean Sea Salt is recommended for a fish-only environment, with no corals or live rock,

And Instant Ocean Reef Crystals is recommended for a more advanced reef environment,  populated with live rock, invertebrates, and soft and hard corals. It contains higher levels of vitamins and trace elements, such as strontium and magnesium, as well as extra calcium, that more complex marine life need to grow.

This second product is formulated specifically for reef aquariums, containing essential ocean reef elements in concentrations greater than those found in natural sea water, with extra calcium encouraging the growth of large and small polyp stony corals (LPS and SPS) as well as coralline algae. It also neutralizes traces of heavy metals found in tap water while helps promote growth and survival of corals, anemones and other invertebrates in a captive environment.

Many people use this sea salt to make drinking/soaking water for tropical land hermit crabs, just make sure the salt water pool is deep enough for them to fill their shells with water if they want. You also need to add salt water to their sand/substrate and eventually they will tunnel down for their first molt. Definitely you should google to find out any specific requirements for the species you have.

Instructions for Instant Ocean:

This fast-dissolving salt can also be added to ordinary dechlorinated tap water or purified water. Simply stir and then aerate and be sure to test for proper salt level for the best results. Maintain your aquarium and watch it flourish with Instant Ocean Sea Salt for Aquariums.

1. Mix Instant Ocean® with ordinary dechlorinated tap or purified water. 
If using tap water, be sure to use a dechlorinator to completely neutralize any concentrations of chlorine and chloramines.

NOTE: To prepare small quantities, use 1/2 cup of Instant Ocean Sea Salt or Reef Crystals per each U.S. gallon of water (depending on the water source, this amount of salt may need to be adjusted.) to attain specific gravity of one point zero two two (1.022). Mix as directed. Use a container that is clean and devoted only to mixing salt. Since you will be performing regular water changes, make sure it’s big enough to hold the amount of water you’ll be replacing.

Always add the salt mix to a purified water source, not the other way around. Adding water to the salt mix briefly creates a highly concentrated solution that can lead to precipitation of some ingredients.

2. Stir vigorously to ensure a good mix. Although the Instant Ocean solution may be used immediately, we suggest aerating the water until it achieves oxygen/carbon dioxide equilibrium.

3. Measure specific gravity with an Instant Ocean® Hydrometer. Recommended Specific Gravity Range: 1.020 - 1.024 at 77°F. NOTE: 1.5 lbs of Instant Ocean is formulated to create 5 gallons of saltwater at a specific gravity of 1.022.

4. Adjust salt level accordingly. If specific gravity is too low, add more Instant Ocean. lf too high, add more dechlorinated water.

It’s common practice for saltwater tanks to have a slightly higher salinity to match the specific gravity of natural seawater, which is 1.026 (one point zero two six). To achieve this, just add a bit more salt and, once mixed, use a hydrometer to verify the specific gravity.

If it’s too high, simply add more purified water.

To properly mix aquarium salt, insert a powerhead into the container to thoroughly dissolve and uniformly mix the salt overnight. This allows the carbon dioxide in the aquarium water to reach equilibrium with the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which normalizes pH. It also adds oxygen to the water.

Finally, always make sure any unused salt is re-sealed in the container after use to avoid contamination.

5. Change 15-25% of aquarium water every two weeks to maintain optimum water quality. In another source I read: For a saltwater aquarium, you should replace at least 30% of the water every 30 days, or sooner, depending on your tank’s inhabitants.

Some people think water changes are an inconvenience, but regular and consistent water changes will keep your aquarium chemistry very stable providing the best environment for your fish to thrive.

NEVER mix salt in an aquarium containing animals.

In New Aquariums:
Transfer animals to the aquarium AFTER salt is completely mixed and aerated and specific gravity has been adjusted.

CAUTION: INSTANT OCEAN IS NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. Contact in dry form may cause skin or eye irritation.
In case of contact, completely flush skin or eye(s) with cool water and seek medical attention.

Another related product from this manufacturer is the Instant Ocean BIO-Spira Water Treatment for Aquariums, specially useful for saltwater aquariums.

Instant Ocean BIO-Spira contains patented and patent-pending strains of aquatic bacteria, proven to reduce fish loss due to ammonia and nitrite toxicity. The live nitrifying bacteria start working immediately to reduce dangerous ammonia and nitrite and to provide a safe and healthy environment for your fish without the long wait. Mix of nitrococcus, nitrosomonas, nitrosospira and nitrospira is proven to work.

When starting them up, all new aquariums will have to go through a nitrogen cycle. Any organic waste in the water such as uneaten food, fish waste, decaying plant matter, organic waste, fish are overfed too much in one sitting, among others will cause a chemical breakdown into ammonia. The role of beneficial bacteria in your tank is to feed off this ammonia which will break it down into Nitrites, then another bacteria will break it down into Nitrates. Nitrates are most easily removed (diluted) by doing routine partial water changes on the aquarium.

When you start your tank, this process will happen naturally taking anywhere from 1-2 months. The thing is that during this period of time, your fish can be subject to high levels of ammonia and nitrites which are harmful to the fish and can cause stress.

With BIO-Spira you can inoculate the saltwater aquarium with beneficial bacteria to fully cycle or speed up the cycling of the tank. It's a good product to start a new marine aquarium because it accelerates the establishment of the bio-filter and keeps ammonia/nitrite concentration below harmful level to prevent new tank syndrome, 

Btw, for a new freshwater aquarium you can use Instant Tetra SafeStart Plus. This product contains the bacteria that will cycle your tank instantly or very quickly.

This product is also useful if you have to do a larger than normal water change, since in this case a lot of bacteria would be eliminated. Another good case is if you have to add fish to the aquarium , since this will increase the waste from new fish so we need to boost the bacteria levels.

For saltwater tanks, use after a water change when adding new fish or after medicating. One bottle of this product treats up to 75 gallons of water in marine aquariums. Shake well. Please note that this product is not a substitute for water changes.

Instant Ocean offers a full line of products, including sea salt, water treatments, test kits and accessories, to make sure your saltwater aquarium remains vibrant and healthy. The product reviewed today creates an ideal marine environment with no nitrates or phosphates.