# My Review of Seachem Vibrant Sea Salt



## twobytwo

I saw this new salt in my LFS and figured I'd give it shot. My only other salts I've used were Tropic Marin Pro when I filled my first tank about 2 years ago, and then dozens of pails of Reef Crystals since then (oh and some instant ocean for QT tanks). I hadn't seen much data about this salt, so I hope this information serves the community well.

I bought the "220" gallon box, and it priced out very close to the 160g bucket or 200g box of RC. I put "220" in quotes, because it is "up to". Based on the mixing directions, 27g/Litre makes 1.020 and 31g/litre makes 1.023. If the amount of salt needed is linear, I need 35g/Litre to get to 1.026. Based on this being a 23kg box, I have 23,000 grams which would make 657.14Litres at 1.026, or 173.6 US Gallons. The salt comes in a bag inside the box.

The actual salt is a little granular, not like a fine powder or even sugar or salt. It seemed to dissolve well; I made about 30 gallons at 1.026 in a Brute container with a pump in the bottom and there was only a quarter sized spot in the middle on the bottom that didn't dissolve. I took about a day mixing this, as I was trying to get the 1.026 salinity right on, and was having to add a little RODI or Salt in small amounts. This was also me being lazy, it was late when I mixed up the saltwater and decided to go to sleep and change water in the next day or two. The directions do say that it can be used immediately after mixing. There's some minor precipitate on my Brute after letting it mix for a few days.

I tested the big 3, Cal Alk and Mag.
Cal (Red Sea) = 510
Mag (Red Sea) = 1400
Alk (Hanna) = 3.5meq/L = 9.8dKH

So, all in all, I give this a thumbs up and will use it in my DT and Frag tanks. Even at a lower salinity, you would probably still have reasonable amounts of Cal and Alk. Thanks for reading!


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## Crayon

Interesting. How does the price compare with the other salts you used?
After 4 days, did precipitate get any worse?
Any scum or brown residue?


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## twobytwo

Crayon said:


> Interesting. How does the price compare with the other salts you used?
> After 4 days, did precipitate get any worse?
> Any scum or brown residue?


I think the price of the "220" box (aka 177 at 1.026) is about $79 at Big Als. When it first was available, it was on sale at their Midnight sale for $65. i dont know who else carries it yet.

Below is the Brute, so yes- there is some precipitate. But it wiped off pretty easily while I've found sometimes the precipitate from RC is a little more "tacky" to the container. I really only found RC to precipitate much when it's heated - but I'll mix it 24 hrs per directions wheras the Seachem can be used right away. And much of the Seachem precipitate looked like it was settled on the inside rim around the top, and not as bad on the sides of the brute. But don't forget - i was lazy and this was mixing for about 2-3 days before I used it. I didn not apply any heat until just before my water Change.


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## twobytwo

Here's whats on the product page on the BA site:

https://www.bigalspets.com/ca/seachem-vibrant-sea-220-gal.html

_At a specific gravity of 1.023, Vibrant Sea will yield the
following:
pH: 8.4 - 8.5
Alk: 3 - 4 meq
Ca: 425 - 445 mg/L
Mg: 1250 - 1350 mg/L
K: 500 - 550 mg/L
Sr: 8 - 10 mg/L_

**Edit* Just spoke to Rob at Canada corals and they'll be carrying Vibrant Sea! Go get some!*


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## imy112

+1 I've been using this salt for 2+ years with no issues and minimal dosing. weekly/ bi-weekly water changes maintain levels.


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## TBemba

Why for you change salts?


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## twobytwo

imy112 said:


> +1 I've been using this salt for 2+ years with no issues and minimal dosing. weekly/ bi-weekly water changes maintain levels.


This is a brand new salt, were you using one of the other Seachem Salt like Marine, Reef or Salinity?



TBemba said:


> Why for you change salts?


Just cuz! I don't know, price seemed good. Was thinking about trying something other than RC and gave this a shot.


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## imy112

twobytwo said:


> This is a brand new salt, were you using one of the other Seachem Salt like Marine, Reef or Salinity
> 
> To clarify, seachem aquavitro salinity is what I use- awesome brand and I've never had mixing issues, always mixes clear. I've read that it works the best after 8 hours of mixing and so far so good. Looks like the chem ranges are very similar to the vibrant and shares very similar characteristics including salt grain size. Thanks for the review, seachem is my go to... not only for salt but other chem dosing including aquavitro fuel.


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## CanadaCorals.com

*vibrant*

Hello All - twobytwo - thanks for mentioning us!
Yes, we've got a few boxes of Vibrant in stock - was curious about it myself too. We were able to retail it for $69.99. If customer reviews remain solid, it seems 200-220G salt for $70 is not bad.

Anywho, busy week ahead.
We've got corals, inverts and fish (_fish are being quarantined for 2 weeks before going up for sale_) arriving on the weekend and also some final ramp up to get done before the London Fragfest on Saturday (may 13). Derek over at Miracles was kind enough to set us up with a nice starphire glass frag tank which we'll be using at the show. Pretty sweet.

Have a good weekend all!
R


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## Rookie2013

I was at CC too yesterday for salt shopping and saw this one sitting on the floor. I have used IO, RC and Aquaforest. Since Aquaforest stocks became issue I switched back to IO for quite some time. This time i picked up Seachem Vibrant..Let's see how it does. The chemistry and parameters readings are spot on as compared to other salts so why not save some bucks and give this a try. Thanks two by two for the review.


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