# Praise for Instant Ocean customer service



## marty_5555 (Oct 15, 2014)

Just wanted to give a shout out to Instant Ocean customer service. I received a bad batch of their salt, called their customer service hotline, and about 5 minutes later Sara, the rep, was sending out a replacement bag of salt. I know there is debate about the best salt mixes to use, but the great customer service I recieved will keep me buying IO for a while (unless I repeatedly get bad batches), and I would recommend them to anyone!


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## sohal tang (Oct 26, 2011)

*I O Salt*

I have been in reefing since 1989..... I have met hundreds of reefers....I buy stuff and sell stuff as I always changing..... so met TONS of reefers... 
One of the finest reefers I know in the province ...has used Instant Ocean 
for about 27 years +....

Nothing wrong with that salt....you can get a bad batch anytime any salt.

Thanks Instant Ocean.....I remember the FIRST FEW BAGS of salt I opened and had yourrrr name on it....back in 1989 !!!!!! Your still going strong!!! Nice work IO!!!

Tim


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## kookie_guy (Oct 15, 2014)

Out of curiosity, what made it a bad batch of salt? Did you mix it up and test it? Or was it rock hard or something?


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## marty_5555 (Oct 15, 2014)

It was very low in mag. I noticed that my mag level was very low in my tank and couldn't figure out why (I even started dosing mag), and then I tested a fresh batch of saltwater, it was 900 at 1.025 salinity.


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## kookie_guy (Oct 15, 2014)

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marty_5555 said:


> It was very low in mag. I noticed that my mag level was very low in my tank and couldn't figure out why (I even started dosing mag), and then I tested a fresh batch of saltwater, it was 900 at 1.025 salinity.


Gotcha thanks for the info. Did you notice things not doing as well as they should be? Or do you just do regular testing? For someone like me, who doesn't test a damn thing, that would be bad, lol. I haven't tested parameters in my tank for at least 4 years now....other than the occasional temp and salinity check. Everything is doing well, so why chase a problem that doesn't exist.

I like that my aquavitro salinity goes out for 3rd party batch testing, and they slap the results on the bucket so you know what you are getting.


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## sohal tang (Oct 26, 2011)

*reef crystals!*

Well...I just filled a 280 gallon with fresh salt water mixed from Reef Crystals buckets not long ago..I was getting TOPS 110 -120 gallons at .025 with their 160 gallon pail..and that was at 78degrees.

pissed me right off.

I believe all the salt companies are screwing round steady.

My buddy was using REd Sea...swore by the stuff till he realized it was 
watered down and not giving close to the gallons it showed would mix.

IO...never had a problem..I am seriously considering going back to it
from Reef Crystals which I have used for years...even though same company I believe...why pay more for less..may as well buy the cheapest and add with doser!!!!!!!!!!!


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## kookie_guy (Oct 15, 2014)

You can't trust the gallon ratings on the buckets/boxes, because it all depends what SG they are basing it on. It's their way of making it pretty by screwing you without you knowing, lol. For instance....

- The 160gal bucket has a weight of 44.8lbs
- On the mixing instructions, 1.4lbs will make 5gal of water at 1.021sg
- 44.8/1.4 = 32 batches of 5 gal at 1.021sg
- 32 batches of 5 gal = you guessed it, 160gal

So technically, they are not lying to you. Just giving you a very diluted mix. That's why you get much less than promised when you mix to desired sg levels.

Now, if you look at aquavitro salinity, they don't try to hide this info buried somewhere that requires math to figure out. Says right on the bucket, makes 225 gallons at 1.026sg, which is the most concentrated salt you can buy, WITH a guaranteed batch alalysis on every bucket. This is the only salt where you will actually mix up what it states on the bucket. Everything else is based on a lower sg, typically 1.024.


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## sohal tang (Oct 26, 2011)

*thanks*

Thanks Kookie!

Do you use Aquavitro Salt? I have beenout of the loop never heard of the stuff I don't think....


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## kookie_guy (Oct 15, 2014)

I used to use Red Sea, and loved it. Then when salinity first came out I was sold on it, because of the concentration and batch alalysis. Tried it, and been using it for about 3 or 4 years now. Love it, never an issue with it. But that's my personal experience. As is with everything, I'm sure there will be people who, for some reason or another, don't like it.


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## marty_5555 (Oct 15, 2014)

Yeah, I don't test mag a ton but I had just gotten back from a vacation, and a friend of mine had looked after the tank in my absence. So I wanted to see where my levels were. It doesn't hurt to check every once and a while, but if you know your corals really well they'll usually tell you everything you need to know, I find.


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## sohal tang (Oct 26, 2011)

*sorry to hijack thread!!!*

just realized sorry to hijack thread Marty!!!!

GO IO GO!!!!! lolololol

I agree nothing better then good customer service and it is getting 
rarer these days as businesses will not pay for good people.


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## kookie_guy (Oct 15, 2014)

lol sorry as well


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## do_0b (Mar 3, 2008)

damn it i guess ive been using a bad batch then. My mg is really low even with dosing.....i thought it was because i was using the regular IO and not the RC. any thoughts?


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## marty_5555 (Oct 15, 2014)

Yeah, I'm not sure if it's a bad batch or not. Test a freshly mixed batch and see what your readings are. As some people have mentioned, on the box (or bucket) the readings they give you are based on a specific salinity, so double check your salinity as well. But in my case, RC promises 1335 mag at 1.026 salinity, and it was over 400 less at that salinity, so I assume it was a bad batch. Thankfully (and hence the point of the thread), IO was really responsive and sent out a new batch right away.


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