Salt
There are many different salt mix brands, each with unique chemical compositions and attributes designed to address the specific needs of different marine aquarium systems. Though there are many variations, synthetic salt mixes can be generally grouped into two types - salt formulated for fish-only and Fish-Only-With-Live-Rock (FOWLR) aquariums and salt for reef aquariums.
Synthetic salt mixes made for Fish-Only and FOWLR aquariums contain major and minor elements in concentrations that mirror natural seawater. Salt mixes designed for reef aquariums expand upon this and incorporate higher levels of calcium, magnesium, and other select minerals required by corals and reef-building organisms. In general, choose the salt mix that best matches your marine aquarium setup type (i.e. use "reef" salts for reef aquariums and "standard" salts for fish-only and FOWLR aquariums).
There are many different salt mix brands, each with unique chemical compositions and attributes designed to address the specific needs of different marine aquarium systems. Though there are many variations, synthetic salt mixes can be generally grouped into two types - salt formulated for fish-only and Fish-Only-With-Live-Rock (FOWLR) aquariums and salt for reef aquariums.
Synthetic salt mixes made for Fish-Only and FOWLR aquariums contain major and minor elements in concentrations that mirror natural seawater. Salt mixes designed for reef aquariums expand upon this and incorporate higher levels of calcium, magnesium, and other select minerals required by corals and reef-building organisms. In general, choose the salt mix that best matches your marine aquarium setup type (i.e. use "reef" salts for reef aquariums and "standard" salts for fish-only and FOWLR aquariums).