The IO debate

gsgirl19(: · Post by **gsgirl19(:** » Sat May 10, 2014 3:19 am

I ran out of my Oceanic salt and cannot find the 5 gallon bags at Petsmart anymore. Petco has it, but only in 160 gal tubs for $50, which I cannot afford. I started to look on Amazon and they are not selling it with the "Free shipping on $35 or over" deal. What is offered is a 10 gal box of IO, which is reasonably priced for me. However, I have heard that IO contains one of the highest metal concentrations and am worried if I offer it to my crabs; I have only used Oceanic for this reason. I know many people use it one here..so could you guys kind of reassure me? Thanks!

Keg · Post by **Keg** » Sat May 10, 2014 9:58 am

I vote that IO is fine. For a more comprehensive answer, look just above your post and click "find." I looked up "Instant Ocean." There's plenty of old posts on the subject. (This forum is a bit quiet lately compared to back then).Beyond that, I'm not too good on the subject but I'll say this:I was researching around for the best salt awhile ago. I figured that the best way to do it would be to just listen to experienced people.I ran across the statement about the metal content. I also heard that it was a questionable criticism. It was possibly traced back to someone touting another product.I've been using instant ocean for a few years. It's hard to say if it's better, judging from observation.

Crabber85 · Post by **Crabber85** » Sun May 11, 2014 8:32 am

I've been using IO salt for years now and prefer it to Oceanic or Read Sea just because its cheaper and easily available at all pet retailers in my area.The info cited on the old post about IO having high amounts of metals is old and outdated because IO was just reformulated two years ago and now falls in line with the trace metal levels of its competitors like Oceanic.The new data can be found at the IO website if memory serves.I got a 50gal bag of IO salt mix from my local mom and pop pet store three years ago for around twenty-five dollars and have not use half of it yet because I mix a gallon at the time and one gallon usually lasts two to three months when refrigerated.

Tetra4CClyPtus · Post by **Tetra4CClyPtus** » Wed May 14, 2014 7:16 am

I saw stories that oceanic is safe to use right?