







⚡ Elevate your reef game with Instant Ocean – where science meets stunning coral growth!
Instant Ocean Reef Crystals Reef Salt is a premium, enriched salt mix designed for 160-gallon reef aquariums. It delivers higher-than-natural concentrations of essential reef elements, including extra calcium, trace elements, and vitamins, promoting robust coral and invertebrate health. Its unique formula also detoxifies heavy metals from tap water, ensuring a safe, crystal-clear environment. Trusted by professionals for its quick dissolution and stable water parameters, it’s the go-to choice for serious reef keepers seeking vibrant, thriving marine ecosystems.

| ASIN | B000HCLNQG |
| ASIN | B000HCLNQG |
| Age Range Description | All Life Stages |
| Batteries | Product Specific batteries required. |
| Batteries | Product Specific batteries required. |
| Best Sellers Rank | #5,585 in Pet Supplies ( See Top 100 in Pet Supplies ) #39 in Aquarium Water Treatments |
| Brand Name | Instant Ocean |
| Color | Multicolored |
| Country of Origin | United States |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (5,959) |
| Date First Available | October 15, 2006 |
| Date First Available | October 15, 2006 |
| Department | Reef Care |
| Department | Reef Care |
| Directions | See instructions |
| Included Components | See label |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 12.5 x 12.5 x 15 inches |
| Item Package Dimensions L x W x H | 15 x 12 x 12 inches |
| Item Weight | 47 Pounds |
| Item model number | AQ-RC1160P-10 |
| Item model number | AQ-RC1160P-10 |
| Manufacturer | Instant Ocean |
| Manufacturer | Instant Ocean |
| Material | cotton |
| Model Name | Reef Crystals Reef Salt For Coral Reef Aquariums |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Product Dimensions | 12.5 x 12.5 x 15 inches; 47 Pounds |
| Size | 160-Gallon |
| Specific Uses for Product | Active |
| Style | Unflavored |
| Target Audience Keyword | fish |
| Warranty Description | See Label. |
C**I
great time tested brand. mixes well
time tested salt that the pros use. Well priced and no need to get fancy higher priced salts. You’re going to end up dosing calcium and alk anyway if you keep stony corals.
S**H
Consistent!
I’ve used Instant Ocean Reef Crystals for a long time, and it continues to deliver great results. The mix dissolves quickly, produces clear water, and holds stable parameters — calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium are always right where they should be. I mix mine in a 32-gallon Brute can with a heater and small pump, and it’s usually ready to use in under an hour. No residue on the heater or pump and no cloudy water. Corals have good color and polyp extension, and I’ve had excellent growth over time. Pro tip: always pour the salt into the water (not the other way around) and use a powerhead for even mixing — it keeps it from clumping and helps the parameters stay consistent. I’ve tried a few other brands, but Reef Crystals gives the best balance of quality and cost. Perfect for routine water changes and dependable results.
M**K
Consistently Excellent
I have been using Instant Ocean Reef Crystals for many years and find them to be constantly excellent.
J**Z
Always a good choice for the money
Best you can get for the money
N**D
Best salt I've used and will never change.
Love this stuff! It is the only reef salt I use. I have a 125 gallon tank and it has been used for every single water change. Last a long while. I do less frequent water changes due to not having a huge bio load and a larger than necessary filtering capacity, and I supplement with other additives for the corals. Ive never had cloudy water from this, as long as you pre mix it for a couple of hours. I mix it in a 5 gallon bucket for 6-8 hours and then add it in.
M**E
Good for brackish tanks.
Ok. I use this for my brackish water pond instead of straight sea salt as it has less NaCl and more MgCl and CaCl. Less NaCl is better for plants in the brackish aquarium and the higher mineral content is good for them. So reef salts are better for brackish tanks with brackish tolerant plants (Microsorum pteropus, Anubias spp., Cryptocoryne spp., Vallisneria spp, Ceratophyllum demersum , Najas guadalupensis, Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, Lemna minor, Aegagropila linnaei, Ceratopteris thalictroides, and Sagittaria subulata) that I have had success with salinities up to 10ppt. Like fish, the plants must be acclimated slowly (even more slowly than fish) unless they are mangrove plants that are tough as nails. I bought the SeaChem brackish salts and while they were friendlier for my plants I also had to use more to increase the salinity for the fish (scats, monos, archers, chromides, mollies, etc). If the primary focus is your fish with plants being secondary then either combine reef salts with some brackish salts or just use reef salts at a salinity that is good for the fish that the plants can also tolerate. If you are keeping your tank at 1.005 sg/7ppt (approx.) then maybe the Seachem brackish salts would be fine (you will still use more than the reef salt). However, at 7ppt using reef salts I have had no die-offs. I believe that even my monos and scats (my fish are between 6-8 inches and I see no ill-effect) will be fine as adults up to 10ppt using the reef salt along with the plants I listed above (my salinity fluctuates between 5-10 ppt as I have an outdoor pond and heavy rains and several days w/o rain can cause swings in salinity with the rise and fall of water volume). All-in-all you don't need the brackish salts and I think reef salts are better than normal aquarium sea salt for the planted brackish tank. Great info. My personal experience is that lemon bacopa does well only in low salinity (3ppt), along with water cabbage, african tiger lotus, and water spangles. Toughest (with changing salinity from 5-10ppt and temps from 68-92F) was valisneria, anubias, java fern, micro sword, java moss, guppy grass, hornwort, and wisteria. Emergent vegetation in my setup (2000gal outdoor, heated, green housed during Florida winter, pond) include mangroves (black, white, red, oriental), crinum, purple flag iris, giant leather fern, variegated pandanus and will be adding golden leather fern.
B**R
Great reef salt
Great reef salt!
J**S
Excellent product. Worth the price!
This is the best aquarium salt mix on the market (for the price!). It isn't cheap, but this mix does its job a lot better than Marine Crystals. I can't speak for some of the premium brands that cost double what this does, but I can't imagine that they would be worthwhile investments. My reef tank appreciates the quality of the water, and I've had no issues getting the salt to dissolve by hand in just a few seconds.
G**C
Great price for $65.00 with free shipping. Have been using Reef Crystals for about eight months now without any problems... creates good stable parameters for a reef aquarium stocked with softies, SPS, and LPS. Previously was using DD H2Ocean - but I recommend Reef Crystals as it is better value and does a better job IMO
M**S
reef crystals, whadya gonna say? theyre reef crystals. i've been using this brand since the 1980s. i think. i cant remember, hang on a minute.... yeah, yeah. it was the eighties when i first had my shallow 20. we used to think saltwater fish were expensive back then! holy moly! have you seen the price of those new designer clowns!? i wouldnt be putting any of those carpet crunchies in anything shallower than 19 inches. and with a tight fitting lid!... shallow 20.. pfft..most expensive aquarium of my life. anyways... yeah reef crystals. been using them for, holy moly, decades. good salt for your tank. good for your corals. check your sg regularely .
A**A
Muy buen producto. La utilizo para recambio de agua de mi acuario
C**E
llego cerrada en una caja en tiempo y forma me falta abrir para ver tal la sal pero actualiza después
J**N
The price has gone up.... but still a great value salt!
Trustpilot
2 weeks ago
2 months ago