Okay, let's talk about this salt mix because WOW. As someone who's been in the reefing game for years, I've tried them all - and Reef Crystals is that perfect middle ground between quality and affordability.

First off, the bucket is HUGE. Like, 'will-last-you-forever-unless-you're-running-a-public-aquarium' huge. And at $44 on Amazon (take THAT BRS with your $63 price tag!), it's seriously the best bang for your buck.

What I love:

- The extra calcium and trace elements make my corals pop. My SPS? Growing like weeds. My zoas? Multiplying like rabbits.

- Mixes up crystal clear (pun intended) with minimal effort. Just dump, stir, and let it do its thing for 24 hours.

- Pro tip: Stop at 1.020ppm when mixing - the salinity creeps up as it dissolves! Learned that the hard way years ago...

Is it pharmaceutical grade? No. Do you need pharmaceutical grade? Probably not unless you're running some hardcore SPS dominant system. For 90% of reefers, this stuff is MORE than good enough.

The only minor gripe? The salt comes loose in the bucket now instead of bags, so you might get some clumping over time. But hey - gives me an excuse to use my fancy salt shaker!

Bottom line: After 30+ years in the hobby, this remains my desert island salt mix. Tried fancier brands but came crawling back when I realized my corals didn't care about the extra $$$ I was spending.