Okay, let's talk salt. Not the table kind – the life-giving, coral-growing magic dust for our reef tanks. After three decades in this hobby, I've tried them all, and Reef Crystals? Still my ride-or-die.

First off – value? Unmatched. Amazon's $44 price tag (with Prime shipping!) had me doing a happy dance. BRS wants $63 for the same bucket! The math is simple: more money left for frags.

Does it work? My SPS colonies are popping colors like a neon rave. The extra calcium and trace elements mean I rarely need supplements – though I'll admit sometimes tweaking calcium levels slightly. Pro tip: mix for 24 hours and don't go straight to 1.026ppm! Start at 1.020 and adjust.

Is it fancy? Nope. And that's why I love it. These new pharmaceutical-grade salts with five-part mixing rituals? Hard pass. My tank doesn't need that stress – and neither do I at 2AM during water changes.

The only gripe? They stopped using inner bags – just loose salt in the bucket now. Not a dealbreaker, but expect some clumping over time.

Final verdict: Tried everything from Red Sea to H2Ocean, but keep coming back to this blue bucket. My corals don't know they're on 'budget' salt – they're too busy thriving.