Red Sea Salt 175 Gal Blue Bucket — 8 dKH Balanced Reef Salt 22 kg Makes 660 L

The Red Sea Salt 175 gal — the famous blue bucket — is Red Sea's moderate-alkalinity reef salt at 8 dKH. It delivers moderately elevated, biologically balanced levels of the foundation elements (calcium, magnesium, bicarbonates) needed for sustainable coral growth, plus the full complement of trace elements carried in salt harvested from Red Sea reef waters. This 22 kg bucket makes 660 liters (175 US gallons) of saltwater.

A balanced salt built for stability

With its 8 dKH alkalinity, the blue bucket targets parameters close to natural seawater, moderately elevated in the precise ratio established by Red Sea's research. It suits every type of reef aquarium and especially SPS-dominated tanks. Combined with Red Sea's reef care recipes, it maximizes pigment saturation to bring out your coral's most vivid colors while supporting growth up to twice the natural rate. The improved formula dissolves in about 20 minutes, from bucket to tank.

Batch-guaranteed parameters — MyBatch

Red Sea does not publish its calcium, magnesium and alkalinity ranges as text on its product page: the guaranteed values are printed on every bucket and verifiable batch by batch. Using your bucket's barcode, Red Sea's MyBatch service gives you the exact lab analysis of your own batch — a level of transparency few salts offer. If you see numbered ranges elsewhere on the web, they don't necessarily describe the batch you receive. Need help reading your MyBatch analysis? Write to us with your batch number.

Red Sea's official mixing method

• RO water only, at 20 °C (68 °F) or less for mixing; heat to tank temperature once the mix is clear.
• Always add salt to water, never the other way around.
• Mix with a submerged pump only until fully dissolved — never more than 2 hours, and never bubble air into the mix.
• Check salinity with a calibrated seawater refractometer before adding to the tank.
• Red Sea's recommended water changes: 10% weekly, never exceeding 30% at once.
• Mixed water keeps about 7 days in a sealed container, in the dark, at 25 °C (77 °F) or less.
• A slight white haze in the mix is precipitated calcium carbonate — completely harmless to fish and corals.

Specifications

• Alkalinity: 8 dKH
• Size: 22 kg (48.5 lb) bucket — makes 660 L (175 US gal)
• Biologically balanced foundation elements and full complement of trace elements
• No toxic levels of heavy metals, no chemical binders, low moisture content
• Natural solar-evaporated NaCl harvested from the Red Sea
• Also offered by the manufacturer in a 7 kg bucket (210 L / 55 gal) and a 20 kg refill box (600 L / 160 gal)

Our advice

The blue bucket is the balanced, non-boosted salt — and that's the approach Stéphane recommends: water changes are there to refresh and replenish the water, not to raise calcium, magnesium and alkalinity — those get dosed separately. The result is a more stable reef tank, and in our view, a better one. If you'd rather have your salt do part of the dosing for you, look at Coral Pro instead.

Why buy from ReefSolution

Authorized Red Sea dealer in Canada, with French and English support and in-store pickup in Laval. Shipping across Canada. Pairs well with: the Red Sea Coral Pro Salt 175 gal if you prefer a boosted 12 dKH salt that partly doses for you, the Red Sea 4-Part RCP program for the separate dosing that goes hand in hand with the blue bucket philosophy, and the AquaticLife 100 GPD RO/DI unit to produce the RO water Red Sea requires for mixing.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between the blue bucket and Coral Pro?

The blue bucket runs 8 dKH and aims for stability with separate element dosing; Coral Pro runs 12 dKH with boosted calcium, magnesium and carbonate levels that top up parameters at every water change. Red Sea associates the blue bucket with vivid colors and SPS tanks, and Coral Pro with accelerated growth, mixed reefs and frag systems.

How much saltwater does the 175 gallon bucket make?

The bucket holds 22 kg of salt and makes 660 liters of saltwater — 175 US gallons — per the manufacturer's data.

How long does mixed saltwater keep?

Red Sea states about 7 days for mixed Red Sea Salt, in a sealed container, in the dark, at 25 °C or less. Never mix for more than 2 hours and never bubble air through the mix: both cause unnecessary precipitation.