Mixing Salt......Why wait.

[jbpig]

I wait about 2 days on my salt mix just because everyone says not to make the mix then add to tank unless it is for emerg. purposes. But why? I understand that temp and ph need to be the same but what other reasons are there?

 

[hillbilly]

To make sure it is dissolved completely. I don't think you should wait 2 days, but long enough to mix well, say overnight with a powerhead. I mix mine in a 65 gal. water tank (barrel) and throw in a powerhead. I don't mix again until the tank gets fairly low. Adding a heater is a good idea, so you can use the water anytime you need to without the risk of a different temp. than your reef.

 

[Anonymous]

Or, boil part of the water, make a supersaturated solution, mix with water to temp, slowly. The water can be a few degrees warmer with few ill effects, but NOT colder.

 

[EmilyB]

I'm usually needing to bring the RO/DI up to temp more than anything.

I've measured pH after mixing with a Mag18....

I personally age a large water change a bit longer. It just feels better...

 

[Supergenius74]

I don't usually wait more than about 15 min, i only mix 5 gal at a time and mix it up with a big spoon, the salt i use is tropic marin, very powdery and mixes almost instantly I stir it up a few times and wait about 15 min and check the salinity and a couple times and pour it in. I'v never had any negative effects from this.

 

[fishfanatic2]

I wait about 4 hours, thats really only cause i have one bucket and i need to mix after tke out the water. Biut now I will have 2 empty salt buckets to use and i would like to increase the time by about an hour or 2.

 

[Anonymous]

I try to let it go over night, but sometimes just an hour or so.

But I use an airstone to mix it so that the O2 CO2 equilibrium is reached quickly and pH stabalizes faster that way.

 

[hdtran]

Good evening, Monsieur.

With your net-caught tang tonight, may we suggest some Instant Ocean salt, mixed and aged for 4 days in an American-made rubbermaid barrel, well-stirred by a Maxi-jet powerhead? The specific gravity has been carefully adjusted with our chef's pocket refractometer...

Seriously, I mix with a powerhead, and have a heater in the rubbermaid tub. The powerhead (a Rio) is always on, as is the heater. I use tap water, and don't use a dechlorinator. So, for me, aging is for dechlorination. (That, and the fine bouquet developed by aging in American rubbermaid barrels 8) )

 

[imsqueak]

hdtran, got any extra slime algae for me? Seriously, a $100 ro/di unit will pay for itself in less headache in no time vs buying phos remover from using tap water.

Personally, I use 5g w air and mag5 for a couple hours, overnight if possible just to make sure it's all disolved. Most of the times it's just the couple hours routine. flow and air speeds the disolving and EQ much faster than either alone.