How Long Do You Mix A Fresh Batch Of Salt?
 

Just wondering how long you guys let this mix in a separate mixing barrel or whatever you use?

As long as it takes me to either drain the tank to the desired level for a waterchange or mix until I can clearly see the bottom of the mixing bucket. Water is already at temperature and ready to go. :biggrin:

I usually mix until my wife complains about the big red tub making noise beside the TV.

So from a day up to a week.

They say that freshly mixed saltwater is toxic to fish. It has something to do with the newly mixed water needing to absorb atmospheric CO2 in order to stabilize PH. So letting it mix a day or two is probably a good idea. I cannot stand the smell of newly made salt water so I tend to believe it.

I always try to make it a week ahead.

i usually make mine up 30 min before hand. I use a paint mixer that you put on a drill to blend it heavily for about 15 minutes, pulling it up a bit every minute or so so it can whip in some air too.

I put a new salt water mix in my tank as soon as salt is disolved never more then few minutes and no air, no heating.
Been doing this for years, fish and coral seem ok with that.

A couple hrs to a month!!!!!

Acctually, when I go to work, I make up 15g for the wife, incase of emergency's Then, when I get back, I do a water change with it.

But, I will use water a few hrs after mixing, as long as its not too cold.

Like a week or two. I fill up the mixing barrel, and then let the pump do its thing. Usually though I forget about it until the next weekend, which is why it gets to age for a week.

One week. I do weekly water changes so when I finish with one I get the water for the next one ready. I also find it very helpful to have the new saltwater on hand in case of an emergency or when I sell a bunch of frags to someone (so that I can replace the water the frags were bagged in).

In an emergency I've mixed and used it inside of five min's. Most of the time it's more then a week. I have two 35 gallonish rubbermaid cans, one for RO and one for Saltwater. I have a 900gph pump running continuously on the salt side to keep it mixed. I've never heated the water.

I mix my salt until it is all dissolved, < 5 min, using tank temperature water and pump it in as I siphon detritus and old water out. Been doing that for years. Change 10% water every week. Fish and corals are in excellent condition.

about 10 - 15 min, as soon as I can see clear to the bottom of the bucket, it goes in the tank

Anywhere from when it's clear (after adjusting for salinity) to a couple days ahead... If too much water evaporates from my mixing bucket (I try to avoid this anyhow, distilled water isn't cheap) there is a white deposit left on the pump and bucket since I dose the freshly mixed water with calcium and magnesium while it's mixing. The pump heats the water to a reasonable temperature also, so I don't use a heater.

Usually a day or two, although instructions usually say that it can be used immediately (but reccommend aerating until O2/CO2 equilibrium is met) not sure how I would measure that.

Voted 2 days but usually now plan for a week (a couple of days the fresh ro/di aerating, then few more with the salt). In the old place with FOWLR, used tap water and de-chlorinator in a bucket in front of the tank and as soon as I dissolved the salt, mixing with my hand, had a water change going.

reply
 

I voted a couple of hours just because it was the shortest time increment. I'm with Christy, I usually mix it for as long as it takes for the water to clear. Which is usually the time it takes me to do all of my other water change tasks. I'm kind of bad with the heat thing though. I don't heat it up as I usually have it stored in jugs at room temp. It does lower my tank temp a couple of degrees but nothing bad has ever really happened while doing it this way. The way I see it cool and warm currents move through reefs all the time, changing the temperature for a while. So in a way, I feel like I'm copying a natural occurance.

I didn't vote, the salt can be mixing anywhere from 5 min to 2 months

Always 3 days,just what i've done.

Sounds like it doesn't matter a ton either way....

I make a new batch when I use the one I made at the last water change. I don't add the ca and mg until I use it as I find it ends up with a lot of precipitation if I add it at the same time. I plug my heater in the day before if it needs it.

Hey sounds like my house, except the tubs blue and its in the middle of the kitchen.

Same with me. Mix it up and dump it in. No problems whatsoever with anything in the tank.

10-20 minutes. Whenever it dissolves it goes in. In order to heat the water up - I use my electric kettle to heat up the RO water just before I start draining the water from the tank...

You use your kettle with tap water too? Leaves behind calcium and lime deposits just like the build up in a coffee pot. I'm sure some of that would be released back into the ro water if you do.

Mix a batch with ro/di, then put the heater in and wait till it reaches temp, usualy 1-2 hrs. Never any problems

i just pour my salt into my fish tank.

A little warning: Twice I mixed up Seachem Reef salt and let it sit circulating in a 20gal garbage can with a small powerhead for about a month between water changes. The first time I did a water change everything looked a little ****ed off, the second time the tank crashed; 2 coral colonies, 2 fish and a brittle star died. The tank was a 4 year old 135gal. There was nothing directly wrong with the salt, when I used it again after letting it mix for less than a week everything was fine. But for some reason it seems seachem can not be allowed to sit and mix before use for a month.

I keep two 12 liter jugs of salt water pre-mixed. One jug let's me do both of my nano's. I usually don't let them sit for more than 1 to 2 weeks.

Realy, i wonder why that is? S***Y deal.

Interesting.

I make about 25G at a time with Deltec salt and then I do 5G a week changes. So some of my new water is just sitting there circulating for over a month sometimes. Never had a problem but this worries me a little.

Done a little reasearch. Sounds like leaching. I don't think we let our water sit in a contanier for any period of time. Even if it's food grade, unless we can find a glass contanier about 50g. Just make it and use it.

I've let IO salt sit and circulate several times for a month at a time without incident. It wasnt until I switched to Seachem that the problem happened. Leaching is a viable reason. I've got a few other theories as well but nothing concrete.

I am usaly ready with in an hour for a waterchange, if I am feeling lazy somtimes it sits but not usaly. all depends on the efectivness of your mixing, a paint mixer on a power drill mixes up salt real good. :mrgreen:

Steve

I do this too, never had an issue with my coral or fish.

I used a rubbermaid as a sump for many years, no problems.

What are you basing this on? Its a very broad statement.

Quote:
You need the Rubbermaid Brute container in gray, white or yellow: http://www.rubbermaidcommercial.com...Osearch=2643-00
Quote:
This came up a few months back and the end result was that Rubbermaid confirmed that their other models leached chemicals and were not recommended for storing RO/DI water or saltwater for the aquarium hobby. They suggested sticking with their models that meet USDA guidelines as they do not have that problem. Several hobbyists (including Ltspd on this board) tested their RO water prior to storing it in their Rubbermaid container (wrong model) and then tested it a few days later and found phosphate levels that were unacceptable. So it turns out that only the more expensive Rubbermaid containers that meet USDA guidelines are recommended for use as water storage containers or sumps/refugiums for reef tank systems.


Here is another site that goes into detail.

http://www.reefland.com/cgi-bin/foru...ght=Rubbermaid

Got me thinking!

Don't use anything else. I curently use a beige rubbermaid, and after a few weeks in there it gives off an smell! I do clean it out every 3 fillups but always will smell! So not knowing to now knowing. I will change. IMO.

OK thanks for the links.

I have been using the grey brute cans for a long time and haven't noticed any problems.