IO Salt Question
 

I am making the switch over to Instant Ocean from H2Ocean and am noticing that the IO does not dissolve ea easily. I do dissolve some mag and calcium in the water first so could that be hindering the slat dissolution? The Ca and Mg dissolve fully before adding the salt.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

i let me IO salt mix usually for 24 hours before i use it.. and i leave a powerhead in there. but the end it's all gone! are you adding it to cold water or warm water? How is your salinity when there is undesolved crystals still on the bottom?

Do you have a powerhead in your mixing tank. I mix 35 gals at a time with a PH and heater. Water is clear in a couple of hours.

Hi Ron

I have used IO salt for years.

I dissolve the IO salt in a mixing tank of RODI water about 50G at a time.

I use a Mag 1800 to mix the solution for about 3 Hours.

I then dissolve mag and ca separately in a 2 lt mixing jugs. Once dissolved I add them to the salt mix. I then mix everything usually over night.

I then carry out the water change the next day.

Tom R

Mine can mix in a few hours Ron and dissolves very easy. Usually mix overnight though or for a day or so. I add some magnesium first, mix a bit then the calcium. In a couple hours or the next morning, depending on the urgency, I add the salt. I follow Ben,s calculations for magnesium and calcium.

If for a day or so, I use a couple small power heads or have a large one if needed sooner.

Re: IO Salt Question
 

I guess I should have been more descriptive. I do have a power head and heater going. Usually with the H2Ocean eveything would dissolve within 20 or 30 minutes but in this case the water is staying cloudy even after a few hours of mixing. It was clear after adding Ca ads Mg which dissolved cleanly. It's the IO that is clouding the water ( or something precipitating after adding the IO. I may just let it mix overnight and see how it looks in the morning.

mine will could sometimes i have to add a little more water but it clears up usually within a few min when i first mix it.

Hi Ron

I also keep a power head with a sponge filter attached to it in my mix tank.

I think it a Hagen power head attachment.

Tom R

i don't want to hijack. But do you people find that the IO kind of mixes up a little "dirty" looking. I find that there is a bit of a tan color to the foam and my skimmer foam seems to turn the same color for a few hours after a WC. And no it's not my water. I've tried other water sources and have had the same thing.

could it be from your sand bed when you WC?

Re: IO Salt Question
 

Have you tested the new batch of IO saltwater to see how much alk, calc and mag it is giving you before adding that stuff? It could be that your current IO batch already has high(ish) levels of those chems and now you're trying to mix in more! Just a thought. Those levels can vary wildly from bucket to bucket, even with the expensive salts. I make it a habit to always test those levels with every new bucket before I dose anything.

My IO mixes do tend to to leave a tan residue in the mixing bucket. I always assumed that was normal :-). Hasn't seemed to affect anything for the 5 ish years I've been using it now.

Re: IO Salt Question
 

Definitely get the tan residue at the bottom of my mixing barrel. Every so often I just clean the barrel out with a vinegar mix. The bigger problem is the residue on the powerhead.

Again, I just assumed this is normal and appears that is the case.

I need to test Ca and Mg in the salt again. Been a bit lazy :-) It cleared up but I had to mix it for 48 hours. I think next time I will dissolve salt first and then do as Tom suggests and dissolve Ca and Mg separately and add it in that way. I guess the salt doesn't like going into water that already has CaCl and MgCl mixed in.