water changes

[Brownskinner]

I just bought a bucket of Kent salt for my tank. I plan on doing a water change but there is no directions on the bucket as to how much salt to mix with the water. I have a 55g tank and plan to change about 20g. From your experience how many (cups) should i use for the 20g's of water??? as well how long should i leave it mixing with a power head for in the rubbermaid container???

Thanks in advance for any input

[Troy F]

I'd let the water mix for at least 24 hours. I just add salt and check with my refractometer or hydrometer.

[Canadian Man]

Ratio with kent is very similar to IO. 1/2 a cup to 1 gallon of water.

[Jack]

1/2 a cup per gallon is a good mixing point. I do a 12 gallon water change every 2 weeks so I use 6 cups. It's easy.

Take the amount of gallons and divide by 2, that's how many cups of salt. So for your 20 gal change 10 cups should do it. Make sure your water is up to required temperature and it's well mixed before you check your SG.

Edited: (And I thought I was gonna be the first to post, man you guys type fast) So ya, what they said

[Beverly]

Originally Posted by Brownskinner

I have a 55g tank and plan to change about 20g.

That's a pretty big water change. Any reason for one so large?

Originally Posted by Brownskinner

From your experience how many (cups) should i use for the 20g's of water??? as well how long should i leave it mixing with a power head for in the rubbermaid container???

I don't go by the cups per gal rule. I add some salt and mix it with a plastic mixing stick while the powerhead is still running. When the salt is fully dissolved and the water is clear not cloudy, I use a hydrometer to determine the specific gravity. I keep adding salt until I reach 1.024 at 76 F. when the water is clear. After you do it a few times, you get an idea of how much salt to add. But always check with the hydrometer once the salt has been fully dissolved to get the specific gravity you're aiming to get.

I always leave a little room in the mixing vat in case I add too much salt. That way, I can always add a little more RO water to get the right specific gravity.

Also, I have the powerhead and heater in the mixing vat running for about 24 hours before adding the salt. The salt dissolves faster when the water is warmer. Once the salt has been dissolved and is the right SG, I add the new water fairly soon to the tank, usually within a half hour or so. Then I rinse out the mixing vat and begin adding RO water for the next week's water change.

HTH.

[BCOrchidGuy]

I add 4 cups of salt to a 10 gallon mixing tank and bang on my Kent salt mixes up just perfect....

I let it mix with a power head for 24 hours and always test the new water before I do my water change, so far no surprises... I've used about 4 buckets of Kent salt now.