Old Saltwater to culture Brineshrimp and Phyto and Rotifers

[themastr]

Is it possible to save my old saltwater sterilize it then use it as brineshrimp, Phyto, and rotifer Cultures? Has anyone tried it? I was thinking of saving my old saltwater then nuking them in the microwave in a 2 litre coke bottle which is partially crushed to let them expand so they won't explode in the microvewave. I've sterilized like this before but all new freshwater then added salt later.

If anything Can i use a UV sterilizer to sterilize the old salt water to use as brineshrimp water phyto or rotifers?

I think that brineshrimp should not be a problem but has anyone tried with PHYTO or Rotifers?

Please let me know

Thanks
erick

[BCOrchidGuy]

As long as the water is sterilized I see no problem other than you'll need to dillute it for rotifers, they need a different SG. 1.017 if I remember. Once it's sterilized I guess run it through a micron filter as well to remove any dead crap that would normally start the biological cycle again. All in all, IO salt is inexpensive, and for the potential for trouble I don't see it as a risk you should take.

For hatching brine shrimp simple coarse ground salt is adequate and if you go to somewhere that has a bulk section you can buy a huge bag for nothing. A few years ago I went to Real Canadian Superstore, told them I wanted a big bag of pickling salt, I got a 90lbs bag for about $10, that's a lot of brine shrimp hatching. FWIW I'll use a bit of baking soda with the salt just to bring the alk up for bbs. Rotifers and phyto I'd stick with IO, use a 5 gallon aquarium with 4 gallons of clean fresh water, add 1 1/2 cups IO and you'll get a SG of 1.017, store that in 4 cleaned out milk jugs (4 litre) and store until you need it.

Douglas

[themastr]

I live in an acreage and far away to always get salt. LOL
But my main worry is I can't dump any of the old saltwater in my septic tank it will kill and rust the pump and all the bacteria needed to work properly.
My tank volume setup is about 350 gallons going to be 450 Gallons. So every water change is a lot of old saltwater. I usually just put it in the yard somewhere but I was trying to not kill what little grass I have left. LOL
I will probably just buy IO and use that I was just hoping that I can reuse the old saltwater somehow instead of going to waste. I waste enough water using R/O for the whole tank. Good thing water is from a well and FREE minus the energy to run the pump.

If anyone else has experience I would love to hear from you.

thanks
erick

[hillbillyreefer]

I wouldn't worry about the salt in the water going down the septic field. Been doing it for a while and haven't had a problem. You put way more toxic crap down there than that. Think toilet bowl cleaner, bleach, etc. Your old tank water is loaded with beneficial bacteria that won't be affected by the field.

The amount of water daily life uses will dilute the salt more than enough. Showers, toilets and dishwashers will run more than enough down the line to dilute and take care of the problem.

If your really worried about it, pour your change water out on the drive way, eventually there will be a large enough salt build up it might keep some of the weeds down. That is going to take huge amounts of salt though.