rock hard salt

[sneaton]

PA has a deal on seachem marine salt but it is bricked up.....is there anything wrong with using it? all bags are sealed

 

[nanojg]

It will likely be low on alk and calc but you can still use it

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

If its bricked up, that usually means it has gotten mositure in it, and I would be concerned about contamination.

I would not cut corners on something as vital as the salt, but it might work on your sidewalk!

 

[sneaton]

are those the only two parameters that i have to worry about? this stuff is like a brick,i dont know how it got this way being that its still sealed


also would it make a difference if i broke it up

 

[nanojg]

It wont matter if you break it up. Somehow it was exposed to moisture and alk and calcium would have precipitated into calcium carbonate and will not be usable in a reef tank. However, the salt can still be used, just monitor the levels and adjust as needed. I have no idea about other elements that may now be lacking.

 

[vermonter310]

Try refrigerating it in the bag for a day or two. that should (may) loosen it up.

 

[patsfan1130]

All of these images in my head of how my wife would react if she had a bucket of salt in the fridge staring her in the face as she was preparing dinner for the family

 

[vermonter310]

I'm sure she'd love it.... it is Valentines day after all....

 

[allsps40]

I would never use salt that has gotten hard. As said it got wet some how and might not have been water. Just keep that in mind.

 

[vermonter310]

If it was just someone with some salt for sale I'd be cautious as well but it's PA.. I don't think they'd sell something they knew was contaminated. My guess would be a humidity issue.. but I could be wrong...

 

[sneaton]

i think they said it was packaged warm causing it to harden

 

[disc1]

i think they said it was packaged warm causing it to harden

Yeah, that's not true if that's what they said. It's moisture. Probably lost some calcium and alk out of it, but usable if you don't mind dosing those back in.

 

[sneaton]

so i only have to check cal. and alk?

 

[disc1]

I'd check mag too just to be sure but it's probably going to be OK.

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

How much are we saving here? How much is invested in your tank? Is it worth it?

 

[sneaton]

well im going to take it back so i dont have to hassle with it....they said it would be fine, but when i mixed it percipitated...alk was only 5 and i didnt test calcium...i hope they take it back since it was on "sale"...i got 300 gallons worth but thankfully it was in 50 gallon bags, so i should only get stuck with one....im just going to ask for a exchange for IO...do you think they will take it back?

 

[nanojg]

Honestly, if you knew about it being bricked up when you bought it I wouldnt take it back if I was them. But, im probably too stubborn to be a retail business owner

 

[sneaton]

they took it back in a trade for good old IO

 

[bertoni]

That was good customer service. I'm glad you've got what you want now.

 

[fjpod]

I got out of the hobby for a few years and kept a partial bag of salt for several years in my garage...so I know it wasn't mishandled or anything. It got bricked up. When I decided to restart my tank, I took it outside and threw it on the concrete and stomped on it a few times. It got nice and granular again.

Especially if the bag is intact, you shouldn't have any problems.