Salt hard as rock!
- Thread starter lazluvtoo
- Start date
saltwater_wannabe
New member
Don't try to use it. My big bucket of IO got wet (use the hammer to close the lid) and it was rendered useless. I tried to make a 5g bucket of salt, but it took almost 3x what it should have to bring the SG up to 1.024. I got nervous and threw it out.
I hope that helps!
I hope that helps!
drummereef
Team RC
Anthony Calfo said that using salt that had solidified was ok. Just add water. It is a little hard to measure though.
hey fishy fishy
New member
once you start mashing it up itll cruble nicely, at least most chunks. i had some salt sitting there and got compacted by weight and was fine.
Anthony Calfo
New member
"Anthony Calfo said that using salt that had solidified was ok. Just add water. It is a little hard to measure though"
I don't recall saying this my friend... or not recently. Quite the contrary, I advocate (recent threads too on this very subject) using all salt per bag/box at once and never so much as even portioning out for fear of settling variances in the transitted box/bag.
That is to say, its better to make the whole box/bag of salt and store unused seawater rather than make a portion and store unused salt.
I don't recall saying this my friend... or not recently. Quite the contrary, I advocate (recent threads too on this very subject) using all salt per bag/box at once and never so much as even portioning out for fear of settling variances in the transitted box/bag.
That is to say, its better to make the whole box/bag of salt and store unused seawater rather than make a portion and store unused salt.
hey fishy fishy
New member
anthony, hope macna went well,
could you elaborate why it is better to make batches of water than portions?
and since we are on the subject, how long can we store "made" saltwater, and for that matter, ro water?
is it important or necessary to have them heated and or circulating?
thanks
could you elaborate why it is better to make batches of water than portions?
and since we are on the subject, how long can we store "made" saltwater, and for that matter, ro water?
is it important or necessary to have them heated and or circulating?
thanks
That's very interesting. I'm not one to do water changes very often and I only have total water volume of about 30 gallons. I have a bag of IO that I use and it has definately soaked up some humidity.
I guess I'll try to figure out a good way to store used saltwater and make a batch. Might be good since the main reason I don't do waterchanges is due to hassle of mixing water. (maybe I'll do small weekly waterchanges if I have on hand)
Would it be a good idea to circulate the stored water? Or just get a food container and keep it covered?
I guess I'll try to figure out a good way to store used saltwater and make a batch. Might be good since the main reason I don't do waterchanges is due to hassle of mixing water. (maybe I'll do small weekly waterchanges if I have on hand)
Would it be a good idea to circulate the stored water? Or just get a food container and keep it covered?
boxfishpooalot
Active member
Yep always get a second opinion. Fwiw, salt that has solidfied will be largely deficeint in calcium and magnesium. Probably alkalinity too.
Box
Box
Anthony Calfo
New member
heehee... no worries at all. We read so much from many folks that it is easy to confuse some with others. I only felt compelled to mention it here since it was off the mark to the extent of possibly being harmful, or at least not optimal.
QC with modern salt mfgs has reduced the concern of settling of ingredients/densities in a given bag/box... but it is still a better habit IMO to be safe to always mix all salt in a portion up at once and store the mixed seawater rather than the open bag of salt. Aerated, aging sewater gets better/mellow... but aging salt gets worse as you can see.
FWIW
QC with modern salt mfgs has reduced the concern of settling of ingredients/densities in a given bag/box... but it is still a better habit IMO to be safe to always mix all salt in a portion up at once and store the mixed seawater rather than the open bag of salt. Aerated, aging sewater gets better/mellow... but aging salt gets worse as you can see.
FWIW
Anthony Calfo
New member
... for storing mixed seawater, the old (reliable) standby is:
1) Sealed and dark
or
2) covered, aerated and circulated
I have no strong preference either way. But for concerns about contamination in the house with household aerosols or the like... I'll suggest sealed and dark (reuse those salt buckets... just like the safe NSW you buy in sealed buckets).
Be sure to always aerate and circulate your new seawater for some hours (overnight is nice) before use. Especially with fresh mixed SW... rather caustic until it completely dissolves (you see how it irritates your skin, fishes eyes/gills, corals, etc)
1) Sealed and dark
or
2) covered, aerated and circulated
I have no strong preference either way. But for concerns about contamination in the house with household aerosols or the like... I'll suggest sealed and dark (reuse those salt buckets... just like the safe NSW you buy in sealed buckets).
Be sure to always aerate and circulate your new seawater for some hours (overnight is nice) before use. Especially with fresh mixed SW... rather caustic until it completely dissolves (you see how it irritates your skin, fishes eyes/gills, corals, etc)
REEF-DADDY
New member
I actually have a question around this. I use a 40 gallon brute for my saltwater with a small mixing powerhead(facing up) and a mag12 to deliver the ASW to the display. In the past I use 5.5 scoops of IO using a coolwhip container, let it sit for a day and test it. It's in a dark area so I've never really spent time looking in the brute. Well my mixing powerhead got called into active duty, so I disconnected my mag 12 and let that stir up my salt mix. When I went to test it, it looked like mud! I use alot of salt. Maybe 1600 gallons this year. Is it possible this was the residue from all that salt mix and the strong mag12 mixed up from the bottom?
