Salt mixing

[gareth.hubbarde]

Hi all. Had my tank up and running for around 3 months now. No real issues, bit of cyno issue but hoping chemiclean will help with thst. Everything is doing well, soft corals are growing and spreading, fish and inverts are doing OK all eating nothing dieing.
My question is about mixing salt. At the moment I pour ro water into an old salt bucket, the water is normally warmed to match the tank water. I then add the salt and mix with a stirrer. After a couple of minutes the salt has mostly mixed, stir again take salt measurement. If needed add more salt. Once it's at the appropriate level with stirring I simply add it to my aquarium. This seems to work fine but I have since read I should add air to it, leave it for hours, check pH level.
Am I doing things ok, or should I change something? As I said the way I'm doing does not seem to have any detrimental effect on the tank. The salt I use is iquatics pro coral salt.
Your input would be welcome.

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[j.falk]

Doesn't the salt container have mixing instructions on it? I'm not sure if different salts have different mixing instructions...but it seems like a good place to look.

 

[gareth.hubbarde]

Doesn't the salt container have mixing instructions on it? I'm not sure if different salts have different mixing instructions...but it seems like a good place to look.

Obvious it does, I was just wondering how other people did theirs? Do you air it or check pH levels before adding it?

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[homer1475]

Mix, test ALK, CAL, and MAG, dose as needed, then use.

Every salt is different. Some say to mix for 24 hours, some say to mix and use.

I have never checked my salt for anything besides ALK, CAL, and MAG.

 

[fu_iceman]

I use Red Sea salt. I put a powerhead and heater in the bucket, add salt and leave running over night. Test salinity in the morning, make adjustments and go. I do not test for anything else as I'm only running soft corals. Never had a problem. Of course it never hurts to test a few times before you feel comfortable about your process.



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[garethwood]

same as above... run water, add heater and powerhead chuck in salt and leave overnight,, test salinity and add salt accordingly. leave a few hrs and use.
for low consumption tanks this method seems popular but everyone has differing process.

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[gareth.hubbarde]

What does everyone mean by powerhead and what's it do? I have never done that, just get my salinity right and away I go. Takes about 20 minutes. Don't leave it overnight. Might warm the water up overnight but that's it.

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[homer1475]

Most of us use a powerhead for mixing as opposed to manual mixing.

 

[gareth.hubbarde]

Oh I should point out my maximum water change is 25 litres as that's the barrel I get from Lfs. And at any time a bucket holds around 15 litres. So I obviously use 2 buckets.

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[BigDave]

Powerhead here too.

I'm one of the lucky ones that has room for large water storage containers. I have a 55 gallon container I use to store pre-mixed salt water. I run a large powerhead for a few hours prior to a water change. Verify the salt is correct, and I'm done.

 

[kwhyle]

Just use a powerhead in the water and pour the salt in when the temp is correct. If you have a larger tank, use a submersible pump to get it into your tank

 

[hkgar]

What does everyone mean by powerhead and what's it do? I have never done that, just get my salinity right and away I go. Takes about 20 minutes. Don't leave it overnight. Might warm the water up overnight but that's it.

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A powerhead is a small submersible pump most often used to crate circulation in the tank. Many of us use some sort of pump for mixing. When I make small amounts - 5-10 gallons - I use a Maxijet 1200. For my weekly water change - 24 gallons - I use a Sicce Syncra 4.0

 

[gareth.hubbarde]

A powerhead is a small submersible pump most often used to crate circulation in the tank. Many of us use some sort of pump for mixing. When I make small amounts - 5-10 gallons - I use a Maxijet 1200. For my weekly water change - 24 gallons - I use a Sicce Syncra 4.0

My tank is only 24 g in total.

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[Tripod1404]

Same here; I mix an approximate amount of salt and water, let them mix overnight with the aid of a power head in an uncovered bucket. Next morning I check salinity and either add more water or salt to make it 35ppt.

I only check the parameters for a new batch of salt. If the salt was previously used and tested, I dont check it after that.

 

[thegrun]

One important thing is you should mix the the salt into cold water, then heat it. Mixing salt into warm water will cause more calcium precipitation than if you mix it into cold water, particularly with "reef" salts that are high in calcium and alkalinity.

 

[Snarky Shark]

Typically no but can be dependent on brand.

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[Gladmaker]

I mix mine in 5 gallon buckets so a powerhead is probably too much. I put an air stone with a heater overnight after stirring it manually. I use a pancake turner so I can scrape the bottom until it no longer sounds gritty. Someone above says they leave the lid off. I put a lid on it loosely since it has a cord and airline going in. I think it helps keep evaporation down as evaporation will alter salinity.

 

[ericarenee]

One important thing is you should mix the the salt into cold water, then heat it. Mixing salt into warm water will cause more calcium precipitation than if you mix it into cold water, particularly with "reef" salts that are high in calcium and alkalinity.

This applies to storage as well.

I use kent marine and only mix salt once a month there about.

 

[BigDave]

I mix mine in 5 gallon buckets so a powerhead is probably too much. I put an air stone with a heater overnight after stirring it manually. I use a pancake turner so I can scrape the bottom until it no longer sounds gritty. Someone above says they leave the lid off. I put a lid on it loosely since it has a cord and airline going in. I think it helps keep evaporation down as evaporation will alter salinity.

There are some pretty small powerheads out there that would work fine in a 5 gallon bucket, but if this method works for you, no sense changing it

 

[sde1500]

https://www.amazon.com/SUN-JVP-110-...d=1500471072&sr=1-6&keywords=sunsun+powerhead this will do just fine for a 5 gallon.

I use an 1100 one from them, been running over a year now with no issues.