I have found a lovely truth about the salt I use. Half a cup to a gallon of ro/di.
Now, how many cups of salt per gallon? 16 cups mixes up 32 gallons, roughly, to 1.024 salinity. And sixteen cups is, yes, a gallon of salt. [yes, there are wet and dry measurements...but it sorta works pretty well as both liquid measures, because salt is more compact than, say, rolled oats.]
In a 44 gallon Rubbermaid Brute (yes, they come in 32/44/55 gallons), this equals an amount of water a hair off the top of the lower set of molded arch patterns. 32 gallons. The problem with the 32 gallon Brute is that it's only 32 when equal to the absolute top, which is just a shade TOO full for safety of anything liquid, re your floors. So I got the 44 Brute, with rolling dolly.
If 32 gallons would be a significant number for your tank's water changes, this might be a good way to go. 32 gallons of water to 1 gallon of reef salt. Check your mixing requirements, get a big barrel, a mixing pump [any pump that moves water well], and figure how much will work with that barrel. Of course check the result with your refractometer, fine-tune it, and mark levels with an indelible marker or tape.
This is a lot like cooking: cups, pints, quarts, gallons. If you're like me, your head swims while counting it out half-cup at a go, and you know the phone will ring or someone will interrupt your count with conversation. This just settles it at one measure.
Now, how many cups of salt per gallon? 16 cups mixes up 32 gallons, roughly, to 1.024 salinity. And sixteen cups is, yes, a gallon of salt. [yes, there are wet and dry measurements...but it sorta works pretty well as both liquid measures, because salt is more compact than, say, rolled oats.]
In a 44 gallon Rubbermaid Brute (yes, they come in 32/44/55 gallons), this equals an amount of water a hair off the top of the lower set of molded arch patterns. 32 gallons. The problem with the 32 gallon Brute is that it's only 32 when equal to the absolute top, which is just a shade TOO full for safety of anything liquid, re your floors. So I got the 44 Brute, with rolling dolly.
If 32 gallons would be a significant number for your tank's water changes, this might be a good way to go. 32 gallons of water to 1 gallon of reef salt. Check your mixing requirements, get a big barrel, a mixing pump [any pump that moves water well], and figure how much will work with that barrel. Of course check the result with your refractometer, fine-tune it, and mark levels with an indelible marker or tape.
This is a lot like cooking: cups, pints, quarts, gallons. If you're like me, your head swims while counting it out half-cup at a go, and you know the phone will ring or someone will interrupt your count with conversation. This just settles it at one measure.
