Shelf Life of SW & RODI

[NanoCubeNewbie]

Anyone know what the approximate shelf life of saltwater and RO/DI is?

If it is in a sealed container, how long will they each remain usable for the tank?

 

[Kentanner11]

hmm, I think RO/DI water would be fine for a while (just like regular bottled water) but it would have to be sealed really well so stuff doesn't get in it.
With saltwater, I would think that if it stays stagnant it wouldn't be good, with some flow would be better as I know of a lot of people who have gigantic quantities of saltwater waiting in case of an emergency.

 

[cerreta]

Don, I was talking to the guys after you left tonight, and I think we may have discovered why your SG is so high.

Are you adding saltwater to your tank every couple days after teh water evaporates and the water level in the tank drops?

If so this is the problem. Water evaporation from a tank is normal. However, only H2O is evaporated. The salt and mineral content in the water does not leave because the molecules are too heavy.

When hobbyists add top-off water to the tank. It should only be RO water, not premixed saltwater.

Therefore, as water evapoates from the tank, the SG in the tank will naturally jump up a tiny bit and when you add RO water (as your top-off solution) then the SG comes back down to the normal value.

If you add saltwater as a top-off solution then the SG will keep rising. I think you buy water from SWS. Rob normally keeps his water at 1.023, therefore it seems this is a likely cause for your high SG.

Try to remove about 1 gallon of SW from your tank and replace it with 1 gallon of RO water. Repeat the process once a day until your SG comes down to 1.025.

You can borrow my refractometer for a few days if needed to get this squared away. Or, I can come over and we can do a water change together with low salinity replacement water to get you at the right values. This is probably a better idea, since youir PO4 is high and a water change should help lower it.
Cheers

 

[SahuaritaMike]

I have had saltwater without flow in the garage for about a month in a sealed contqainer and it always was good. From what I heard you just have to keep it in the dark or algae/bacteria will start to grow..

 

[NanoCubeNewbie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11594547#post11594547 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cerreta
Don, I was talking to the guys after you left tonight, and I think we may have discovered why your SG is so high.

Are you adding saltwater to your tank every couple days after teh water evaporates and the water level in the tank drops?

If so this is the problem. Water evaporation from a tank is normal. However, only H2O is evaporated. The salt and mineral content in the water does not leave because the molecules are too heavy.

When hobbyists add top-off water to the tank. It should only be RO water, not premixed saltwater.

Therefore, as water evapoates from the tank, the SG in the tank will naturally jump up a tiny bit and when you add RO water (as your top-off solution) then the SG comes back down to the normal value.

If you add saltwater as a top-off solution then the SG will keep rising. I think you buy water from SWS. Rob normally keeps his water at 1.023, therefore it seems this is a likely cause for your high SG.

Try to remove about 1 gallon of SW from your tank and replace it with 1 gallon of RO water. Repeat the process once a day until your SG comes down to 1.025.

You can borrow my refractometer for a few days if needed to get this squared away. Or, I can come over and we can do a water change together with low salinity replacement water to get you at the right values. This is probably a better idea, since youir PO4 is high and a water change should help lower it.
Cheers

Thanks for looking into and thinking about my issue, I really appreciate any help and advice anyone wants to offer.

I have not had to "top-off" ever since having this tank. The lid is fully closed and sealed and there is little or no evaporation. I have been doing a 20% water change every week with SW pre-mixed from Oasis. Also, I thought 1.026 was the natural salinity of the ocean and that was what I was trying to recreate. Is that too high? If so, I'll ask for the water to be mixed at a lower salinity. Everything I bought from the frag auction is doing great and I now have a firefich goby that seems to be just fine. Let me know what you think.

I would totally like to get together and have you come check it all out and see what your thoughts are. Maybe we could test that water again and see if things have leveled out. I was dosing the 2 part daily, at the suggestion of the fish store person, but stopped for a week after you guys suggested it at the frag auction. I started back up again yesterday making sure to count out the drops exactly as directed.

 

[NanoCubeNewbie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11594547#post11594547 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cerreta
Don, I was talking to the guys after you left tonight, and I think we may have discovered why your SG is so high.

Are you adding saltwater to your tank every couple days after teh water evaporates and the water level in the tank drops?

If so this is the problem. Water evaporation from a tank is normal. However, only H2O is evaporated. The salt and mineral content in the water does not leave because the molecules are too heavy.

When hobbyists add top-off water to the tank. It should only be RO water, not premixed saltwater.

Therefore, as water evapoates from the tank, the SG in the tank will naturally jump up a tiny bit and when you add RO water (as your top-off solution) then the SG comes back down to the normal value.

If you add saltwater as a top-off solution then the SG will keep rising. I think you buy water from SWS. Rob normally keeps his water at 1.023, therefore it seems this is a likely cause for your high SG.

Try to remove about 1 gallon of SW from your tank and replace it with 1 gallon of RO water. Repeat the process once a day until your SG comes down to 1.025.

You can borrow my refractometer for a few days if needed to get this squared away. Or, I can come over and we can do a water change together with low salinity replacement water to get you at the right values. This is probably a better idea, since youir PO4 is high and a water change should help lower it.
Cheers

Thanks for looking into and thinking about my issue, I really appreciate any help and advice anyone wants to offer.

I have not had to "top-off" ever since having this tank. The lid is fully closed and sealed and there is little or no evaporation. I have been doing a 20% water change every week with SW pre-mixed from Oasis. Also, I thought 1.026 was the natural salinity of the ocean and that was what I was trying to recreate. Is that too high? If so, I'll ask for the water to be mixed at a lower salinity. Everything I bought from the frag auction is doing great and I now have a firefish goby that seems to be just fine. Let me know what you think.

I would totally like to get together and have you come check it all out and see what your thoughts are. Maybe we could test the water again and see if things have leveled out. I was dosing the 2 part daily, at the suggestion of the fish store person, but stopped for a week after you guys suggested it at the frag auction. I started back up again yesterday making sure to count out the drops exactly as directed.

 

[philblumenfeld]

PM'd you Don