Should I be dripping the water into the tank into a bucket of salt?

[stlouisguy]

I was thinking I could drip the water into a bucket of salt so it slowly dissolves and goes into the tank as it fills

Good idea or wait till full then add salt and let it dissolve?

 

[levon15]

I think I would wait. SO the super saturated saltwater isn't sitting in your sand and what have you.

I have no clue but dissolving the salt will take no time compared to filling the tank

 

[stlouisguy]

Kinda my thought also

 

[Im Lon 2]

There is a lot of people that say do it that way, and others that say it should be fine the way you are doing it. I did it that way on the 240 with no problems so I wouldn't sweat it. Just make sure once you add the salt you give it a day or so to mix with the whole tank.

 

[MayoBoy]

I'd add a bucket of premixed water every 6 or 8" so it doesn't get to far ahead. Mix up a bucket of hypersalinic water so that when it's added to the 6" of water, it dilutes to more or less 1.025. I'd be scared that by mixing it in the tank, some of it may clump and you'll end up with pockets of pure salt.

You'll also be also be able to add your rock as you go this way.

 

[DrBDC]

DON'T!! Never add water to salt! Add your salt to the water. What happens is you get a super-saturation of salt until it dillutes which will cause a precipitation of calcium and alkalinity and you will have lowered numbers. And that could be quite expensive to correct on such a large water volume.

 

[Im Lon 2]

Actually I think I did what MayoBoy just said. Because I didn't want the salt to hit the sand bed and not get mixed in.

Roy, Would it be okay to make a bucket of water and make it strong and then poor it in the tank? or are you saying that be the same as adding water to Salt?

 

[stlouisguy]

My thought was to mix it in the sump where there is no substrate, then after it is dissolved, turn on the pump and let the water mix, let it run for an hour or so, turn it off and disolve another few bags, repeat until I hit the magic number

 

[griss]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8463709#post8463709 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DrBDC
DON'T!! Never add water to salt! Add your salt to the water. What happens is you get a super-saturation of salt until it dillutes which will cause a precipitation of calcium and alkalinity and you will have lowered numbers. And that could be quite expensive to correct on such a large water volume.

Roy is absolutely correct on this. I made that mistake when I first set that tank up Clark. I had to drain it and start all over.

My advice is to completely fill the system with RO/DI water. Get your temp where you want it and then start adding salt.

 

[levon15]

I would

1. fill that tank up and get it running with fresh ro/di

2. Start the pumps

3. Add salt by scooping it into the flow in your enormous sump and let that flow dissolve the salt, if some gets stuck in the corners stir it up, no sand there to mess up.

4. Check salinity and continue to add as needed. You don't want clumps but it should dissolve rather quickly in your sump if you have good flow.

 

[griss]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8464055#post8464055 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by levon15
I would

1. fill that tank up and get it running with fresh ro/di

2. Start the pumps

3. Add salt by scooping it into the flow in your enormous sump and let that flow dissolve the salt, if some gets stuck in the corners stir it up, no sand there to mess up.

4. Check salinity and continue to add as needed. You don't want clumps but it should dissolve rather quickly in your sump if you have good flow.

:thumbsup:

 

[Markk96]

I just set my 200 up and I filled it half way with RO/DI. I started then by mixing 80 Gallons of Saltwater in 2 brute cans. Once they were mixed and at the correct temp I pumped it into the tank. I then did that again 2 more times over a couple of days, I got my Salinity right on, and never had to worry about any issues.