storing salt water

[shyland83]

I just setup a 32g brute garbage can for mixing salt water. I plan on dropping in an old mag7 to keep the water moving. How long can i keep the water stored in there? And do i have to keep the pump on all the time?

 

[LCGoldman]

I've had problems keeping the water in there too long. It starts to stink like rotten eggs. And, if memory serves me correctly, Christine pointed out that it was a bacteria bloom.

 

[Spracklcat]

Yup. Some people do fine with it, others do not. just keep an eye on it, and try to somewhat regularly drain it completely and then scrub it very well with a bristle brush adn bleach, and then rinse clean. Any sign of films or odors and it's time to drain it. The bacteria likely won't hurt your tank, but it's yucky (that's my expert scientific evaluation.)

 

[jgiordano]

This is a good question how long should it be kept and does temp matter?
Does real saltwater do the same?

 

[vyger]

I have kept saltwater pulled from Shinnecock inlet (NSW) in 5gal buckets with lids for up to three weeks with no problems.....Been doing it for over a year....I don't use any circulating pump or heater...never had any bacterial blooms as of yet...

 

[Spracklcat]

Wow, I'm surprised. I'd expect that the zooplankton and gunk in there would get stinky (dead) sooner than that. I'm going to try to culture what I always get growing in my sw storage tank and see what it is. I don't think it is anything dangerous, but it would be interesting nonetheless. Also interesting is that I never had problems storing sw in any other place I lived--just this one.

 

[vyger]

Forgot to mention that I let it sit for a day or 2 and then siphon off the top 4 gal into a another bucket ..... Then I store that water which is clean...usually there is a lot of crap in the gal that's left in the original 5 gal bucket...sand, algae etc..

 

[shyland83]

okay that helps. So i should be safe keeping it in there for a week or 2. Is tehre a consensus on wether or not the circulation pump is necessary?

 

[Zoa]

I would think it would make it harder for things to propogate with the pump.

 

[Spracklcat]

Yes, that is exactly right, and that's why large wastewater tanks in industrial settings hae circulating pumps. Unfortunately, the bacteria are one step ahead; they form biofilms--dense, sometimes crusty hard films that create favorable microenvironments. So once a biofilm forms, even if you circulate a disinfectant, the outside of the film will be killed, but the inside is still cozy for the organisms to live, and they come back. It's a huge engineering task to create water systems with no dead legs or even small pockets of low circulation so that the films can't get a hold to begin with.

 

[Zoa]

wow- I han'd known about the biofilms...thanks Chris. This would make me consider multiple pumps when using a large storage container. Although, even then, who knows...

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

Make it easy on yourself.
Store RO water & mix a day beforehand.
Been doing this for quite sometime now with -0- problems.
When I do have makeup water for more than a day it is aerated. This is how I mix up my salt also, no pumps.