Mixing salt?

[badger126]

Thats not right that you would have to use the whole bucket/bag. What about us with nano tanks? Smallest bag I've seen of IO around here is 50gal worth. Mix that up for a 5 gallon water change? It's a good thing to know about mixing up the bucket though before putting in in the water.

 

[Reeferdude]

I mix 55 gallons at a time and use it over the course of a couple months. No biggie.

 

[user 2204]

I just emailed Roger from Tunze and he said "As a general rule all salts should be purchased in a size that can be mixed all at once as this is the only way to guarantee you get the analysis stated by the manufacturer" What do you guys think. The smallest bags I'm aware of mix 63 gallons. That seems unreasonable to have to make 63 gallons at a time. Jason

Maybe what he meant was to only mix what you will use all at once. For example say you want to mix 5 gallons of saltwater, then I think maybe they mean mix all 5 gallons at one time versus mixing say a 2 gallon then adding another 3 gallons later to that 2 gallons that you've already mixed up.

Dunno, just a theroy.
Alex

 

[user 2204]

A lot of people don't realise that freshly mixed salt has traces of ammonia in it. It's best to aerate or circulate all mixes for 24 hours just to allow the ammonia to gas off.

I've never heard that before. Curious where did you read or hear about that from? Usually ammonia comes from the fish poop and such in the aquarium. I've tested freshly mixed saltwater that was mixed for only 5 minutes and had no traces of ammonia.

I just read a couple of paragraphs in two refrence books off my book shelf and neither one meantions ammonia in freshly mixed saltwater.

From the book The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert Fenner, "I recommend mixing your sinthetic seawater a week or more in advance of use."And

From the book The New Marine Aquarium by Michael Paletta, "Newly prepared synthetic seawater is somewhat caustic and should be mixed up in advance of its introduction to an aquarium with livestock. Before being used for a water change, it should be aerated or ciculated for at least a day in a seperate utility bucket or clean plastic garbage pail to clarify and to allow time for the pH to settle down."

Back to basics there. Hope this helps everyone with mixing saltwater.

Cheers,
Alex

 

[jhampton_wsu]

Maybe what he meant was to only mix what you will use all at once. For example say you want to mix 5 gallons of saltwater, then I think maybe they mean mix all 5 gallons at one time versus mixing say a 2 gallon then adding another 3 gallons later to that 2 gallons that you've already mixed up.

Dunno, just a theroy.
Alex

Here's his email. I believe he is genuine in wanting to help me, I just don't understand why they wouldn't add this info to the bucket. The salt container I purchased was the large box which I dumped into 2 dry buckets for use and storage. I still have half of it left and I have moved on to new bags.

"Jason,

I have not heard of any bad buckets of salt so I am surprised to hear this, what seems to be the problem? What typically is "wrong" with the buckets is that aquarium salt is designed to be mixed all at once and it settles so the lighter salts are at the top and the heavier salts are at the bottom. As a result if you don't really mix the dry salt before use and take just a portion your first batches will have a high Ca and Mg and low KH and toward the end of the bucket it will have a very high KH and low Ca and Mg. As a general rule all salts should be purchased in a size that can be mixed all at once as this is the only way to guarantee you get the analysis stated by the manufacturer, the Ca and Mg salts are always lighter and larger and rise to the top while the finer heavier KH salts settle to the bottom. This is most prevalent in buckets because of the void space and least prevalent in bags because they are usually almost vacuum packed and little movement occurs.

Roger"

 

[user 2204]

Well now that is just crazy. *lol* I guess people just need to be aware that they should always stir the dry salt mix before they use it. I usually roll the bucket around a few times before I get ready to use it.

Thanks again for the clarification on what they emailed.

 

[mcoomer]

Been in the hobby for 11 years now and have 300 or 400 5 gallon buckets laying around the garage now. I just pour the new salt into the remains of the old bucket then back and forth a few times. I've never had any problems that I can attribute to inconsistent saltwater batches.

 

[TotalVapor]

I talked to IO while back because the new label design came with a new mix of the salts. Even they told me no two buckets are exactly the same even if they come from the same batch in the plant. The best thing to do is to buy the smaller BAGS of salt and pour them into a 5 gallon bucket with a lid. mix the salt up good inside the bucket and use what you need to use for that water change. Then cover the bucket with a secure lid.

They also said this was better for the salt because the elements in the air can remove some of the additives for CA, ALK, and MG from evap even though it is not even mixed yet.

HTH

 

[holdendaniel]

there are many ways to keep your salt mix from use within a day to 6months

 

[lvsuckerfish]

I have always mixed my new buckets of salt before opening them and also always roll it around before I add salt to make new salt that is what I was always told to do when I first started into reefs my other salt water tanks I didn't pay too close of attention to the Params until I noticed something off in my tanks. it has been a habit for me that I will always do but I believe a LFS in vegas told me to do it this way and is best to mix a complete container of which ever salt you buy completly which in most folks eyes is not the easiest way being we would all have 160 gallon storage tanks in our house and apts. when I first buy the bucket I use the 2 bucket method lol gets everything mixed up well never had bad readings in any salt brands I used.

 

[jhampton_wsu]

I have always mixed my new buckets of salt before opening them and also always roll it around before I add salt to make new salt that is what I was always told to do when I first started into reefs my other salt water tanks I didn't pay too close of attention to the Params until I noticed something off in my tanks. it has been a habit for me that I will always do but I believe a LFS in vegas told me to do it this way and is best to mix a complete container of which ever salt you buy completly which in most folks eyes is not the easiest way being we would all have 160 gallon storage tanks in our house and apts. when I first buy the bucket I use the 2 bucket method lol gets everything mixed up well never had bad readings in any salt brands I used.

I also haven't had a problem since I started rolling buckets and using the two bucket method. With that said I won't use the Tunze salt again.