Reef Central Online Community

Home Forum Here you can view your subscribed threads, work with private messages and edit your profile and preferences View New Posts View Today's Posts

Find other members Frequently Asked Questions Search Reefkeeping ...an online magazine for marine aquarists Support our sponsors and mention Reef Central

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community Archives > General Interest Forums > Reef Discussion

 
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 10/24/2007, 08:58 PM
africangrey africangrey is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: N Ca
Posts: 703
Proper way of mixing sea salt

Ok for you sps lovers out there, what is your way of mixing salt water. I was informed that the elements in the bag or bucket is not uniform mixed, being that heavier stuff tend to sink to the bottom of the container, so shaking the bucket to mix the stuff inside before scooping it out is a prefer way of making the salt H2O.
I didn't know about this and have been always scooping the salt from the top but haven't experinced any problem so far.

Oh another thing, do you guys add the salt to water or add water to the salt, I've been told to add salt to water but couldn't find any reason to justify this is being a prefer way.
  #2  
Old 10/24/2007, 09:20 PM
ipiniowa ipiniowa is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Pleasant Hill, IA
Posts: 532
I personally just mix the salt into a 55 gallon container of water, then let it mix for 48 hours with a pump and heater. Check the salinity and do my water change. I know people whom also just mix it in a 5 gallon bucket then change the water, but they are also FO tanks.
  #3  
Old 10/24/2007, 09:22 PM
Mark C Mark C is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Cincinnati
Posts: 127
You need to add salt to the water, and even then you don't want to dump too much in at one time. If you add water to the salt, then it is possible for the water to get supersaturated and for calcium carbonate to precipitate out.
  #4  
Old 10/24/2007, 09:23 PM
jay24k jay24k is offline
SPS Freak
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Leesburg, Florida
Posts: 6,052
I mix it for about 6 hours and make sure the temp is similiar. No issues ever here.
  #5  
Old 10/24/2007, 09:39 PM
africangrey africangrey is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: N Ca
Posts: 703
Ok but you guys shake the bag or the container before scooping it out?
  #6  
Old 10/24/2007, 11:27 PM
jay24k jay24k is offline
SPS Freak
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Leesburg, Florida
Posts: 6,052
Why would you shake it?I just throw a pump in and toss in a scoop of salt. After a few, I wait a minute or so to let it dissolve and throw in more.
  #7  
Old 10/24/2007, 11:46 PM
africangrey africangrey is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: N Ca
Posts: 703
Because sea salt are not uniform in size, by graviitational force the bigger or the heavier elements tend to settle in the bottom of container in my case a 160 gal IO bucket, and the smaller or lighter elements tend to stay on the top, overtime the water chemistry in the tank becomes inbalanced.
  #8  
Old 10/25/2007, 12:24 AM
flyyyguy flyyyguy is offline
King of the white corals
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: bend, oregon
Posts: 1,442
Ive never shaken my salt buckets(always reefcrystals 160 gl buckets) nor noticed any difference in the first tot he last part of the bucket and I have tested. Thats not so say I couldnt see it making a difference, I just have never noticed any.

I use a mag 36 with a 1/4" venturi hooked up to it in a 44 gallon brute. The water is spinning and bubbling hard as I pour the salt in. I let it spin and bubble for a couple hours at most and its good to go......... testing no different on the majors than if I let it spin for 24+ hours
  #9  
Old 10/25/2007, 12:24 AM
znut Reefer znut Reefer is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Claxton, Ga
Posts: 2,221
Also add salt to my water. And let it mix for 24 hrs and test alk and SG. And do my WC.
  #10  
Old 10/25/2007, 10:16 AM
Sara B Sara B is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Hampshire, IL
Posts: 1,955
Nope, I do not shake the bucket or bag of salt. I have a hard enough time just moving the 200 gallon bucket worth of Topic Marin Salt!!!

I have a 65 gallon vat that I mix the saltwater in with a maxi jet 1200 and a 250W heater. I add the salt to the RO water up to the desired salinity which can take a few hours and then let it sit for at least another 12 hours, retest the salinity, and then do the actual water change. I also have left over water that I don't use and I continue to mix it with the maxi jet and will reheat it when I'm ready for another water change the following week.
__________________
Sara

Proud Member of CMAS & Rockford Reefers
  #11  
Old 10/25/2007, 10:27 AM
EnderG60 EnderG60 is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Atlanta GA
Posts: 1,679
your supposed to mix your salt in whatever size the container is. So if you get a 50g bag, mix 50g. if you have a 160g bucket mix 160g and so on.

Reason is as the OP stated there are various different minerals and metals in the salt that can settle to the bottom or top as the salt is shipped. So if you only use a small amount of salt at a time(say 10g out a 160g bucket) you might be getting high amounts of more toxic items and much less amounts of good stuff.

BUT if you mix it all at once you don't get that unevenness from batch to batch.

The correct thing to do is mix all your salt at once and use the water as needed keeping it moving, air rated and stored in a cool dark place until you need it.

But almost no one ever does this, and very few have seen any ill effects from not doing it.
  #12  
Old 10/25/2007, 11:09 AM
africangrey africangrey is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: N Ca
Posts: 703
Yeah, I was told to get the paint mixer from the Home Depot and attach to a eletric drill, that way you can uniformly mix the salt each time when using it.

EnderG60 is correct about using the whole 160 gal bucket all at once. only wish I have a 1600 gal tank to perform a 10% WC. But then again who makes 160 gal vats, can't justfy a 180 tank just to make up sea water.
  #13  
Old 10/25/2007, 11:43 AM
Serioussnaps Serioussnaps is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 3,664
I use 2 tunze 6200's on the multicontroller and mix up my salt in a starphire glass tank.


Lmao
  #14  
Old 10/25/2007, 01:56 PM
HBtank HBtank is offline
saltwater in my veins
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Posts: 2,060
Does any salt company state this? "shake before use"

I think this may be a case of us OCD reefers overthinking the situation..... lol


Has anyone tested a batch from the top of a bucket vs. the bottom to see if there is actually a chemical difference? Even if it was observed once, how can it be seperated from test kit accuracy/precision?

Is there even a visual difference? I never have noticed it. Even if there is sorting (which I believe there is of some sort), I have a hard time believing that salt crystal size is correlated to chemical composition. I would assume all the crystals are uniform in chemical composition, that would be a simple goal of the salt companies, otherwise they would put "shake before use' on the buckets.... which is difficult to say the least.

Last edited by HBtank; 10/25/2007 at 02:02 PM.
  #15  
Old 10/25/2007, 02:09 PM
flyyyguy flyyyguy is offline
King of the white corals
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: bend, oregon
Posts: 1,442
Quote:
Originally posted by HBtank
Does any salt company state this? "shake before use"

I think this may be a case of us OCD reefers overthinking the situation..... lol


Has anyone tested a batch from the top of a bucket vs. the bottom to see if there is actually a chemical difference? Even if it was observed once, how can it be seperated from test kit accuracy/precision?
.
I have as I stated above and there was no noticable difference. I of course was only testing the 3 majors, but i go through a bucket and a half a month so it all works out even if there were differences in stuff I dont test for.

And I AM clearly OCD..........but this topic hasnt grabbed my attention
  #16  
Old 10/25/2007, 02:16 PM
jman77 jman77 is offline
See if you can pingaso it
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: West Palm Beach, Florida
Posts: 2,001
"your supposed to mix your salt in whatever size the container is. So if you get a 50g bag, mix 50g. if you have a 160g bucket mix 160g and so on"

You guys nuts, I've never ever mixed up the whole containers worth of salt at one time, nor have I ever shook, mixed, massaged, molested, nor baby talked the salt before mixing.

Never had a problem with RC salt due to me not doing the above..... I call this myth BUSTED ...
  #17  
Old 10/25/2007, 02:25 PM
rutz81 rutz81 is offline
Dendrophyllia Arbuseula
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Bergen County, New Jersey
Posts: 1,293
Quote:
Originally posted by jman77
"your supposed to mix your salt in whatever size the container is. So if you get a 50g bag, mix 50g. if you have a 160g bucket mix 160g and so on"

You guys nuts, I've never ever mixed up the whole containers worth of salt at one time, nor have I ever shook, mixed, massaged, molested, nor baby talked the salt before mixing.

Never had a problem with RC salt due to me not doing the above..... I call this myth BUSTED ...
Same here. I've heard the myth about the heavier stuff settling, etc. And I've tried mixing the salt first, but, have never noticed any difference, at all. I add water to my salt, and sometimes salt to my water, both showing no difference, according to test kits, and visually. I mix up 5g out of the entire 160G bucket at a time, and have never had a problem on either of my two tank. I really think this whole thing about settling or mixing or anything like this is completely false.
  #18  
Old 10/25/2007, 04:32 PM
africangrey africangrey is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: N Ca
Posts: 703
Some of the companies like Elos and Aquacraft refuse to package the salt bigger than 50 gal because of the reason mentioned above. I think Elos only makes 6 gal bag, no bigger but Jesse needs to chime in to confirm that.
  #19  
Old 10/25/2007, 04:38 PM
flyyyguy flyyyguy is offline
King of the white corals
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: bend, oregon
Posts: 1,442
Quote:
Originally posted by rutz81
I add water to my salt, . .
That I do find odd, that will usually instantly cause precipitation and a nice white residue on the inside of your container
  #20  
Old 10/25/2007, 04:54 PM
rutz81 rutz81 is offline
Dendrophyllia Arbuseula
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Bergen County, New Jersey
Posts: 1,293
Quote:
Originally posted by flyyyguy
That I do find odd, that will usually instantly cause precipitation and a nice white residue on the inside of your container
Maybe there is a white residue on the inside of my container, but, it's a white salt bucket, so how could I even notice it...I'm not saying I'm a care-free, "let it happen" type of reefer, believe me I obsess about a lot of things about my tank, but, this is just not one of them, and I really don't think that it is that important, my corals ALWAYS show crazy PE after a waterchange, and the overall health of my tank I feel is very good. My colors are good, growth is pretty good. On that note, I think I have to go mix some water up right now and do a water change in an hour or so.(And no, I don't let my water mix for 24 hours or anything , either)
  #21  
Old 10/25/2007, 04:59 PM
jman77 jman77 is offline
See if you can pingaso it
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: West Palm Beach, Florida
Posts: 2,001
"Some of the companies like Elos and Aquacraft refuse to package the salt bigger than 50 gal"

I call that business strategy ...lol
  #22  
Old 10/25/2007, 05:27 PM
Serioussnaps Serioussnaps is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 3,664
Quote:
Originally posted by jman77
"your supposed to mix your salt in whatever size the container is. So if you get a 50g bag, mix 50g. if you have a 160g bucket mix 160g and so on"

You guys nuts, I've never ever mixed up the whole containers worth of salt at one time, nor have I ever shook, mixed, massaged, molested, nor baby talked the salt before mixing.

Never had a problem with RC salt due to me not doing the above..... I call this myth BUSTED ...
Worthless salt myths/and threads


Just mix the stuff with a powerhead in a safe container and if needed put a heater in it.

Oh no I didnt
  #23  
Old 10/25/2007, 06:19 PM
HBtank HBtank is offline
saltwater in my veins
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Posts: 2,060
Quote:
Originally posted by africangrey
Some of the companies like Elos and Aquacraft refuse to package the salt bigger than 50 gal because of the reason mentioned above. I think Elos only makes 6 gal bag, no bigger but Jesse needs to chime in to confirm that.
Huh? 50g... 6g... is that container or SW mixed amount?
  #24  
Old 10/25/2007, 06:43 PM
africangrey africangrey is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: N Ca
Posts: 703
50 gal mix or 6 gal mix, are amount of salt per bag enough to make the respective amount of sea water in 1.026 salinity or 35 ppm.
  #25  
Old 10/25/2007, 06:58 PM
ihopss ihopss is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Gilmer,tx
Posts: 314
I have (heard )that one bucket from the next could be different,I Have had no prob with I/O orR/C.
 

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:20 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef Central™ Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2009