Mixing salt & RO/DI

[masterswimmer]

I finally have my southdown in the tank. I'm producing RO/DI (it is at zero TDS). My question is.......since the tank is empty (except for the SD) can I mix my salt in the tank with powerheads and the circulation through the overflow/sump/return, as opposed to premixing it in a tub outside of the tank? or, Is the salt going to settle on the substrate? If I can mix it in the tank, would everyone recommend adding the salt into the sump/return pump chamber, thereby getting more agitation to the mix?

TIA,
Russ

[ADS]

That's not a problem. You can put it directly in the tank without adverse reaction. It'll dissolve.
Too much circulation with newly placed sandbed is a problem. You'll get a sand cloud. Drip slowly your RO water over the sand until filled.
Adam

[Reelfish]

I assume you are now making water in a tub and putting it in the tank. I would mix the salt in the tub before putting the water in the tank. If you are running the RO water into the tank then you should fill the tank then put the salt in when you start circulation. I agree with Adam with the sand cloud so start the sump first with no power heads on in the tank. A empty tank (no fish or corals) is the only time you can put salt directly into the tank.
Bob

[Franks Reef]

Russ,

I agree with Adam, you can mix it in the tank. It won't hurt anything.

If it were me though, I would mix it in a tub first. Especially if you are using Instant Ocean or reef Crystals. They tend to dissolve slowly. Also, it is better to mix the salt when the water is warm to avoid precipitation of trace elements. The salt will also dissolve faster in warm water.

When adding water on top of the southdown, be careful. You should put a piece of plastic over the sand and place a bowl on top of the plastic. pour the water into the bowl slowly and let the water spill out onto the plastic. This will keep the southdown from creating a milkshake out of your water. (Bob H.'s neat little trick) If you pour the water into the southdown directly, you will have a mess that will take weeks to clear up.(speaking from my own experience!!)

Good Luck Russ,
Call me if you need anything,
Frank

[ADS]

I filled my office tank(225g) with the sand in it-I was able to run a long 1/4" tubing directly from the RO unit to the tank. It took 5 days to fill but there was no sand storm.
Adam

[masterswimmer]

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all. My RO/DI water is being produced into a separate 50 gal. tub. The tub is in another room. I ran tubing through the walls and through the ceiling to the tank/sump. I put a Mag 7 in the tub with a ball valve just before the tank and I did put the plastic down with a plastic container to deflect the flow. It's almost full right now and no Southdown milkshake!!! :D

I did not mix the salt in the tub, I want to use this tub as my topoff storage so I didn't want to 'contaminate' it with the salt mix. I am planning to take a ride to pick up some Oceanic salt and try that. Seems the common consensus is that it works well.

I've got pix to post but the files are too big.....any offers to help upload?

Russ

[Reelfish]

Russ
I think Frank has a point with bringing the water to temp. before adding salt.
Bob

[masterswimmer]

YAHOOOO, the tank is filled, the sump is filled........the system is charged, the pumps are running, the heater is cranked up to 80.5 deg F (but the water is still at 66 deg F), hopefully by tomorrow morning the temp will be poyfect and I can start adding salt. I picked up two 200 gallon buckets of Oceanic from TW today.

WE BE READY FOR ROCK...........and ROLL!!!!

Russ

[andro]

Getting close now huh, just about ready to put that rock in. Its a good feeling starting to get what you have been planning for a while going. If you need any help with anything, jsut let me know.


Send me those pictures Russ and I will put them into the gallery.

-Ian

[Tomzpc]

Originally posted by masterswimmer
YAHOOOO, the tank is filled, the sump is filled........the system is charged, the pumps are running, the heater is cranked up to 80.5 deg F (but the water is still at 66 deg F), hopefully by tomorrow morning the temp will be poyfect and I can start adding salt. I picked up two 200 gallon buckets of Oceanic from TW today.

WE BE READY FOR ROCK...........and ROLL!!!!

Russ

Russ,

Are you planning on curing the rock IN your tank? I hate to offer this advice too late, but if you are curing in-tank (which is what I would do), then I would have added the rock before the water, having premixed and heated the saltwater outside the tank. Aquascaping LR is soooo much easier in an empty tank.

[cybertomtbcb]

Congratulations, I know how excited you must be. I was always taught to add the water to an empty tank mix the salt in the tank. Then add the uncured rock to prevent the die off from contaminating the sand. Then add the sand. It sounds difficult but it is the healthiest way. If the rock is cured then the sand could be added to the tank after the salt is mixed and aerated in the tank and then the cured rock is added. I'll be setting up my 120 next week in this manner. Good luck either way Russ.

[skearse]

The other bonus for adding the rock then the sand is that the tank bottom is a more stable base for supporting the rock. On the other hand, having more of the rock above the sand (adding sand & then rock) exposes more rock surface area for the bio-filter. I started with my first 100 lbs in the tank, then the sand (no PVC tricks, just a sandstorm for about a week). The rest I put in after the tank was up & running (about 80 more pounds). Like Tom said, getting the rock int the tank w/o the sand made it a lot easier to get the base established for the rest of the 'scaping. If it's too late, it's probably not a big deal; it may just be a little trickier.

Final thought-remember to take water out of the system as you put in the rock-I forgot to do this one time & only caught it right before the sump overflowed (it leaked a few days later and flooded the floor anyway, but that's a different story).

[Tomzpc]

Russ,

How deep a sandbed are you going with? The less the better IMO but many, if not most, will disagree with me.

[foxstop]

I saw Russ' set up yesterday.
He's put a lot of thought and some great construction into the whole thing.

I think he has about 2 inches of sand on the bottom of the tank.

Thanks for the ideas guys. I hadn't thought about putting the rock in first then the water. I figured after leak checking all of the plumbing and getting the thing going I would just mix up the salt in tank, let the temp and salinity get stable and then add my rock.

I will have to get some more brutes if I'm going to aquascape and then add water.

Thanks for all of the ideas guys.

Brian