Confused about mixing salt (ppt or SG)

[Karen00]

Hello fellow saltines,

I know this is such a lame question but I'm kind of confused about mixing salt (temp and time). There are plenty of threads on here but they haven't helped.

I currently have a brackish tank that isn't heated. I let it rise and fall with the seasons so my saltwater is mixed at room temp (currently 74) and I go for an s.g. of 1.010. The inhabitants of the tank are thriving but the very nature of brackish inhabitants makes them hardy to changing conditions. I have finally taken the plunge and purchased a little 5g AIO that will be my first full saltwater tank, fish only for now. I am striving for an s.g. of 1.024 at 77 degrees. This is about 31ppt. Do I mix it at 77? Threads on here suggest mixing it cold because the salt dissolves easier then heating it but won't the s.g. change doing it this way? Salinity goes up the lower the temp correct? Or shod I be mixing it to ppt in which case I'm assuming temp doesn't matter correct?

It seems like I've been adding a ton of salt to 5g of water at 77 and the s.g. is going up so slowly. It seems like the ppt is also going up way to slow. I'm afraid I have added too much salt. I thought maybe my salinity pen had gone wonky so I put it into my brackish tank and it's bang on at 1.010.

Am I mixing it right?

Thanks!!

 

[DHill6]

I mix the salt in a heated bucket of water 78degrees. Tropic Marin Pro Reef salt mixes easily. I test with a refractometer, bumping up the salt if needed.

 

[Karen00]

I mix the salt in a heated bucket of water 78degrees. Tropic Marin Pro Reef salt mixes easily. I test with a refractometer, bumping up the salt if needed.

Thanks so much for the speedy reply! It sounds like I'm mixing it correctly. Do you mix to s.g. or ppt?

 

[DrZoidburg]

You could go by ppt or s.g. Temp wouldn't make a huge difference. Ex: 1.024 at 68F only goes to 1.027 at freezing 32F. Mixing started colder is good for preventing some precipitation. Some of the salts in mix have opposite solubilities. In some mixes dry salt reacts in the water to make calcium bicarbonate and others. That are poorly soluble in warmer water.

 

[DHill6]

I mix to 35ppt which correlates to1.026 on refractometer.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

I use SG primarily as I shoot for 1.25-1.26. I go to ppt every now and again to make sure my device is accurate

 

[Dunc]

I mix my saltwater for at least 24 hours. If I run the mix pump all day it heats the water up anyway. I check the temp with a Hanna Thermometer and the water gets up to around 81 - 82 degrees. BRS recommends heating the water while mixing. I’m not sure it really matters if you mix it as long as I do.

 

[Karen00]

I use SG primarily as I shoot for 1.25-1.26. I go to ppt every now and again to make sure my device is accurate

Excellent. Thanks so much for this. I'm feeling much better now and I'm confident I'm doing it correctly based on everything I'm reading here. I think I will bring a sample to my LFS to verify my readings.

 

[Karen00]

I mix my saltwater for at least 24 hours. If I run the mix pump all day it heats the water up anyway. I check the temp with a Hanna Thermometer and the water gets up to around 81 - 82 degrees. BRS recommends heating the water while mixing. I’m not sure it really matters if you mix it as long as I do.

Awesome, thanks for this!! I'm quite confident after reading these replies I'm doing it correctly. It just seems like I'm adding so much salt. I have to get a refractometer as a backup to verify my salinity pen.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Awesome, thanks for this!! I'm quite confident after reading these replies I'm doing it correctly. It just seems like I'm adding so much salt. I have to get a refractometer as a backup to verify my salinity pen.

I’ve only tried a handful of different salts but they normally get me around 1.23-1.24 using 1/2 cup per 1 gallon

 

[KrisReef]

Excellent. Thanks so much for this. I'm feeling much better now and I'm confident I'm doing it correctly based on everything I'm reading here. I think I will bring a sample to my LFS to verify my readings.

Very good! Not sure if your pen (calibrated to 1.010) is going to fail at the higher end?

After a few times of mixing you'll be able to do it with your eyes closed and just wetting a finger to taste!

 

[Karen00]

You could go by ppt or s.g. Temp wouldn't make a huge difference. Ex: 1.024 at 68F only goes to 1.027 at freezing 32F. Mixing started colder is good for preventing some precipitation. Some of the salts in mix have opposite solubilities. In some mixes dry salt reacts in the water to make calcium bicarbonate and others. That are poorly soluble in warmer water.

Thank you for this info! I didn't know about the opposite solubilities. After reading these replies I'm feeling quite relieved that all is fine with my process! I'm going to pickup a refractometer tomorrow so I can verify my salinity pen's readings and take a sample to my LFS.

 

[Karen00]

I’ve only tried a handful of different salts but they normally get me around 1.23-1.24 using 1/2 cup per 1 gallon

I thought this was the approx. amount needed and the bag says this as well. Can salt go bad if it clumps from humidity?

 

[NowGlazeIT]

I thought this was the approx. amount needed and the bag says this as well. Can salt go bad if it clumps from humidity?

I don’t know about going bad but it will scramble results as elements will clump up in various concentration

 

[DrZoidburg]

No problem your welcome. Yes I agree 1/2 per gallon will get you close. ppt is metric. 35 grams salt in 1000g of water is about 1.026 sg. 115g is about 1.0229 which is close to half cup. Damp salt wont go bad you would just need more of it. Would say maybe get lower calcium/magnesium levels. Wouldn't be much lower though

 

[NowGlazeIT]

No problem your welcome. Yes I agree 1/2 per gallon will get you close. ppt is metric. 35 grams salt in 1000g of water is about 1.026 sg. 115g is about 1.0229 which is close to half cup. Damp salt wont go bad you would just need more of it. Would say maybe get lower calcium/magnesium levels. Wouldn't be much lower though

Thanks for joining the convo reefer, that’s some solid input

 

[Karen00]

I thought I would provide an update to my salt drama. I mixed the salt at temp to my desired level of 1.024 and added it to the tank that was also at the same temp. I was still concerned about how much salt I used to get it to that level but it's a new tank with nothing in it except dry rock so I knew I would kill anything. The next day I checked the salinity of the tank and it showed 1.018sg. At that point I took a sample to my LFS and when they tested it with a Hanna checker it was 1.026sg. I'm glad I had it tested. I meant to pick up a refractometer bit of course forgot so I have been mixing to 1.018 until I can get more calibration solution. What I have found to be easier, which sounds like the preferred method, is to mix it cold then heat it to temp and adjust as necessary.

It was mentioned that if I have calibrated my salinity meter for my brackish tank at 1.010sg then that might be causing issues which is a great point however I calibrated it to 0. So my question is... Is it possible the meter is having issues getting that high? It's spot on for my brackish tank and it is a meter for saltwater tanks bit it's a cheapo one off of Amazon. Should I get a second one and calibrate it to 1.024?

Thanks all for everyone's input! I greatly appreciate it!!

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Does not hurt to have a couple ways of testing the same thing. That’s how I double check my parameters when I’m in doubt

 

[Karen00]

Does not hurt to have a couple ways of testing the same thing. That’s how I double check my parameters when I’m in doubt

Thanks for confirming! I think I will keep the one I'm using for my brackish tank and pickup a refractometer and another digital pen for my marine tank.

 

[olonmv]

I mix at between 74-78 in a 5 gallon bucket with a powerhead. My target is 1.025.