Confused about mixing salt (ppt or SG)

[Karen00]

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

Thanks!! My first attempt was mixing at 78 and it was disaterous. I don't know what I did wrong. Now I do it about 72/73 then warm it and adjust as necessary. That seems to be working better but I have to get a refractometer to confirm what my salinity pen is telling me. Brackish is so easy by comparison although after five days of doing it I think I'm getting the hang of it... I hope.

 

[olonmv]

Thanks!! My first attempt was mixing at 78 and it was disaterous. I don't know what I did wrong. Now I do it about 72/73 then warm it and adjust as necessary. That seems to be working better but I have to get a refractometer to confirm what my salinity pen is telling me. Brackish is so easy by comparison although after five days of doing it I think I'm getting the hang of it... I hope.

You’ll get it. I started from the get go with a bucket and powerhead because I’m lazy and it has worked out for me . Just pour water in dump appropriate amount of salt, kick on powerhead and wait a couple to a few hours.

 

[Karen00]

You’ll get it. I started from the get go with a bucket and powerhead because I’m lazy and it has worked out for me . Just pour water in dump appropriate amount of salt, kick on powerhead and wait a couple to a few hours.

That's a good point about the powerhead. I keep forgetting that. It sounds like most people stick one of those in. I've been handing mixing it with one of those wooden paint mixing sticks then I stir it again before adding it to the tank. I'm sure a powerhead will keep it mixed all of the time. Gosh, there's always more stuff to get. Haha. There was a post on here about how much money people have sunk into the hobby. I've been trying to find it because in a short 5 days it's probably close to $550 for a 5g!! And I still have to get better lights.

 

[olonmv]

That's a good point about the powerhead. I keep forgetting that. It sounds like most people stick one of those in. I've been handing mixing it with one of those wooden paint mixing sticks then I stir it again before adding it to the tank. I'm sure a powerhead will keep it mixed all of the time. Gosh, there's always more stuff to get. Haha. There was a post on here about how much money people have sunk into the hobby. I've been trying to find it because in a short 5 days it's probably close to $550 for a 5g!! And I still have to get better lights.

Lol. I feel ya. At Lowe’s now picking up bayer insect kill n a brute trash can. There’s a bug that’s bothering my zoas and just laughs at reef dip and I’m sick of flooding my garage with RO water lol! The powerhead is nice. The thought of hand stirring was gross lol.

 

[Karen00]

Lol. I feel ya. At Lowe’s now picking up bayer insect kill n a brute trash can. There’s a bug that’s bothering my zoas and just laughs at reef dip and I’m sick of flooding my garage with RO water lol! The powerhead is nice. The thought of hand stirring was gross lol.

Don't get me started on the large collection of buckets I'm accumulating and somehow they're all in use. LOL. Hand stirring isn't so bad. It's just 5 gallons worth. It keeps my arm muscles in shape and makes me feel at one with my tank. Haha. Coral eating water bugs are creepy things and I hope to never have. My tank looks so pristine in its newness. No algae (yet), no creepy critters (yet). Just a clean tank with clean sand and clean water. :-D

 

[Uncle99]

Both pens and refractometer should be calibrated regularly with 35ppt calibration solution, save money, scrap the pen.

Ive had so much variance with pens, I scrapped mine.

 

[Karen00]

Both pens and refractometer should be calibrated regularly with 35ppt calibration solution, save money, scrap the pen.

Ive had so much variance with pens, I scrapped mine.

Yes. I'm thinking of ditching the pen or just keeping it for my brackish setup since they aren't as particular about salinity stability. The interesting thing with mine is that it uses conductivity solution to calibrate it. I only found that out after buying 35ppt solution. Ugh!