How doni add the salt?

[Notsolostfish]

Just finished filling my marine x60.2 and its 36 gallons display with 18 gallons sump. Im new i added rocks and sand without knowing the water volume. How do is start adding salt? Do i add up to 30 gallons and test?

 

[Gtinnel]

Normally you mix the salt into the water before adding the water to the tank, but on a brand new setup you can just mix the salt in the tank. Just make sure there is enough flow to keep the salt stirred up so that it can dissolve.

 

[Mschmidt]

Mix the salt and water in a bucket separately to the desired salinity then add it to the tank. From where you are now, pull the water out and mix it till it's all desolved. You will know it's desolved because the water in the bucket will be clear and you will see no particles. you could probably pull 5 gallons out mix twice the recommend salt in the bucket then add that back to the system. Keep everything running when you do that. Let the water mix, I'd give it 10+ minutes then repeat.

Never, not now or in the future add salk crystals to the tank. Now because the may not mix in; later because you run the risk of burning the livestock.

 

[Uncle99]

Just finished filling my marine x60.2 and its 36 gallons display with 18 gallons sump. Im new i added rocks and sand without knowing the water volume. How do is start adding salt? Do i add up to 30 gallons and test?

Sure, that’s a good start.
Then just adjust from there.
Keep a good flow going.

 

[NotApplicable]

For my first fill, I had mixed it a little low because I wasn't confident in the refractometer I had, but didn't want to wait for a new one arrive to start the cycling.

Once I was confident in my tool, I needed to bring salinity up quite a bit. Ended up measuring salt and putting it in teabags and suspending in sump. Dissolved very slowly. Worked great.

Of course, had no livestock to worry about at that time but I still didn't want to just add granules to the tank. Thought maybe they could settle somewhere and not dissolve properly...

 

[Notsolostfish]

Mix the salt and water in a bucket separately to the desired salinity then add it to the tank. From where you are now, pull the water out and mix it till it's all desolved. You will know it's desolved because the water in the bucket will be clear and you will see no particles. you could probably pull 5 gallons out mix twice the recommend salt in the bucket then add that back to the system. Keep everything running when you do that. Let the water mix, I'd give it 10+ minutes then repeat.

Never, not now or in the future add salk crystals to the tank. Now because the may not mix in; later because you run the risk of burning the livestock.

A lot of people when they fill they mix the salt right in.

 

[Mschmidt]

A lot of people when they fill they mix the salt right in.

I was warned against it. Could be overly cautious though.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I was warned against it. Could be overly cautious though.

What was the warning given?

 

[Spare time]

A lot of people when they fill they mix the salt right in.

You are looking to mix salt in a tank with sand in it already? I would empty out as much sand as you can otherwise its going to be a bit of a nightmare. Altenatively, in the sump, you can mix the salt in small quantities in that area under a powerhead.

 

[Mschmidt]

What was the warning given?

The salt would sit in nooks and fail to desolve. Upon further thought that is unlikely to happen and even less likely to cause problems.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

The salt would sit in nooks and fail to desolve. Upon further thought that is unlikely to happen and even less likely to cause problems.

Yeah, unless the water is near saturation point for salt, I don't think that's much of a possibility.

The only reason I wouldn't mix in a new tank is if I already have live rock in there. If there is already live rock, It needs to have appropriate salinity water.

 

[Gtinnel]

I’ve always done my initial fill on tanks with just rodi and then added salt. I like to do it without the salt in case there is something leaking and I have to discard the water. I won’t add the salt until all of the pumps are running though.

Obviously if there is anything living in the tank, including live rock you have to mix it first.