Keeping Ready Mixed Seawater

zybergoby · Oct 17, 2014

Dennis is brilliant at this hobby i mean come on he built his house around the tank. I've had the pleasure of watching this build of his from the start.

WindeyD · Oct 17, 2014

I have a brute trashcan always filled with a mag drive pump keeping it circulated; I haven't had any problems in the 1+ years I've been doing this

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 17, 2014

zemuss said:
Randy,

Can you explain your system or post a link? And any required hardware.. please

Sure. It is here:

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/re...es-farley/172508-randys-tank-description.html

d2mini · Oct 17, 2014

dlbowlin said:
I was wondering where you got that sheving... I just bought those tanks to attempt this exact setup but need to find shelving or build it.

Hi, if you are talking to me, I did a google search for "commercial boltless shelving in Houston" and found a place not far from me.
Went in and talked to the guy about my intended use. We figured out the weight requirements and he hooked me up with the appropriate sizes, number of shelves and even the pressboard for the shelves.

jt17 · Oct 17, 2014

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Unless the salt has organic matter added to it (Reef Crystals, Tropic Marin Bioactif, possibly others), there's no need to stir it beyond the initial mixing.

Some salt mixes have significant precipitation of calcium carbonate on pumps and heaters, so mixing more them may actually be counter productive.

+1

I run a liter meter and at first I use red sea coral pro and experienced the calcium buildup as well as the precipitation of other things on the inside of the mixing tank. Since I switched to bionic salt I haven't had that problem. I do have a powerhead in the tank with salt water to keep things aerated but after reading this thread I may at least put it on a timer to conserve energy since Randy says its not critical. Maybe someone will do a triton test on freshly mixed SW and then another test on the same water 2 or 3 weeks later to see if any microbial growth consumes trace elements.

Satyr · Oct 17, 2014

How long can you store premade salt water, guessing have it circulated it can last longer? Will be follow this post.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 17, 2014

Satyr said:
How long can you store premade salt water, guessing have it circulated it can last longer? Will be follow this post.

Unless it has organic matter, such as vitamins in it, there's no need to use it quickly and storing won't make it last longer. With some mixes, stirring with a pump will accelerate precipitation of calcium carbonate, but it will still have higher alkalinity than NSW.

I store my IO unstirred for at least a month, and there is no limitation I know of that would mean it could not be a year.

If you do a substantial water change at once, aerate it first if stored for a long time. I don't aerate mine after initial mixing, but I change water really slowly many times per day, automatically..

jcrider48 · Oct 17, 2014

Keeping Mixed Saltwater

I just found this for the first time in a year of keeping 16 gallons of mixed saltwater on hand. I do not think it will hurt anything though.

cgdevore · Oct 31, 2014

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
I store my salt water in grey Brutes (2 x 44 gallons plumbed together).

For Instant Ocean, there no need to stir it after the initial mixing. I don't heat it either, since I change it really slow (1% daily in a bunch of 15 minute periods on a timer).

I've not heard this before, I have a power head on continuously in my reserve salt water. But no need with instant ocean? I guess I was thinking it may get stale?

Aqua fire/medic · Oct 31, 2014

d2mini said:
I store and mix my water in these.
Fresh on top, saltwater on the bottom. (ATO is a separate container)

I mix until the saltwater is throughly mixed and then I have about 10 days worth of auto water changes.
The auto water changes are performed by my Profilux. It's part of the standard programming. And it utilizes level sensors in the sump so it's very precise with no chance of salinity changes.

Where can I find water tanks like this and what is their capacity?