Maximum salinity

Cory · Jun 23, 2018

What is the maximum salinity i can mix in a 5 gallon bucket? I want to raise salinity by dumping in concentrated saltwater but am concerned about precipitating salts. Or is it better to just mix salt directly into the tank. Reason is my ato malfunctioned and dropped too much fresh water into the tank lowering sg to 1.024

Crabs McJones · Jun 23, 2018

Cory said:
What is the maximum salinity i can mix in a 5 gallon bucket? I want to raise salinity by dumping in concentrated saltwater but am concerned about precipitating salts. Or is it better to just mix salt directly into the tank. Reason is my ato malfunctioned and dropped too much fresh water into the tank lowering sg to 1.024

Best bet is to mix up a bucket to the salinity you want your tank to be, and top off With that instead of freshwater until your tank raises up to your desired salinity

Dennis McGrath · Jun 24, 2018

It's never a good idea to mix salt in an established tank. You can help it along by doing a water change, replacing it with higher salinity replacement water, but depending on the size of your tank, I wouldn't do more than a gallon at a time pausing for at least an hour each time to recheck the salinity in the tank before continuing.

pecan2phat · Jun 24, 2018

I've done 1.030 in the past with no precipitation.

Rakie · Jun 24, 2018

Just top off with salt water for a few days by hand.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jun 24, 2018

The answer will depend on the alkalinity of the mix and the pH/CO2 from your air. Some high alk mixes are already prone to precipitation of calcium carbonate, and making it extra saline will drive that even more.

Cory · Jun 24, 2018

Im using regular instant ocean fwiw. Alk is usually 10-11 dkh. Last was 11dkh. The co2 is the same as outside as all windows are open. Ph looks like 8-8.1