Mixing Salt

Aliu · Sep 27, 2016

Hi guys,

So I recently bought the Red Sea Salt and a RO unit. Was wondering if anyone has any tips when it comes to mixing your own salt water? I've read that you will need to buy a pump to place inside the bin where I will be mixing; any pumps in particular?

Thanks!

Alex

ZJedi945 · Sep 27, 2016

Great salt to go with. Any pump will work as long as you have a nice amount of flow. For years I used a cheap mj pump but I was tired of it moving around so I put a hydor 850gph in it. I use a brute trash can if you are curious about containers.

redfishbluefish · Sep 27, 2016

The more agitation, the better. I mix 25 gallons and have a Koralia K4 and K8 powerhead in my Brute to mix the salt.

bif24701 · Sep 27, 2016

Use a refractometer add salt to your water when the container is full. Don't add water to salt. You don't want to mix the salt at a higher than recommended SG, it can cause precipitation of the good stuff.

skybears · Sep 27, 2016

bif24701 said:
Use a refractometer add salt to your water when the container is full. Don't add water to salt. You don't want to mix the salt at a higher than recommended SG, it can cause precipitation of the good stuff.

I'm going to be using 2 cans full of Ro salt mix and one can pure Ro is that incorrect

bif24701 · Sep 27, 2016

I don't know what any of that means

skybears · Sep 27, 2016

I have three cans trash cans on standby for water changes two of them are salt RO water mix and then a third trash can is just straight RO water

RJinPV · Sep 27, 2016

Aliu said:
Hi guys,

So I recently bought the Red Sea Salt and a RO unit. Was wondering if anyone has any tips when it comes to mixing your own salt water? I've read that you will need to buy a pump to place inside the bin where I will be mixing; any pumps in particular?

Thanks!

Alex

I just started mixing my own Red Sea Pro. I use a 20 gal Rubbermaid trash can and a Sicce 4.0 pump. I attached a vinyl hose to the pump. Added salt to the water. Placed the cover on the can. Turned the pump on and came back 60 minuutes later to garage floor covered in 10 gallons of salt water. The vinyl hose re-arranged itself to spray up at the lid and it ran out down and out the sides of the can. On try number 2 I fixed that and it works out great now. I had made a dipstick with 1" pvc pipe so I shove the vinyl tubing into that and stays pointed to the bottom.
I found about 1/2 cup of salt per gallon makes 1.023 to 1.024 salt

AcanSkywalker · Sep 27, 2016

For a few extra dollars you can add a DI cartridge to your RO system & make a huge difference in water quality.

RJinPV · Sep 27, 2016

AcanSkywalker said:
For a few extra dollars you can add a DI cartridge to your RO system & make a huge difference in water quality.

Yes. And BRS suggests 2 DI cartridges. That way you can fully deplete each one without degrading water quality

ReefReady9 · Sep 27, 2016

Depending on the ambient temperature, you may need a heater. Warm water will dissolve the salt better

pelphrey · Sep 27, 2016

I've been using a mj1200 for mixing salt for a year now. It decided it didn't want to work anymore this past weekend. For a few dollars more I'll be getting either the sicce .5 or 1.5 pump for future mixing. I mix my water in the garage, in the summer I don't use a heater in the winter months a heater is a must.

redfishbluefish · Sep 27, 2016

ReefReady9 said:
Depending on the ambient temperature, you may need a heater. Warm water will dissolve the salt better

It sounds counterintuitive, but this is not correct. Keep the water at room temperature (no heaters) when mixing and once mixed, heat it up right before adding it to the tank.

Mandrew · Sep 27, 2016

redfishbluefish said:
It sounds counterintuitive, but this is not correct. Keep the water at room temperature (no heaters) when mixing and once mixed, heat it up right before adding it to the tank.

I've seen people say it both ways. Personally I always thought it cleared up faster with a heater in it.

redfishbluefish · Sep 27, 2016

Well here's the problem....calcium is a weird nut. It the temperature is elevated, there is greater likelihood that you'll get precipitation. With calcium salts (and carbonates) solubility is increased by lower temperatures, just backwards of conventional thinking. Again, mix unheated and heat just before adding. With some salts, if you heat for extended times, the water will cloud with precipitate.

Mandrew · Sep 27, 2016

Okay seems like I've heard of that before

cromag27 · Sep 27, 2016

This is red sea all the way. do NOT heat prior to mixing. once it's mixed for about 15 mins, use it or stop mixing and store. do not continue to mix. one reason why I ditched rscp.

redfishbluefish said:
Well here's the problem....calcium is a weird nut. It the temperature is elevated, there is greater likelihood that you'll get precipitation. With calcium salts (and carbonates) solubility is increased by lower temperatures, just backwards of conventional thinking. Again, mix unheated and heat just before adding. With some salts, if you heat for extended times, the water will cloud with precipitate.

joeboots82520 · Sep 27, 2016

I have had issues with Red Sea salt espically the Pro clouding if I heated it first. The best way I have been able to mix it is to use room temperature water as redfishbluefish stated. I put a cheap return pump in rated at around 800-900 gph turn it on and add the salt. Run the pump just until the water clears. Usually as long as it takes me to have a cup of coffee. SHUT OFF THE PUMP. Then plug in the heater until I get to tank temperature. Use the fresh mix right away. I've left it overnight with the heater on and have come back to cloudy water. Also its probably overkill but I have been weighing the salt out with a scale as per instructions on the bag and the SG is spot on 99% of the time if you have an exact amount of water. I usually make 15 gallons at a time so I probably have a pretty decent margin of error with the weight method.

Shaun Sweeney · Sep 28, 2016

redfishbluefish said:
Well here's the problem....calcium is a weird nut. It the temperature is elevated, there is greater likelihood that you'll get precipitation. With calcium salts (and carbonates) solubility is increased by lower temperatures, just backwards of conventional thinking. Again, mix unheated and heat just before adding. With some salts, if you heat for extended times, the water will cloud with precipitate.

Thanks for that. I've been wondering about it for some time. I'll mix and then heat from here on in.

blkhwkz · Sep 28, 2016

I use Reef Crystals and always make mine the same way. Add salt to RODI, stir it for a minute or two, turn on the heater and pump. For the pump I use a cheap AquaClear 20 with a quick filter on it. I have an MJ1200 I can use if making more than one batch at a time. Check it a half hour or so later and if there is any salt that hasn't mixed completely I stir it again. Test salinity a few hours later once it is heated, add salt if needed. I use it about 24 hours later depending on when I can get to starting my water changes. I know RSCP you can't do that with, but for cheap RC it works just fine for me. My RODI is stored in the basement, room temp down there is going to be quite a bit different than room temp by my tanks, especially in the winter time.