Mixing salt

[Hunter399]

I had my tank for a few months now and it is a small 24g tank with an 8g sump. So far I have been using 5 gallon containers that I take to the store and have them fill one up with RO/DI and the other with pre mixed salt and I top off with the RO/DI then use the Salt when I do a water my change. I am debating getting my own salt mix and then adding it to the RO/DI water as I need it.

My question is could I add the mix to the 5 gallon jug and shake it up over and over to mix it without having to add a pump or mix station? I would only be mixing 5 gallons max a week. Being such small water changes is the reason for not having my own mix yet.

 

[Salty1962]

I had my tank for a few months now and it is a small 24g tank with an 8g sump. So far I have been using 5 gallon containers that I take to the store and have them fill one up with RO/DI and the other with pre mixed salt and I top off with the RO/DI then use the Salt when I do a water my change. I am debating getting my own salt mix and then adding it to the RO/DI water as I need it.

My question is could I add the mix to the 5 gallon jug and shake it up over and over to mix it without having to add a pump or mix station? I would only be mixing 5 gallons max a week. Being such small water changes is the reason for not having my own mix yet.

You really want a pump mixing you salt to assure all of it is mixed thoroughly. Mixing by hand is not a recommended method Too inconsistent.

 

[Midrats]

Definitely mix your own. Who knows what the fish store is doing. How well do they maintain their RODI system? Get a cheap power head or a large air pump and always add the salt to the churning water, never put the salt in before the water.

 

[Leaellynasaura]

Try to get a refractory or at least a float salinity meter so you know how strong the mix is that you make.

 

[Hunter399]

Thanks for the responses guys. I do have a refractometer and test salinity and match the temperature as well before changing the water. I was curious about their RO/DI so I used my TDS meter on it and it was good. They basically having been mixing the salt in front of me to the salinity I ask for. I am a pilot though and I leave out of town a lot and so sometimes I have had to leave the mixed Salt in a storage container for a few days which is less ideal.

 

[Hunter399]

If I pull one of my nano hydors out of my tank and put it on the side of a 5 gallon bucket to mix the usual 4 gallons I do a week with the little heater I use to heat the water before I put it in would that work?

 

[Midrats]

That sounds ideal

 

[randy4083]

I've always been told that it really doesn't matter if you use a pump to mix it and I just use a long spoon to stir it up and I use a refractometer to test the salinity and it always test good and I test the salinity in my tank after a a day and it test good to so I don't see why some people say that you need to use a pump and some say that you don't have to use a pump

 

[chefjpaul]

A pump will add enough heat to help dissolve the salt:

salt in cold water does not dissolve as well as if the water is warm. Warm water has more room between the water molecules, allowing more salt to fit. Cool water molecules are tighter together and will not allow much salt to dissolve.

 

[redfishbluefish]

A pump will add enough heat to help dissolve the salt:

salt in cold water does not dissolve as well as if the water is warm. Warm water has more room between the water molecules, allowing more salt to fit. Cool water molecules are tighter together and will not allow much salt to dissolve.

Chef, this is certainly true with most solutions you might make. And therefore it is counterintuitive, but the calcium portion of the salt does best in cool water. So mix your salt by adding to unheated water. Once dissolved, then heat your water.

 

[chefjpaul]

Chef, this is certainly true with most solutions you might make. And therefore it is counterintuitive, but the calcium portion of the salt does best in cool water. So mix your salt by adding to unheated water. Once dissolved, then heat your water.

Yes, That is why I mentioned the pump itself was sufficient in dissolving the salt.

I don't add a heater at all.

 

[jda]

Shaking it by hand is fine, but you need to aerate it for a while. Just a cheap pump, airstone and a few feet of line will do the trick. Depending on the chemistry of the mix, you might need to blow off excess CO2 from the mixing.

Since you won't likely be using the whole salt container, dry mix it. It settles and can be inconsistent from batch to batch if you do not. The container might say that they have uniform particle size and that you don't need to dry mix it, but they are stupid. It is fast and easy, so do not take any chances. The stuff that comes from Europe or the East is particularly bad since they bounced around a lot more.