I started mixing saltwater my self I Have a ro/di unit and have been useing Instant ocean salt. My question is how long should i mix it for befor I put it in my tank. I have a plastic tote and a old pump that I will use to mix it. one my question how long will it stay cloudy?
If you're mixing your saltwater aggressively* and only concern yourself with matching salinity** and are doing average sized water changes, your water can be ready within 10 to 20 minutes. I do it this way with Reef Crystals and Instant Ocean very frequently on many different systems. (Other salts really shouldn't be any different.)
Also, I start with room temperature (70º or so) RO/DI water and have never concerned myself with temperature matching. If you're working with significantly lower (or higher) temperatures in your house and/or RO/DI water, then some action may be warranted here. I think I'd pre-heat the RO water, if it were necessary - or better, move the reservoir to a more moderate location. Howerver, it should be pretty unusual for temp. matching to be a requirement. In fact, calcium precipitates out easier in warmer water - often directly onto the heater - so there are actually some good reasons to not bother with temperature matching in your mix container if you don't have to.
-Matt
* This means that no salt is gathering at the bottom of your mixing container at any time. If salt has a chance to settle, I'd say to get a better mixing setup. Rearrange your pump, get a different shaped reservoir - whatever. (PM me if you need some specific advice.) At minimum, make sure there are NO salt crystals still in the water/on the bottom when you're adding it to the tank.
** Exact matching of salinity is nice, and certainly not hard to obtain, so shoot for exact. A refractometer is highly recommended for quick and accurate readings. Having said that, with experience I've found that as long as you're within a point or two of the water in the tank, it will have no impact on the inhabitants. In fact, a briefly lowered salinity would correspond well with a rain storm on the ocean - nothing unusual for most of the creatures we're likely to keep. If my new water has low salinity by less than two points, I usually take out a little less tank water than I'll be replacing and vis versa if my new water's salinity is a little high. Evaporation or the ATO will make up the difference. If my makeup water is off by more than a couple points either way I'll make a correction to the new water. Likewise, if my tank water's salinity is "off" from ideal (e.g. due to dosing), I'll use the same mechanism to make a salinity correction.
The cloudiness in my water clears up fairly quickly. Maybe not enough aggitation? Also I know that when I am adding my salt to my water for mixing I put in about two cups at a time, wonder if how the salt is added to the water might make a difference. Just some thoughts, hopefully someone doing this much longer will have some insight.
