NSW storage.

[gaby1088]

Hello everyone I hope you guys are well! I am planning on storing nsw for about 50 days at a time. I’ve read all the posts that I could find but can’t find a real answer. I know bacteria etc will break down in the water but if I keep it circulating and aerated will it cause any issues? I’ve used nsw for the past 7 years from my lfs but I’ve never stored it.

I’m hooking a large storage container to a Dos for daily atw.

Thank you

 

[gaby1088]

Can’t find a definitive answer

 

[DanyL]

I kept NSW as well as old saltwater from my tank for about a month with no ill affects, at least to my knowledge.

All I did was to add oxygen to the barrels that both aerated and kept the water moving, I also made sure there was no light entering the barrel to prevent algae growth.

 

[gaby1088]

I kept NSW as well as old saltwater from my tank for about a month with no ill affects, at least to my knowledge.

All I did was to add oxygen to the barrels that both aerated and kept the water moving, I also made sure there was no light entering the barrel to prevent algae growth.

Awesome, you didn’t have any issues with ammonia or anything?

 

[DanyL]

I never tested for Ammonia, but I was also not as worried about it either because I have enough consumers to deplete it rather quickly.

The amount that I kept accounted for about 50% of the total volume of my current system and was used during a tank upgrade - so it was all used in one go, and I did not notice anything bad or strange thereafter.

 

[gaby1088]

I never tested for Ammonia, but I was also not as worried about it either because I have enough consumers to deplete it rather quickly.

The amount that I kept accounted for about 50% of the total volume of my current system and was used during a tank upgrade - so it was all used in one go, and I did not notice anything bad or strange thereafter.

Got it, yea I plan on storing about 52 days worth

 

[blecki]

Keep it moving and it's fine. It doesn't go 'stale' in your container any more than it does in the tank.

One concern is some salt mixes will precipitate out over time. Sometimes they mix up with slightly higher calcium and alk under the assumption that you are replacing depleted water, and this will form a film on the walls of your container. Expect parameters after 52 days of storage to be different than freshly mixed.

(I regularly store mixed saltwater for longer than this...)

 

[DanyL]

Keep it moving and it's fine. It doesn't go 'stale' in your container any more than it does in the tank.

One concern is some salt mixes will precipitate out over time. Sometimes they mix up with slightly higher calcium and alk under the assumption that you are replacing depleted water, and this will form a film on the walls of your container. Expect parameters after 52 days of storage to be different than freshly mixed.

(I regularly store mixed saltwater for longer than this...)

Mixed water isn’t exactly the same as NSW, and from my experience I did not observe any parameter changes, at least not for the major ones.

 

[blecki]

Okay.... is he talking about NEW salt water or NATURAL salt water? NEW salt water only changes parameters when the salt mix creates water that is a little over saturated and unstable already.

 

[DanyL]

Usually NSW is used in scientific articles and studies to describe Natural Saltwater.

Never seen this acronym used to describe new saltwater before, but I could be proved wrong.

 

[gaby1088]

Okay.... is he talking about NEW salt water or NATURAL salt water? NEW salt water only changes parameters when the salt mix creates water that is a little over saturated and unstable already.

Natural salt water.

 

[gaby1088]

Bump

 

[MrGisonni]

Over the last 3 years I've had my latest little mixed reef I only use natural sea water. I have a jug, I guess it's really an amphora, lol I get it filled up every 3 months or so depending on my needs and never a problem.

 

[gaby1088]

Over the last 3 years I've had my latest little mixed reef I only use natural sea water. I have a jug, I guess it's really an amphora, lol I get it filled up every 3 months or so depending on my needs and never a problem.

Awesome, do you run it with a uv or just aerate and circulate?

 

[MrGisonni]

I had a UV and circulation pumps at first, but now it just sits in the jug.

 

[gaby1088]

I had a UV and circulation pumps at first, but now it just sits in the jug.

Thank you

 

[jay1976]

Thank you

Hey gaby1088

What was the outcome of your storage solution,what was the best way to aerate the stored NSW,just started storing large amounts of water myself 1200 liters at a time.Have been 2 air stones and a large air pump .for the last three days was wondering if you've run into any issues with your storage that you can share.

Regards Jay

 

[gaby1088]

Hey gaby1088

What was the outcome of your storage solution,what was the best way to aerate the stored NSW,just started storing large amounts of water myself 1200 liters at a time.Have been 2 air stones and a large air pump .for the last three days was wondering if you've run into any issues with your storage that you can share.

Regards Jay

Jay,
Pleasure to meet you I have not had any issues for the past two months. I have not sent out an ICP test but once I got everything dialed in with the automatic water, everything is perfect. All I have is a pump and two small holes for the wire and tubing to go through. I have a Trident and everything has been stable but I took my water to my lfs were zero nitrates were five everything else was zero besides calcium, which I do supplement sparingly. I have not seen any change in salinity. It lasts me about a month and a half.

 

[d2mini]

I don't keep my salt mix saltwater circulated... never thought about nsw.

 

[gaby1088]

I don't keep my salt mix saltwater circulated... never thought about nsw.

im really happy with the results the tank is stable and thiriving.