Salt Mixing

[Anthony Malagisi]

Hey I've been using reef crystals salt and was just wondering how long you guys wait after adding salt to actually use the water

And also do you guys heat your water change water

 

[Crabs McJones]

Hey I've been using reef crystals salt and was just wondering how long you guys wait after adding salt to actually use the water

And also do you guys heat your water change water

Depended on how big of a powerhead you're using to mix your salt. Back when I used Reef Crystals it was ready to go after about 20 minutes. I don't heat mine. It's at about room temp when I put it in. I noticed for some reason I get precipitation when I heat it up. So I just let it get to room temp, and then add it in.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

After I mix salt I usually let it mix for a good 30 minutes or so with an old return pump in the bucket before I do the actual water change. I don't heat mine either but try to keep it around the same temp as my aquarium.

 

[Mark82]

I mix mine a day in advance, so it can aerate and the temp can be brought to my current temp in my tank.

 

[JimmyV]

I usually mix 30 gallons for 24 hours using a maxi jet 1200 pointing up in my 32 gallon barrel with a fixed temp heater from Aqueon.

 

[madweazl]

I use a small powerhead in a bucket to mix the ASW for 18-24 hours prior to use (IO and RC when I was using it). I do run a heater and bring it up to match the display. I've had the stuff to build the mixing station for about six months now but have been to lazy to actually set it up since I only need 10g a week at this point. With the 150g build nearing completion, the mixing station will be a much higher priority.

 

[redfishbluefish]

If I was doing automated daily water changes of a couple gallons a day, I would not heat the water. However, I do 25 gallon water changes twice a month on approximately 120 gallons total. So right before the change, I match tank temp to new water temp.

Now I mix my water at room temperature, which for me is 68 - 70 degrees. It's counterintuitive, but the calcium portion of your salt actually dissolves better at lower temperatures. (Ever wonder why you only get deposits on your heater and pumps in your mixing bucket....that's why) My mixing bucket (32 gallon Brute), has an old school Koralia K4 and Koralia K8. No such thing as too much agitation...the more, the better. Ideally I now let this sit overnight and then begin heating using a 300 W heater.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Something just hit me with you guys that don't heat your water......How do you measure salinity? I know my unheated water is around 1.030SG, but once heated, drops down to around 1.026SG. If you don't heat your water, you're not getting an accurate SG number.

 

[Greenfishman]

Something just hit me with you guys that don't heat your water......How do you measure salinity? I know my unheated water is around 1.030SG, but once heated, drops down to around 1.026SG. If you don't heat your water, you're not getting an accurate SG number.

Refractometer.....has automatic temperature compensation.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Something just hit me with you guys that don't heat your water......How do you measure salinity? I know my unheated water is around 1.030SG, but once heated, drops down to around 1.026SG. If you don't heat your water, you're not getting an accurate SG number.

You just need a temperature corrected measuring method, such as a conductivity meter (that I used), a refractometer with good ATC, or a swing arm hydrometer that works well.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Refractometer.....has automatic temperature compensation.

Might wish to test that.....measure you tank SG and then take a small sample out and let it come to room temperature....an hour or two.....and then measure SG on this sample. I think you might be surprised.

 

[redfishbluefish]

You just need a temperature corrected measuring method, such as a conductivity meter (that I used), a refractometer with good ATC, or a swing arm hydrometer that works well.

Randy, if I'm not mistaken, swing arms are temperature dependent too.

 

[Greenfishman]

Might wish to test that.....measure you tank SG and then take a small sample out and let it come to room temperature....an hour or two.....and then measure SG on this sample. I think you might be surprised.

Unheated in the bucket when mixed....1.026
In the tank when heated to temp....1.026

Seems to work for me.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Randy, if I'm not mistaken, swing arms are temperature dependent too.

In my testing, they actually did a good job at automatically temperature compensating (which they claim to do), regardless of the original value being correct or not.

Chemistry and the Aquarium: Specific Gravity: Oh How Complicated! ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/1/chemistry

So how do these hydrometers measure up? In my tank the water was measured to be S=35 ± 0.5 by conductivity. Using the Deep Six swing arm hydrometer I got readings of S=32.5 ± 0.5 at 81 °F and S=32 ± 0.5 at 68 °F. Using the SeaTest I got S=34.5 ± 0.5 at 81 °F and S=34 ± 0.5 at 68 °F.

For the standard type Tropic Marin hydrometer, I got a 77 °F/ 77 °F specific gravity of about 1.0265 ± 0.0003 (Figure 4), which compares well to the expected value of 1.0264.