Saltwater storage??

[Dmat21]

Using Tropic Marin Pro salt
I know I may need to heat up when mixing salt but does it need to be stored Heated? with a designated heater ?

 

[Gharris0803]

Using Tropic Marin Pro salt
I know I may need to heat up when mixing salt but does it need to be stored Heated? with a designated heater ?

Yes as lomg as the twmp doesnt swing majorly keep in the specified temp range withva pump runing

 

[Philly Reefer]

I don't save it heated or flowing all the time.
After mixing it, I would run it for 24 hours. Then off.
Then a day before I water change, I would heat it and turn on the pump.

 

[JGT]

Using Tropic Marin Pro salt
I know I may need to heat up when mixing salt but does it need to be stored Heated? with a designated heater ?

Nope, unless you are doing large water changes room temp is fine. Especially good if you are doing just a few gallons every day. It won’t affect the overall temp.
If you are doing large WC then you may need to heat up before transferring so as not to cause large temp swing.

 

[Gharris0803]

If it does a major swing in tempture could lpse the nlbenfical stuff in the salt

 

[JGT]

If it does a major swing in tempture could lpse the nlbenfical stuff in the salt

Nope, no correlation.

 

[Auquanut]

It will take the salt longer to mix if you don't heat it. I mix up 50 gallons at a time and don't heat it. I also use an AWC system that changes out 2.5 gallons daily over 12 small changes, so I don't heat it at all. Works for me. If you're doing larger water changes, you'll definitely want to keep it heated.

 

[Philly Reefer]

Heated and circulated premixed saltwater storage, how long will it last? - BRStv Investigates

We looked at the effects of heating and circulating premixed saltwater during storage by monitoring calcium and alkalinity levels over a 2 week period. We also observed the amount of precipitate leftover inside the container. We then compared the results with what we found previously during our BRS

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Conclusion

Depending on the salt mix you use, it might be worthwhile to heat and circulate your saltwater during storage. Especially for salt mixes that contain elevated levels for reef tanks or clearly state in the instructions how to mix properly (Red Sea Coral Pro). That said, there are some salt options that maintain steady parameters and don’t require heating and circulating while being stored which equate to reduced electricity consumption.


My take:
TM Pro is very steady.. so not necessary to heat and circulate

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Conclusion

Depending on the salt mix you use, it might be worthwhile to heat and circulate your saltwater during storage. Especially for salt mixes that contain elevated levels for reef tanks or clearly state in the instructions how to mix properly (Red Sea Coral Pro). That said, there are some salt options that maintain steady parameters and don’t require heating and circulating while being stored which equate to reduced electricity consumption.


My take:
TM Pro is very steady.. so not necessary to heat and circulate

I do not think that is a correct conclusion.

It is NEVER better to heat the water for mixing. It may be better for use, but not for mixing. Calcium carbonate solubility DECREASES as the temp rises, and that increases the potential for precipitation. It might take a little longer to disoslve, but unless it is an emergency, the rate is unimportant. Heating is WORST for high alk mixes, less of a problem for low alk mixes.

It is only necessary to keep stirring (after initial mixing) those very few salt mixes that contain added organic matter, and that is just my opinion, not a claim from any manufacturer. The reason for stirring those is to prevent bacterial growth on the organic matter from potentially making the water stagnant and producing hydrogen sulfide.

For normal IO, I stored it for weeks unstirred, and never heated it since I did continuous water changes.

 

[Philly Reefer]

I do not think that is a correct conclusion.

It is NEVER better to heat the water for mixing. It may be better for use, but not for mixing. Calcium carbonate solubility DECREASES as the temp rises, and that increases the potential for precipitation. It might take a little longer to disoslve, but unless it is an emergency, the rate is unimportant. Heating is WORST for high alk mixes, less of a problem for low alk mixes.

It is only necessary to keep stirring (after initial mixing) those very few salt mixes that contain added organic matter, and that is just my opinion, not a claim from any manufacturer. The reason for stirring those is to prevent bacterial growth on the organic matter from potentially making the water stagnant and producing hydrogen sulfide.

For normal IO, I stored it for weeks unstirred, and never heated it since I did continuous water changes.

The TM Pro instructions is to mix them at 77F.
So we should not follow their direction?

And I live in NE, brutes are in an unheated garage. The water can get to 50s

BTW that's BRS conclusion, not mine.

 

[VermontReefs]

The TM Pro instructions is to mix them at 77F.
So we should not follow their direction?

And I live in NE, brutes are in an unheated garage. The water can get to 50s

BTW that's BRS conclusion, not mine.

I live in Vermont how do you keep them from freezing? Other than the obvious of heating them all the time? I am plumbing my setup through to the unheated garage for my mixing station with two 65g water tanks. My RO system would be in the garage as well however I'm still trying to figure out a way to keep **** from freezing. My only solution at this point is to heat the garage. My tank wont be in a room that connects to the basement.

 

[Philly Reefer]

I live in Vermont how do you keep them from freezing? Other than the obvious of heating them all the time? I am plumbing my setup through to the unheated garage for my mixing station with two 65g water tanks. My RO system would be in the garage as well however I'm still trying to figure out a way to keep **** from freezing. My only solution at this point is to heat the garage. My tank wont be in a room that connects to the basement.

Yikes. I am not that up north (philly) so my situation is not as bad as yours. But you are right. You have to heat them up all the time to prevent them from freezing.

Maybe you can hang plastic tarp around the 2 tanks. So you dont need to heat the whole garage. Just the inside of the tarp.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The TM Pro instructions is to mix them at 77F.
So we should not follow their direction?

And I live in NE, brutes are in an unheated garage. The water can get to 50s

BTW that's BRS conclusion, not mine.

I wouldn't, if you can measure salinity at the temperature you are mixing at. They say 73-77, but TM Pro is a low alk mix that is not super sensitive to heat. I think their directions for heat are for a different reason: to allow salinity measurement, not to reduce precipitation. They suggest adding the salt slowly to avoid precipitation (which is sensible).

Faster mechanical mixing is also sensible if avoiding precipitation is a goal.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

BTW that's BRS conclusion, not mine.

I think perhaps you misunderstood them?

You said BRS concluded that

"Depending on the salt mix you use, it might be worthwhile to heat and circulate your saltwater during storage. Especially for salt mixes that contain elevated levels for reef tanks or clearly state in the instructions how to mix properly (Red Sea Coral Pro)."

If they did, they are obviously wrong. That is the exact opposite of the reality. Red Sea Coral Pro (a high alk mix) is well known to precipitate at high heat and long mixing, and Red Sea recommends against it and shows a video of the precipitation problem with continued mixing and heating.

 

[Adamantium]

I do not think that is a correct conclusion.

It is NEVER better to heat the water for mixing. It may be better for use, but not for mixing. Calcium carbonate solubility DECREASES as the temp rises, and that increases the potential for precipitation. It might take a little longer to disoslve, but unless it is an emergency, the rate is unimportant. Heating is WORST for high alk mixes, less of a problem for low alk mixes.

It is only necessary to keep stirring (after initial mixing) those very few salt mixes that contain added organic matter, and that is just my opinion, not a claim from any manufacturer. The reason for stirring those is to prevent bacterial growth on the organic matter from potentially making the water stagnant and producing hydrogen sulfide.

For normal IO, I stored it for weeks unstirred, and never heated it since I did continuous water changes.

How interesting. I always heat up my water to about 77F before adding salt, per the directions. I store my water in my unfinished basement, so it comes in at 50F. Maybe I'll try mixing right away next time. I'll just wait to measure salinity until it comes up to temp.

Thanks

 

[mike550]

I didn't think this topic could become so interesting. So my newbie approach. I heat my RODI as I'm making it -- typically gets to mid 70s. Then I mix in TM Pro to make saltwater with desired target salinity and add Alk as necessary. I turn off the mixing pump and just let it stay warm overnight -- but usually around than 12 hours start to finish as I usually make the saltwater the night before and then do the water change the next morning.

Whatever is left in my Brute after the WC is left without heat until the next time I make a batch -- usually weekly.

 

[Gtinnel]

I mix 30 gallons at a time for my AWC and I never heat it. I do run a power head for about 12 hours after adding salt. I have also been having the power head start periodically through the day but it looks like that is probably unnecessary.