Was just wondering how everyone is mixing in there salt water. I once read that once the water was produce from an ro/di unit it should sit at least 24h to breathe new air into. Is this what everyone does or are you guys taking it straigh from the ro/di and adding salt then letting it sit for 24h. My thing is like a three day stage first day fill with water, 2nd day run with powerhead for 24h, and 3rd mix in the salt and let it sit for another 24h.
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Mixing salt water
- Thread starter saltwaterguy112
- Start date
too many steps there lol. Make ro/di throw a heater in it and powerhead once it gets to the temp you want add salt and mix for 24hours.
Funny thing is alot of people do not know that Phylis its a shame too.
Thats correct, my refractormeter compensates for temp. I used to make the mistake of checking the sg/salinity while the water was still cold and I developed a variation in the DT over a period of time. Once I was tempted to throw some salt into the DT, I now have a heater, pump and refractor meter so my waterchanges are on the money all the time now. ;D
Calaxa, Yes, you can convert the numbers yourself if you know the chart... if you don't know to expect the difference you are going to go on the assumption that the SG is accurate when it may or may not be.
I saw this error first hand at the frag swap. While our refractometer is supposedly ATC, it (and the other one used by the vendor) did show a variation in relation to the temperature (1.03 instead of 1.025 that it was when it was up to temp). This caused one of our vendors major angst as they thought they needed to water down the water. Since the temp should be right when you move the water it doesn't hurt to double check your readings before and after the temp adjust to be sure yours is operating properly.
As this is personal experience it would be inappropriate to call it incorrect. ;D
I saw this error first hand at the frag swap. While our refractometer is supposedly ATC, it (and the other one used by the vendor) did show a variation in relation to the temperature (1.03 instead of 1.025 that it was when it was up to temp). This caused one of our vendors major angst as they thought they needed to water down the water. Since the temp should be right when you move the water it doesn't hurt to double check your readings before and after the temp adjust to be sure yours is operating properly.
As this is personal experience it would be inappropriate to call it incorrect. ;D
When I first started the hobby I saw a lot of folks suggested going out and getting a rubbermaid brutus (32g I think) and using that to store water. It doesn't really matter what container you use, but having a dedicated container helps with estimating how much salt mix you need.
I still use a hydrometer (cheapo) so this is very important to me to keep mixing down.
I did read somewhere that the longer you keep the water the more PH and other trace elements that dissipate. Does PH decrease after days or weeks? I usually age my salt ~4 days+ before using it. Heck, it takes almost an entire day for the 30g's of water to reach temp in the garage..
I still use a hydrometer (cheapo) so this is very important to me to keep mixing down.
I did read somewhere that the longer you keep the water the more PH and other trace elements that dissipate. Does PH decrease after days or weeks? I usually age my salt ~4 days+ before using it. Heck, it takes almost an entire day for the 30g's of water to reach temp in the garage..
jimroth said:
???
Here are pictures of my paint mixers. I’m assuming Jim’s are similar. I wouldn’t be concerned about the use of metal since the exposure time would be minimal. In addition, the two on the right are stainless steel while the one on the left is ferrous metal covered with a Teflon type coating.
My thoughts:
I prefer mixing salt by throwing a pump into the mixing tub and plugging it in and forgetting about it for a day a two. It takes a minute or two to set up and than you’re off doing something else. The paint mixer method, I would guess, would take five to ten minutes, at least.
I would only use the “paint mixer” option if there were an emergency and I had to make salt ASAP. The increased agitation assists in dissolving all the minerals. And believe me, especially the propeller one on the right, it immediately pulls you to the bottom of the tub and creates a tremendous vortex. I use it to mix five gallon buckets of paint…and does it mix. However, with salt, you still have some of those minerals that are tough to dissolve and I would prefer to just let it sit in a mixing tub with a powerhead and do its thing over time.
But than again, if it works for you, go for it.
My thoughts:
I prefer mixing salt by throwing a pump into the mixing tub and plugging it in and forgetting about it for a day a two. It takes a minute or two to set up and than you’re off doing something else. The paint mixer method, I would guess, would take five to ten minutes, at least.
I would only use the “paint mixer” option if there were an emergency and I had to make salt ASAP. The increased agitation assists in dissolving all the minerals. And believe me, especially the propeller one on the right, it immediately pulls you to the bottom of the tub and creates a tremendous vortex. I use it to mix five gallon buckets of paint…and does it mix. However, with salt, you still have some of those minerals that are tough to dissolve and I would prefer to just let it sit in a mixing tub with a powerhead and do its thing over time.
But than again, if it works for you, go for it.
What he said.
My paint mixer is similar but has a kind of cylyndrical fan on the end instead of the propeller. It's steel, the shaft is stainless, and I think the mixer is galvanized, in any even it hasn't rusted! It's only in there briefly, so metal contact does not concern me too much. I have a lot of time constraints, and this method works for me. I found with pumps there was always something left on the bottom of the can. I throw the salt into the preheated RO water, and usually have only 2 mixing sessions of 2 or 3 minutes, and bang I have 45G of very aireated saltwater!
Anybody have a good number on "pounds of salt mix per gallon @salinity X?" It would be a good table I guess. That;s where I end up fussing.
My paint mixer is similar but has a kind of cylyndrical fan on the end instead of the propeller. It's steel, the shaft is stainless, and I think the mixer is galvanized, in any even it hasn't rusted! It's only in there briefly, so metal contact does not concern me too much. I have a lot of time constraints, and this method works for me. I found with pumps there was always something left on the bottom of the can. I throw the salt into the preheated RO water, and usually have only 2 mixing sessions of 2 or 3 minutes, and bang I have 45G of very aireated saltwater!
Anybody have a good number on "pounds of salt mix per gallon @salinity X?" It would be a good table I guess. That;s where I end up fussing.
3 measured cups of io per 5 gallons puts me right at 1.025-1.026 .... but i suppose all brands would differ... io is all i've ever used...