So I was in Trop this past week and they have the video playing from Red Sea about setting up one of their all in one tanks. They get to the part about filling it and then mixing the salt in and say ALWAYS put the water in first and then mix the salt in. Now I have always done it the oppositve way, put salt in bucket, add water, throw in powerhead, viola 24 hours later new saltwater. So I decided I would put it up to you guys to see how everyone mixes their salt.
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Mixing Salt
- Thread starter mnat
- Start date
It’s been too many years since chemistry classes, but if I remember correctly we always add the solute (in this case salt) to the solvent (in this case water). I’m just not sure if it is an actual written lab procedure…but it is the way we would always do it. I would guess that part of the reason is that the mixing of some stuff is highly exothermic (gives of heat). If you were to add the solvent to the solute with these, the super concentration could cause for such high temperatures that it could boil (potentially explosive). By reversing the addition, and slowly adding the solute, you can control the amount of heat. As an example, a sodium hydroxide solution….you would never want to add the water to the NaOH…highly exothermic. Although Mike mentioned that salt dissolution (NaCl) is exothermic, I don’t think so….if anything, I believe it is slightly endothermic. Now some of the other goodies might give off some heat, but I believe it is minimal.
Also, the addition of water to salt results in, at first, highly concentrated salt that continues to get diluted up to the desired concentration. If reversed, adding salt to water, it is just the opposite…going from highly dilute up to the desired concentration. For safety reasons with caustic chemicals, the splash-out of a solvent to solute addition will be high concentrated stuff, while the reverse is a dilute splash-out. Part of the reason of the addition of an acid; you always add the acid to the solvent, never reverse.
Also, the addition of water to salt results in, at first, highly concentrated salt that continues to get diluted up to the desired concentration. If reversed, adding salt to water, it is just the opposite…going from highly dilute up to the desired concentration. For safety reasons with caustic chemicals, the splash-out of a solvent to solute addition will be high concentrated stuff, while the reverse is a dilute splash-out. Part of the reason of the addition of an acid; you always add the acid to the solvent, never reverse.
I always add the salt to the water....
So its water 1st then add salt...
So its water 1st then add salt...
mnat said:
Do they say that for just the initial set up of the tank??? Or even when doing water changes?
SirFragalot said:
It was when you setup the tank first, fill it with fresh water than add the salt into it. However during that they said salt should always be added second.
So I get to try something new this weekend for water changes. I will let you know if I see anything different.
For a new tank, if there's sand in the bottom of the tank I would not add fresh water to the tank first and then add the salt to mix. You'll end up with fresh water in the sand that way. I would mix the saltwater externally first by having a container with water and then add the salt to it for mixing. We don't always have ALL of the water in the 55g drum when we start adding salt, but we start moving the water before we start adding salt to it.
ds4x4 said:
That tank is straight from the well? WOW
Mbodell said:
your right the hose straight in the sump has gotten me into trouble more times then i can think of. at least if it's in the ATO container it doesnt flood the tank with cold freshwater. i used almost half a bucket of reef crystals a week ago trying to get the salinity back up. With no Adverse effects besides some slime coats on the corals.
Always water first.. Like redfishbluefish said I remember that from chemistry classes but nowadays without the lab coat and goggles