salt mixing faster? (1 Viewer)

[h2oimports]

has anyone tried mixing salt in boiling water. and then add that concentrated volume into the volume you need?. i.e. 1/2 cup of salt makes 1 us gallon. so if you boil 5 cups of salt into 1.2 gallon of ro/di water and then mix the concentrated saltmix into 9 gallons of ro/di , you will make 10 gallons of saltwater.

i asked because im tired of using 3 maxijet 900s to mix water and sometimes it doesnt dissolve all the way . i wonder if this will alter the salt chemical makeup in anyway and make it unsafe for my tank.

 

[jdeveaux]

I have never tried it but one thing I can think of...

A large part of why its best to mix and let the solution sit over night with movement is to equalize the PH and oxygenate the water.

 

[Metzzen]

hmmmm, maybe im wrong in doing so but ive always mixed mine and poured it right in within an hour....but then again i do 10% of less water changes

 

[tas5tas]

Higher temperatures will give you lower salinity readings....then when the water cools your salinity will be through the roof.

 

[AquaNerd]

i mix up over 30 gallons at a time, so boiling is out of the question. just get a cheap pump that puts out a bit of flow. i use a mag 9.5 or equivalent to mix 30-40 gallons and it does great.

you should always let your newly mixed saltwater sit overnight. this allows pH and alk to stabilize. otherwise they might be too high and cause a shock to the tank.

 

[Metzzen]

will do frow now on for sure, thanks brandon and john

 

[decimal]

on mixing salt.. always use a spectrometer to get a reading. if you have a temperature compensating one, the temp of your water should not make a diff.

sorry should be refractometer not spectrometer.

 

[thangbom4321]

letting the new salt water mix sit overnight is not needed. You can mix and add the new saltwater within 15 minutes with the right procedure.

this is how i did them

1. fill container with ro/di (35 gals)
2. add dow flakes (more calcium)
3. mix with pump (i had a 1000+ gph one) ~2 minutes
4. add salt and mix ~5 mins
5. check salinity w/refractometer and add more salt if needed
7. mix for another 3 mins if you added any salt
6. when salinity is at target put airline to the inlet of the pump and let it run for ~5 mins
8. pump into tank and finished.

some articles from the chem forum archives:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/rhf/index.php

this is on the 5 min WC
http://web.archive.org/web/20011217234403/www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/1997/sep/bio/default.asp

 

[CBBSteve]

Hi, h2oimports.

I don't see why your idea won't work. I think the key would be to make sure your salt is completely dissolved before you dilute it. Maybe if you make up the salt concentrate the day before you do your water change, that would give it time to stabilize.

Good luck,
Steve

 

[h2oimports]

thang bom- does the salt dissolve all the way with this procedure?

steve - thanks. i turned to this solution because alot of times mixing normally doesnt dissolve all the way