Water storage? (1 Viewer)

[majikmike9999]

Any suggestions on keeping top off or new salt water in storage containers for any length of time? will or does the water go bad (stagnant)? is there a limit of time as to when it is unsafe or unwise to use this water? Just curious how others store their water, i would think fresh is always better but i also like to have some on hand in the event of an emergency, what do you guys do?

 

[jeremy]

I think that as long as the containers you are going to use are clean, and covered the water will not go bad.

 

[jdeveaux]

I keep my saltwater mixing tank full at all times with mixed saltwater. It is on a closed loop to keep the water circulated and I clean the holding tank every 6month but usually the water is in there for 30 days at a time.

 

[majikmike9999]

So John you circulate yours all the time? i thought about that with my mixing tank but really hate the idea of running another pump if i dont have to cost of electricity etc.

 

[flexrac]

use a low wattage pump. quite one or cheaper. just need to circulate the water. with your system, i did not think that you kep water stored long, between topoffs and water changes. how long are you talking?

 

[trb]

I just keep a Maxijet 1200 running in both of my 15 gal storage tanks, one with SW already mixed and one with FW that I mix salt in the day prior to a 30 gal water change. I usually use the SW within 2-3 weeks and the FW is used up over the same time period for top offs. As long as the water is moving, I haven't had a problem with it. I did clean the containers out after 3 or 4 months of use and had a small bit of algae on the sides, but not much.

 

[majikmike9999]

just depends my mixing tank is 100 gallons and top off tank is 35, the top off tank is not much of a problem as i use that water pretty quickly, my mixing tank on the other hand i usually do 50 gallons at a time and keep it on hand until i do a water change then mix another 50 just as a back up, well a while back my wife went to fill up the top off tank and instead filled the mixing tank so i had 100 gallons of salt water, anyway it took a while to use it all and while doing water changes i noticed a strong odor and figured it was because of the old water or maybe the sump? I usually use the water pretty quickly but in the event that i dont i wanted to make sure i wasn't hurting anything

 

[jdeveaux]

I also have my holding tank sealed and painted black to keep light out. I've checked it for phosphate's, nitrate's, and silica in the past with no measurable findings.

My top off is directly connect to my RO system with redundant switches.

 

[flexrac]

yeah but mikes system is outside. on a sunny day, he probably has boiling water/saltwater. mike you should start selling water. 5 gallons $2.50 my 0.02cents.

 

[majikmike9999]

LOL, i think i am going to do some painting when i get a chance, probably the black with white over it to try to reflect some of the heat? I don't know so many plans so little time and $$$

 

[jdeveaux]

Well I decided to go ahead and run a test of this threads question and I just got back the results.

Facts:

• 55 Gallon tank - Painted black with 3 coats of krylon to keep light out.
• RO/DI water - TDS 0 (per 2 TDS meters)
• Reef Crystals Salt mixed to 1.27 or 36ppm
• Water is on a closed loop constantly mixed
• Time between mixing and testing 30 days
• Water is not chilled until the night before I use it so average temp is about 98 degrees this time of the year.
• Been about 3 months since last cleaning of storage tank. When I clean it I strip the whole system down for bleaching.

Results:

Water Test Summary
Ammonia (NH3-4) ..................Good ...... 0.020
Nitrite (NO2) .........High....... 0.102
Nitrate (NO3) ........................Good ...... 2.4
Phosphate (PO4) .......Good ...... 0.01
Silica (SiO2-3) .......High....... 0.9
Potassium (K) .........Low ....... 303
Calcium (Ca) ..........Good ...... 353
Boron (B) .............Good ...... 5.0
Molybdenum (Mo) .......Good ...... 0.0
Strontium (Sr) ........Good ...... 8.3
Magnesium (Mg) ........Good ...... 1225
Iodine (I¯) ...........Good ...... 0.05
Copper (Cu++) .........Good ...... 0.01
Alkalinity (meq/L) ....Good ...... 3.99

Items that concern me but aren't horrible
Shocked and not good at all

Testing was done by Aquarium Water Testing mail order service.

 

[Guest]

John, you need a before & after. The ammonia in freshly mixed saltwater is expected to be high. With no bacteria in the water it has no where to go.

Also, silica must have originally been present in the water.

 

[jdeveaux]

Not really judging the salt just curious to see what I was adding to my tank when I do a water change.

I'm pretty sure the silica has built up in the tank over the last 3 months and its just time to clean it again.

My TDS is 0 out of my RO/DI on two different guages - BUT my TDS meters might need calibration... I change my mechanical filters every 3 months and my DI when the TDS starts going over 2 which is about 6 months.

 

[Guest]

Sorry, what I mean is that the silica came from the salt mix not from your rodi. What I am saying is that some of these high levels might be due to the original composition of the salt and not from any kind of decay occurring in the storage container.

 

[jdeveaux]

Ah Ok... Now I follow. Those mail-in test kits aren't cheap so I'll just have to go with my TDS guage for the before picture And double up on Rowa Phos after a water change.