sangheili Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Here's a heads up for those that have this salt and maybe overlooked the mixing instructions. Mix it like this: Fill container with cold or room temp water (below 75deg) Turn on mixing pump SLOWLY add salt to water Let mix for 30mins or so Turn on heater and bring up to temp Leave to mix for another 30-90mins (check with refracto to know when its done) STOP MIXING I used to add the salt as I was adding the water, or dump in all the salt as the container was still filling. Turns out, this leads to a ton of the calc/alk precipitating out of the container before being mixed with the water. Since the calc/alk levels are so high in this salt it very easily reaches the maximum limit of what is soluble in water so you have to keep that in mind. I know for many this is old news (and it's even in the instructions!) but I figured it is worth reminding people. I wondered for a long time why my salt didn't mix up to the levels advertised until I did some reading on calc/alk/mag and then it dawned on me that the stuff was precipitating out. Link to comment
Begow Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 I've always been curious to the exact amount of cup to gallon ratio, any ideas? Link to comment
Lawnman Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 I've always been curious to the exact amount of cup to gallon ratio, any ideas?Welcome back . Link to comment
Begow Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Welcome back . Thanks buddy, nice to see you're still on here Link to comment
sangheili Posted September 21, 2014 Author Share Posted September 21, 2014 Begow, iirc I use 620-630 grams for my 5 gallon bucket mixing. I fill to about an inch below the rim of the bucket. I end up around 34-36ppt with that much. Still trying to perfect the weight to ppt ratio but I'm close. Link to comment
Pancetta Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 I've always been curious to the exact amount of cup to gallon ratio, any ideas? I use 1/2 cup of salt per gallon. Link to comment
Begow Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 I use 1/2 cup of salt per gallon. Is this the general consensus? 1/2 cup of salt per gallon? Link to comment
sangheili Posted September 25, 2014 Author Share Posted September 25, 2014 Is this the general consensus? 1/2 cup of salt per gallon? Try to go by weight not volume. Use an accurate gram scale and do a couple test batches. It varies depending on the salt brand. Once you figure out the amount needed for your application you can pre-measure them in containers (eg: ziplock round containers), it's a great time saver and makes for nearly perfect salt batches each time. Link to comment
Pancetta Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 Is this the general consensus? 1/2 cup of salt per gallon? Yes. At least from what I found online. That is the ratio I have been using for the past 7 months. It would be interesting to find out what Red Sea recommends. Link to comment
Leatherneck3755 Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 1/2 cup per gallon works for me.. I only mix/heat for about 30-40 min. I used to mix overnight and everything precipitated out. Lessons learned. Link to comment
Skuba Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 I've always been curious to the exact amount of cup to gallon ratio, any ideas? Any 200g mix I've bought came with a scoop that's marked 2.5 gallons. Just switch to reef crystals to see why so many swear by it for years and it seems to be the same ration of 1/2 cup per gallon Link to comment
BulkRate Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 Sorta on-topic here - my bag of IO (stored in a used bucket of Salinity w/ desiccant packets) uses about 1/2 cup + 2 tbs to mix up to 1.025 on a gallon of distilled water. I wonder if over time measuring by weight would become inaccurate as the salt takes on even the little bit of moisture it's exposed to when opened/scooped... especially for owners of pico/smaller nano tanks whose 200G box of salt could be around for a year or more given normal water change routines. Now the tangent - why do we not use conductivity meters instead of refractometers as the go-to device for measuring how salty our salt water is? On testing a batch of newly-mixed salt water wouldn't its electrical conductivity be a more absolute measure than a temperature-dependent optical approach? Not meaning to threadjack... just idle musing that found its way out in an otherwise relevant post. Link to comment
Begow Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 Any 200g mix I've bought came with a scoop that's marked 2.5 gallons. Just switch to reef crystals to see why so many swear by it for years and it seems to be the same ration of 1/2 cup per gallon Really? I thought most of the experienced reefers I know use Red Sea Coral Pro. Link to comment
Skuba Posted September 25, 2014 Share Posted September 25, 2014 Really? I thought most of the experienced reefers I know use Red Sea Coral Pro. Google which salt to use and read some threads. They all have identical conversations back n forth. Between coral pro and reef crystals. Or plain Instant ocean. All seem equally popular. But since RC is available everywhere I figured I'd give it a try. Link to comment
BoxKing Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 1/2 Cup per Gal works for me everytime... I dont even know why I test my water before I add it to the tank anymore other than to check to see if the temp is roughly the same. I use Red Sea Coral Pro. I follow the directions, but I tend to let it mix for 2-3 hours in a covered 5gal bucket. Link to comment
ItsOnlyThai Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Does Red Sea Coral Pro or Reef Crystals precipitate out if you mix a big match and and store it for a while? Link to comment
joeyhatch11 Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 I've always been curious to the exact amount of cup to gallon ratio, any ideas? I mix a 5g bucket (filled roughly 1in from the top) and use 1 3/4 cups to get a 1.024 on my refrac. Link to comment
bdevillier19 Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 I use 4.5 gallons of water to 630 grams of salt and I get 1.025 everytime Link to comment
Swing2Harmony Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I mix my weekly magnesium dose with the WC RODI just before adding the salt at 20c and I've never seen a cloudy mix. Link to comment
Tinpanva Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I use a 5 gallon bucket and fill to the same line each time, I would say roughly 5 gallons.i add 65 grams of salt. 1.026 every time. Link to comment
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