How do you mix up your salt?

[drgibby]

So im new to the world of reefing and want to know how everyone on here mixes there salt. Do you heat it up? Store it for long periods of time. What brands of salt have you played with and found work better. Any secretes tips all are welcome

[SpankythePyro]

By the instructions. Red sea coral pro is tough to mix due to precipitation :/

[PicoSavvy]

A good food grade container, a small powerhead and a measuring cup that all I use for mixing saltwater. I have store saltwater for up to one month. The amount time you can store saltwater mainly depends on how tight the seal is on the container so water does not evaporate and get saltwater specific gravity swing. I have used Instant Ocean Aquarium Salt and have gotten good results, but for my next build I will be using a different brand.

[outerorbiter]

I think letting the water warm to room temp and adding the salt slowly is the best way. Also circulating with a small pump, no need to have it blasting away with a big pump. Stored for maybe a week and used IO RC and Salinity salts.Testing with a refractometer instead of a swing arm hydrometer

[12_egg_Omelette]

I mix mine with water, ha! I use a 5 gallon bucket throw in a Jaebo add one heap at a time check back every 5 minutes until I get the PPT I want (35). I don't worry about temperature because PPT isn't effected by temperate like SG is. I then store it until I'm ready to use and haven't had any problems that way. I use aqua vitro salt and like it, if I was to change and if I had to change I would use HW-Marinemix.

[Gooburz]

Bucket of H2O, add salt, toss in power head and heater then let it do it's thing overnight, next morning tada it's saltwater for the reef tank.....Nothing more to it than that. I've used Red Sea Coral Pro for the past year and like the salt a lot, I've used Reef Crystals and it's ok but I get best polyp extension from the RSCP salt.

[Hig789]

5gal bucket with 1/4g marks on it(not accurate whatsoever)

Old maxi jet power head

Walmart 50w heater

Floating thermometer

Digital postal scale

 

The marks on the bucket aren't accurate at all but I've figured out that 3 gallons in the bucket and 390 grams of salt gives me 1.026 every time.

[Exodus]

I simply fill a 5 Gallon bucket with RODI Water, cap it and set it aside till needed. When I need to do a water change I throw an MJ600 pump into the bucket, and add about 2 1/2 cups of Red Sea Coral pro, checking with a Refractometer till I'm spot on. I let the bucket sit for about 20 minutes or so till the water is clear, recheck the salinity, pull the pump and done.

 

edit: one last thing I would like to add since your new, Redundancy is a life saver, before I ever put any new saltwater into my tank not only have I checked the salinity in the new mix, I also check the salinity in the tank to ensure nothing looks fishy as this will be the first sign of a refractometer in need of calibration. I also keep calibration fluid and check my Refractometer once a month, take advice from someone who had a serious mishap years ago, the extra few seconds monthly is worth it!

[truels2]

When you guys are pulling the water out of your system how do you measure the exact amount your taking out so you know the exact amount to put back in?? Like if you take out 2 gallons you want to replenish with 2 gallons. Should i get a bucket that has gallon markers on the side?

[kimberbee]

When you guys are pulling the water out of your system how do you measure the exact amount your taking out so you know the exact amount to put back in?? Like if you take out 2 gallons you want to replenish with 2 gallons. Should i get a bucket that has gallon markers on the side?

I eyeball it.

 

I have the same type of bucket for mixing salt and for waste water (but I have them marked so clean water never goes in the garbage water bucket). Take out water until both buckets have the same amount of water in them. Ta da!

[pntbll687]

I just add water from the tap into a 5g bucket with a couple drops of seachem prime. Then add in salt until and stir with a big spoon until I get to just under what the tank is at. The tank is consistently at 1.023 so I mix salt until it reads 1.021-1.022. I do this because the tap water is usually slightly warmer by a degree or two than the tank. Then I go ahead and add it to the tank. I'll mix the water before I remove some from the tank, usually sits about 20min or so, maybe 40min if I have to clean coralline off the glass.

 

Then mix about a gallon of tap water with some prime and no salt to use as top off water throughout the week, since I don't have an ato unit.

I'm not nearly as calculated as some people. It works for me. We've had the tank for just over 2.5yrs and coral and fish have been fine. I do the same with the smaller tanks I have as well.

[Hig789]

I bought my buckets from Menard's. The are kind of opaque so you can see where the water level is. As I said before they aren't accurate but t they are close enough to judge how much water you are removing.

[reefernanoman]

When you guys are pulling the water out of your system how do you measure the exact amount your taking out so you know the exact amount to put back in?? Like if you take out 2 gallons you want to replenish with 2 gallons. Should i get a bucket that has gallon markers on the side?

I use two 5G jugs that they sell at the LFS, which have 1G markings. So I use one for the waste water, then replenish the exact amount by using another jug with clean water. It works very well for me because I have two tanks. They are a bit pricey but worth it.

[HarryPotter]

When you guys are pulling the water out of your system how do you measure the exact amount your taking out so you know the exact amount to put back in?? Like if you take out 2 gallons you want to replenish with 2 gallons. Should i get a bucket that has gallon markers on the side?

 

You can do that, but also I hope you have a refractometer to measure your salt level (Salinity).

[RK_tek]

I'm usually pretty close at adding the right amount back in, but when I turn the sump back on, if the ATO kicks on I'll add water until it is off.

[truels2]

 

You can do that, but also I hope you have a refractometer to measure your salt level (Salinity).

Of course i am! But i like to put the exact amount of water back in that i took out.