Instant ocean Mix

[coolwaters]

well the whole thing is like 2 years old. (the 200g salt mix)

its becoming really hard...had to chisel some of it off.

 

when im mixing it with 3 power heads in a container i can still see sand like crystals.

its been 4 hours and its still like that. will it take 24 hours to fully dissolve?

 

current SG is 1.021

going to have to raise that.

[lakshwadeep]

Those crystals are probably things that precipitated (like calcium carbonate) from the moistened salt. Marine salt is hygroscopic: it removes water vapor from the air. It's not very bad, but you do lose some calcium that could have been used by corals.

[Mr. Fosi]

It's like lak said.

 

If you want to get that precipitate back into solution, add some cold soda water while you're mixing it up and don't aerate it. Give it a couple hours (at least) to work, then take a look. If the white precipitate isn't gone yet, give it some more time or add some more soda water. A small powerhead will help the dissolution.

 

Once you get as much of the precipitate dissolved as you can, test the pH and make sure that it is lower than 7 (it should be). Add an air diffuser and a powerhead to the water and let it aerate and mix for several hours then retest the pH and see if it has started to rise.

 

It may take the better part of 24 hours to bring it back to a pH of 8+ but it will come back up and you'll have water with all the intended ingredients without having to junk your salt. A good-quality air diffuser like limewood and a powerful air pump speed the equilibration.

[The Propagator]

Hmmm... I always had luck just using hot water.

[jamesnmandy]

it happens, but even in large batches when i do water changes which is usually 10-15 gallons it's not much, not enough to worry about, i let mine run anywhere from a few hours to overnight with a powerhead and heater....

[Mr. Fosi]

You got carbonate precipitates into solution with hot water, Prop?

[coolwaters]

its ok now...overnite, 3 power head blowing everywhere, and raised the temp to 84 (not much of a choice since it was a hot day...)

 

but it seems like my water is a little coudy....

 

when the salt was new it only took like an hour for the saltwater to become crystal clear...should i get new salt?

[The Propagator]

You got carbonate precipitates into solution with hot water, Prop?

 

Hell I couldn't tell you what it was exactly. All I can tell you is just about all the stuff that wouldn't dissolve from the old salt I used once before did in hot water.

[Mr. Fosi]

It's worth a shot and if it works, you'll know that it wasn't carbonate precipitates that you saw since they are less soluble in hot water.

 

If it doesn't work, though, the soda water will.

 

coolwaters: You can buy new salt if you want to, but you probably won't have to if you follow what I said about the soda water.

[The Propagator]

Man I through out a full bucket once because it all hardened up. ( lid cracked and I didn't know it until it was to late. I twas a back up bucket -o- salt ) I used it as ice melt one winter LOL !

Worked GREAT btw.