hobbyreefer Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 I am looking to start mixing my own water. How much salt would you reccommend for a 5G container? Could you possibly tell me how I should mix it? Thank you Link to comment
Rick Shaw Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Do you have a refractometer yet? Mix the saltwater with a power head, you will need a heater too. Link to comment
Max3 Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 you need to get your specific gravity to 1.025. in the bucket, add your salt to your RO/DI water with a heater and a small maxi-jet or similar type pump. I like to let my salt mix for a day before adding it. Can anyone comment on how much salt to add to get the correct amount? Link to comment
JMAdams Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Whatever it takes to get to the SG you want. Takes me ~1/2 cup per gallon of water to reach a SG of 1.025 Link to comment
Rick Shaw Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 How ever much it takes. I have a scooper that I use and its about 2.5 scoops for me. Its a trial and error thing, after a while you'll get used to how much you need. Should have added before that the water needs to be up to temp before adding salt. Link to comment
davidr2340 Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Typically, it's about a 1/2 cup per gallon. Link to comment
Reggie Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Here's my recipe. I have one of those 5G buckets from Lowes that have like measurement lines at the sides. I make 14 liters of RO/DI, and then with Tropic Marin Pro-reef (TMPR) salt, I use the following measuring cups: 1 cup, 1/3 cup, and 1/4 cup. I level the salt to the cup using by passing a small ruler on top of it. It mixes more or less to 1.025. Note that it slightly varies (but not very much), depending on the season, and of course your location. I use a heater and a maxijet to mix it overnight. Link to comment
AZDesertRat Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 All salts vary so its hard to answer your question accurately. Salts even vary batch to batch so a refractometer or good calibrated hydrometer is the only way to tell. You can ballpark any salt but you need a more accurate measurement than that. Link to comment
organism Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 All salts vary so its hard to answer your question accurately. Salts even vary batch to batch so a refractometer or good calibrated hydrometer is the only way to tell. You can ballpark any salt but you need a more accurate measurement than that. +1, never guesstimate on salt, it's easily the most common cause of coral and fish issues in reef tanks. Get yourself a good refractometer... Link to comment
arcanehacker Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 yeah.. it also differs greatly with different brands.. Simple test. Go get a pack each of Redsea and Marine Enviroment.. use the same amount of salt to water mix.. you'll find quite a lot of difference in salinity. Agreed on getting a refractometer.. Link to comment
michelle02 Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 I agree you should realy have a refratometer, but i usually use half a cup per gallon/5l of water and mix over night with a small powerhead & a heater, never add water to your tank without testing for the sg first though! Link to comment
davenia7 Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Everyone says refractometer. I like my hydrometer (I have a habit of dropping things). Really, no matter what you use, you have to measure the specific gravity of the water. If you don't you won't really know how much to use. I use 2 over full cups in my 5 gal. bucket.I can eyeball it, but I still measure after that. You won't be able to do that till you start mixing and measuring to see what. Link to comment
Ebn Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Definitely measure using a refractometer. I measure the refractometer against a standard, then measure the tank water (to see if I have to do any sort of adjustment to the new mix), and then measure the current batch that I"m mixing up. The mixing container is a 5g bucket that I tap a hole and snuck two lines through - one for the heater and the other is for a MJ 900 with ecomod. Link to comment
arcanehacker Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Everyone says refractometer. I like my hydrometer (I have a habit of dropping things). Really, no matter what you use, you have to measure the specific gravity of the water. If you don't you won't really know how much to use. I use 2 over full cups in my 5 gal. bucket.I can eyeball it, but I still measure after that. You won't be able to do that till you start mixing and measuring to see what. Refractometer is way easier to use.. besides, its very affordable and durable.. refractometers have handle thats so damn big, its hard to drop it. Link to comment
Dani3d Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 I was using a hydrometer and it was showing the water at 1.024. Thanks God I did not bring it to 1.025 or 1.026 because when I received my refractometer my water was actualy at 1.028! so there was .04 degree off with the hydrometer so if you use only a hydrometer, make sure you know how it is balanced and how much if off so that you can compensate. Bring some of your water to someone who owns a good refractometer that is well calibrated and compare see how much your hydrometer is off. It could be by a lot. Everyone says refractometer. I like my hydrometer (I have a habit of dropping things). Really, no matter what you use, you have to measure the specific gravity of the water. If you don't you won't really know how much to use. I use 2 over full cups in my 5 gal. bucket.I can eyeball it, but I still measure after that. You won't be able to do that till you start mixing and measuring to see what. Link to comment
Biotoper Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Should have added before that the water needs to be up to temp before adding salt. I never heard before that you should heat up your RO water before you add the salt. I have always just plugged in the heater and powerhead, immediately added the salt to the cold water, and left it to warm and mix for a day. Any evidence that it matters? Link to comment
rahorman Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 I dropped my refractometer a few weeks ago...I recalibrated and it seems fine... Link to comment
Arctangent Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 3 and 1/3 oz per gallon gives the right math for a SG of 1.025. I cant tell you volume because that varies between salts. But the previous number could be used with a weight scale to make your mix. Link to comment
5-O Reefer Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I never heard before that you should heat up your RO water before you add the salt. I have always just plugged in the heater and powerhead, immediately added the salt to the cold water, and left it to warm and mix for a day. Any evidence that it matters? I'm curious about this too. I have been buying my SW from the LFS and am finally about to mix my own as I type. I just want make sure I do it right. Link to comment
masami93 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 use a refractometer or a hydrometer? Link to comment
moto826 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 i use a half cup for 1 gallon so you will need 5 Link to comment
5-O Reefer Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Question was, does the RO water need to be heated up to temp before adding the salt? Link to comment
moto826 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I am looking to start mixing my own water. How much salt would you reccommend for a 5G container? Could you possibly tell me how I should mix it? Thank you did i read this right Link to comment
5-O Reefer Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 did i read this right LOL yes you did. I thought you were responding to my question within this post about heating up the ro water before adding salt. Link to comment
Billdemart Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Typically, it's about a 1/2 cup per gallon. This^ It should tell you on your salt bucket/container though. You need to be heating, circulating, and measuring with a refractometer too. Link to comment
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