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Saltwater mix - Red Sea


SaltyBuddha

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SaltyBuddha

Mixing some SW for the first time ☺

 

Using Red Sea Coral Pro Salt and followed the instructions to add 1.6lbs of mix to 5 gallons to get to 1.025. Measured It with a refractometer (calibrated with RODI water) and I'm getting 1.027. It might be that my little scale is off, or maybe I should buy some 1.025 SW to calibrate the refractometer with? 

 

 

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If you buy some calibration fluid (that calibrates to a salinity of 35 ppt), you would get a more accurate reading than calibrating with RO/DI water to zero.

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That concordance is actually extremely good.  Your scale almost certainly does not measure to 4 significant figures like the salinity calls for.  As xAyanex noted, calibrating to RO water will not give good results, you need to calibrate to a value near what you are looking for.  35 ppt calibration fluid is widely available.

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Lol. I never use there amounts because i never make 5g.

I slowly add salt and check sg until its right. 

 

With rscp salt, remember to not use a heater or powerhead until after 2hrs and the salt is not to be mixed past 4hrs.

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Thats the instructions per red sea. 

I believe it has something to do with precipitation. 

The salt is to be mixed by hand with unheated water. Its to sit for 2hrs, then oxygenated and heated.

 

Those who don't follow these instructions have ended up with cloudy water. 

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SaltyBuddha

Ahh yeah I read them and it said to mix it vigorously without aeration so I figured a powerhead would be okay.  I actually put the powerhead in and put the salt in slowly and within an hour it was all dissolved. Powerhead directed straight down to reduce top water movement. Moved the head after 10 minutes because some salt sat under it, but after an hour it was clear. Definitely understand how aeration could affect the salinity though. Mixing over 4 hours with that probably allows for too much evaporation.

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I added powerhead and heater after 2 hours.

 

I simply stirred the salt in. 10 mins later completely disolved. After 2hrs added pump and heater.

 

The above 4 hrs isn't due to evap, its due to precipitation, it effects the ca and alk. 

 

It states all this on the bucket and red sea has indicated these imstructions on other forums.

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fishfreak0114

Whoops guess I've never read the instructions. I always add the salt to heated water, but thankfully I've had no issues doing so. I do mix by hand though because I don't have a powerhead. 

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gone_PHiSHin

I've never had problems with RSCP resulting in cloudy water.  in fact it seems to be clear faster than others I've used.

 

i add the salt to room temp water, stir vigorously for around a few minutes until dissolved, then throw in the heater and pump.  as soon as it's to temp I do my change.

 

i never realized I was doing this wrong?  so I could be affecting my calcium and alkalinity levels by doing it this way?

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Straight from Red Sea was:

 

Add salt to water, stir vigorously.

Don't add aeration(powerhead, airstone) or heater until 2 hrs.

Don't exceed 4hrs mixing. 

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SaltyBuddha

Refractometer was off by about .003 SG when calibrated with RODI water compared to the 35ppt solution. I saw a lot of conflicting information so this solidifies it.

 

Thanks guys. My tank is cycling at 1.022 right now. Current plan is to top off with saltwater until it gets to 1.025. 

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Hmmm, I usually make 5 gal of rodi water, add a pump and heater then add 5 cups of rscp and 3.5-4hours later do my water change and the water is always crystal clear. Normally only cloudy for maybe 3-5min

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On 3/29/2017 at 10:40 AM, Nart said:

Red Sea mixing guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlIHJ02NaKk

 

Do you guys heat until 77 degrees to check the SG level?

 

I do.  I thought the temperature affects the salinity measurement.  From the video, it sounds like the loss of calcium and alkalinity for mixing differently is less than 2%.  I usually add 2 and 1/2 cups of salt to 5 gallons, mix with a powerhead while raising the temperature to 77 degrees, measure salinity, add more salt and put it in the tank when it is clear (which usually isn't very long).  Doesn't sound like it matters too much but maybe don't mix very long.

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I thought the temp affected too.

I need to do a test of the SG before heated and after heated to see if it affects it.

 

Yeah - a precipitation of less than 2% did not matter at all to me. Though it never takes me longer than 45mins from start to finish to mix a 5 gallon bucket of saltwater.

I usually do a 1 cup to 1 gallon ratio and that will get me near my 1.025 salinity level. I also let it mix for 15mins before I start the heater. The water clears up around the 15min mark of mixing. It's never cloudy for me.

 

 

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22 hours ago, SaltyBuddha said:

SG is affected by temperature. It will rise when temperature drops and go down when temperature rises.

 

 

 

Ah. Thank you for the info. Do you know how this affects the SG measurement within a ATC refractometer?

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On 3/25/2017 at 0:20 AM, Clown79 said:

Those who don't follow these instructions have ended up with cloudy water. 

I have been using the coral pro salt for 3 years and I have never followed these instructions! 

 

Water in bucket, powerhead and heater in bucket, powerhead and heater on, salt in, lid gently on top, mix overnight, water change approx 20 hours later. Only ONCE did I get cloudy water. 

 

Fingers crossed/knock on wood, I've never really had water related issues for those 3 years. Just saying, I wouldn't sweat it too much. 

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SaltyBuddha
45 minutes ago, Nart said:

Ah. Thank you for the info. Do you know how this affects the SG measurement within a ATC refractometer?

Honestly, it is still a little confusing to me. People get the ATC feature of refractometer wrong usually. An ATC unit should be calibrated at its specific temperature rating. Most say 20C, a few are 25C. That is the refractometer is at 20C (68F) not the water. Once it is calibrated correctly at this temperature, you can then measure SG at any room temperature and the refractometer will adjust for this temperature deviation. If you don't calibrate it at the right temperature to start, you will never get consistent readings. This is why people say they have to calibrate every time they use it.

 

Now, If you put water that is at 25C on a refractometer that is at 20C, the water will cool down very quickly to match the refractometer temperature. Thus, changing the SG.

 

This is why you need to calibrate with a 35ppt @ 25F solution. When you initially calibrate it with this solution, you are actually offsetting the refractometer to read higher than it actually is at 20C. That way when your water cools down to 20C, your readings are when it is at 25C (like in your aquarium). Because in reality, if the water has an SG of 1.025 at 20C, when heated to 25C it will be more like 1.023.

 

I've only found a few articles on this, and they contradict each other on technical points sometimes. This is how I've come to understand it. The most important thing is to calibrate with 35ppt at 25C solution at your refractometer calibration temperature.

 

Anyone else feel free to correct me at any time lol 

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Holy heck. You just made my head hurt reading that. Haha. But I get it though. I'm doing a water change this weekend, so let me test some theories with this ATC refracto and see how temps affect the SG reading. I'll get the water sample to my LFS who uses a Hannah digital checker to confirm my result. 

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SaltyBuddha

Lol yeah I feel you on that. Let me know how the LFS checker matches with your refractometer. Curious to see how it works out.

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I have an ATC refractometer. I calibrate it every time I use it. I don't have to do this because I incorrectly calibrated using wrong water temp/calibration fluid temp/etc. I have to calibrate every time because the refractometer is so finicky that every time I set it down, it loses calibration.

 

Not all refractometers are like that, but mine is, because it is cheap. 

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On ‎4‎/‎5‎/‎2017 at 8:45 AM, kimberbee said:

I have been using the coral pro salt for 3 years and I have never followed these instructions! 

 

Water in bucket, powerhead and heater in bucket, powerhead and heater on, salt in, lid gently on top, mix overnight, water change approx 20 hours later. Only ONCE did I get cloudy water. 

 

Fingers crossed/knock on wood, I've never really had water related issues for those 3 years. Just saying, I wouldn't sweat it too much. 

 

Same here. I have been using it for a while now and always add it to heated water. I cant remember but was it 2 t o3 cups per 5 gallons........been a while I know mix in a 25 gallon brute can.

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