How long do you mix your saltwater?

[12scanlon]

As of right now I mix Red Sea coral for salt for about 1 hour 45min- 2 hours.

 

How long do you mix your saltwater?

[chunkylovah]

I mix my red sea coral pro salt until it is clear and there are no visible particulates, which for me takes like 30 min.

[LogicalReefs]

I mix maybe 30 minutes with Red Sea coral pro.

[MrObscura]

I use coral pro and it really just depends on how long it takes me to finish whatever else I'm doing at the time. But usually between an hour or two. 

[12scanlon]

2 hours ago, LogicalReefs said:

I mix maybe 30 minutes with Red Sea coral pro.

Dang that’s not long at all. I always thought u had to mix it for at least and hour. 

2 hours ago, MrObscura said:

I use coral pro and it really just depends on how long it takes me to finish whatever else I'm doing at the time. But usually between an hour or two. 

That’s about how I do it. Today I let it go for an extra while so I could do my pico first. 

[LogicalReefs]

6 minutes ago, 12scanlon said:

Dang that’s not long at all. I always thought u had to mix it for at least and hour. 

I haven't seen my corals react negatively to it so far. I just look to see how clear the water is and if I see any salt still mixing. I actually started shortening my mixing time with Fritz RPM since it cleared up really fast and dissolved quick.

[MrObscura]

I'm pretty sure the coral pro bucket even says mix for 30 minutes to 2 hours. 

[DSFIRSTSLTWATER]

33 minutes ago, LogicalReefs said:

I haven't seen my corals react negatively to it so far. I just look to see how clear the water is and if I see any salt still mixing. I actually started shortening my mixing time with Fritz RPM since it cleared up really fast and dissolved quick.

I actually am thinking of getting that salt. I use reef crystals and though I don't have much bad to say about it the mix time kinda sucks; especially if you need it in an emergency.

[LogicalReefs]

2 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

I actually am thinking of getting that salt. I use reef crystals and though I don't have much bad to say about it the mix time kinda sucks; especially if you need it in an emergency.

Fritz is awesome. I switched because I wanted to see what the whole big whoop was about Red Sea. I don’t switch back cause no one around me sells the small bag of it.

[DSFIRSTSLTWATER]

1 minute ago, LogicalReefs said:

Fritz is awesome. I switched because I wanted to see what the whole big whoop was about Red Sea. I don’t switch back cause no one around me sells the small bag of it.

Ahh yeah I thought about red sea as well but I keep seeing good things about fritz and I can just grab it from Amazon. Haven't decided yet. I still have reef cyrstals left so I'll decide once I have to re-up on salt.

[LogicalReefs]

6 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

Ahh yeah I thought about red sea as well but I keep seeing good things about fritz and I can just grab it from Amazon. Haven't decided yet. I still have reef cyrstals left so I'll decide once I have to re-up on salt.

I would buy it on amazon if I knew how long it was on the shelf for and it wouldn’t have any rips in the bag from shipping. That’s why I buy what I can get from my LFS.

[DSFIRSTSLTWATER]

Gotcha makes sense. I'm pretty sure the salt doesn't go bad as long as the bag isn't open. The reef crystals always comes in undamaged but I see what you mean though.. especially if you're almost out and it comes in damaged.

[Clown79]

When I contacted red sea about the coral pro their instructions were.

 

Mix by hand and after 2 hrs a heater and pump can be added.

Adding both prior to 2hrs can cause precipitation.

The salt should not be mixed for more than 4 hrs.

 

 

This is from the manual.

1. Prepare the quantities of salt and water for the 
desired salinity according to the chart.
2. Use reverse osmosis (RO) water at approximately 
20°C/68°F. Always add the salt to the water.
3. Mix vigorously (without aeration) for 0.5 - 2 hours, 
until all of the salt is dissolved and pH has stabilized 
to 8.2-8.4. DO NOT mix for more than 4 hours
4. Raise the water temp to 25°C/77°F and measure the s.g./
salinity with an accurate hydrometer/ refractometer. Add salt 
or water as necessary to achieve the desired parameters.

 

[LogicalReefs]

6 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

When I contacted red sea about the coral pro their instructions were.

 

Mix by hand and after 2 hrs a heater and pump can be added.

Adding both prior to 2hrs can cause precipitation.

The salt should not be mixed for more than 4 hrs.

 

 

This is from the manual.

1. Prepare the quantities of salt and water for the 
desired salinity according to the chart.
2. Use reverse osmosis (RO) water at approximately 
20°C/68°F. Always add the salt to the water.
3. Mix vigorously (without aeration) for 0.5 - 2 hours, 
until all of the salt is dissolved and pH has stabilized 
to 8.2-8.4. DO NOT mix for more than 4 hours
4. Raise the water temp to 25°C/77°F and measure the s.g./
salinity with an accurate hydrometer/ refractometer. Add salt 
or water as necessary to achieve the desired parameters.

 

I’ve been doing it wrong all along 😂

[Frag Factory]

Usually overnight. I'm kind of paranoid about it mixing properly. 

 

I use Red Sea coral pro

[12scanlon]

1 hour ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

Ahh yeah I thought about red sea as well but I keep seeing good things about fritz and I can just grab it from Amazon. Haven't decided yet. I still have reef cyrstals left so I'll decide once I have to re-up on salt.

I would get Red Sea. Ever since I’ve used it my corals have done way better than before and seem more happy. Not to say fritz isn’t good, I just like Red Sea coral pro better. 

[12scanlon]

30 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

When I contacted red sea about the coral pro their instructions were.

 

Mix by hand and after 2 hrs a heater and pump can be added.

Adding both prior to 2hrs can cause precipitation.

The salt should not be mixed for more than 4 hrs.

 

 

This is from the manual.

1. Prepare the quantities of salt and water for the 
desired salinity according to the chart.
2. Use reverse osmosis (RO) water at approximately 
20°C/68°F. Always add the salt to the water.
3. Mix vigorously (without aeration) for 0.5 - 2 hours, 
until all of the salt is dissolved and pH has stabilized 
to 8.2-8.4. DO NOT mix for more than 4 hours
4. Raise the water temp to 25°C/77°F and measure the s.g./
salinity with an accurate hydrometer/ refractometer. Add salt 
or water as necessary to achieve the desired parameters.

 

I’ve always just dropped an old power head in the bucket with a tiny aqueon heater for an hour and a half. 

 

Will the trace elements really precipitate out of it in that short amount of time? Also what’s the difference between mixing it by hand and using a power head?

[Clown79]

26 minutes ago, LogicalReefs said:

I’ve been doing it wrong all along 😂

Many don't do it as the manual instructs.

 

When I switched over to rscp I read all these different stories on its need for special mixing. So I contacted red sea.

 

I often mixed my salt for 3hrs.

 

I switched to RS Blue Bucket. 30mins - 1 hr mixing.

 

 

[Clown79]

7 minutes ago, 12scanlon said:

I’ve always just dropped an old power head in the bucket with a tiny aqueon heater for an hour and a half. 

 

Will the trace elements really precipitate out of it in that short amount of time? Also what’s the difference between mixing it by hand and using a power head?

 

It's in their manual due to the formula and high levels of the elements, it has special mixing requirements because of the parameters it offers.

Mixing by hand isn't constant, a pump or airstone is constant.

[12scanlon]

2 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

 

It's in their manual due to the formula and high levels of the elements, it has special mixing requirements because of the parameters it offers.

Mixing by hand isn't constant, a pump or airstone is constant.

Maybe I’ll try it the special way at some point to see if it has any affects on my corals.

[Clown79]

24 minutes ago, 12scanlon said:

Maybe I’ll try it the special way at some point to see if it has any affects on my corals.

Some ppl have no issues mixing it as they are.

 

I've also read of some having issues like a cloudiness occur in the salt and numbers not being correct. 

 

You could check what the batch levels are and see if different mixing gives different numbers. 

[MrObscura]

I don't follow red seas directions either. I use a small pump and heater, both running before I add salt, to mix coral pro and its crystal clear with consistent parameters every time. 

 

On a side note, since a bunch of us seem to use coral pro, I have a question. How do each of you handle the high Alk? Do you maintain your tank at that level, lower the mix water alk, or just not worry about it? 

 

[Clown79]

2 minutes ago, MrObscura said:

I don't follow red seas directions either. I use a small pump and heater, both running before I add salt, to mix coral pro and its crystal clear with consistent parameters every time. 

 

On a side note, since a bunch of us seem to use coral pro, I have a question. How do each of you handle the high Alk? Do you maintain your tank at that level, lower the mix water alk, or just not worry about it? 

 

When I used it, my alk creeped too high over time with my waterchanges. It ended up at 12.5 and I had issues with my sps. 

 

I didn't want to mess with it myself, defeats the purpose of buying the salt to lower params.  

But I liked Red Sea salt alot so I switched to blue bucket.

 

 

[MrObscura]

My tank for now has balanced out around 8.5-9.5 between each water change. So, as of now a wc doesn't effect Alk too much, while keeping it inline. But as I add more corals and they grow, the difference between tank water and mix water will be too much. I think I'd like to just keep Alk around 9 since everything seems pretty happy there. That's why I considered lowering the Alk of mix water, rather than having to dose more to get it to 9. But idk. 

 

I really dont want to raise alk back up to 11 as I think it will just create more opportunities for things to go wrong. And introducing certain corals to a tank with Alk that high could be problematic. 

 

Too bad blue bucket mixes lower than I'd like. Maybe I could mix pro with blue bucket to get a salt that mixes to 9?

[12scanlon]

Everyone who posted on her check my new post in general discussion! Quick! I need help with my pistol shrimp.