Re-using salt (hear me out)

[Fiver]

I have a crazy idea, but please hear me out. And please understand that my past actions and current proposal are not a judgment call on anyone here.

 

I ran a 33 long mini-reef for a number of years about 10 years ago, and took it down after learning a few things. I live in the Mississippi River watershed in a major city, and learned that all of the water that leaves my house ends back up in the river. I also learned that the world's freshwater supply is getting saltier every year, which has a lot of negative implications. It's such a problem that our city asks us to limit salt use on sidewalks during the winter, and asks us to sweep up unused salt when the ice thaws.

 

I checked with my city, and it does not desalinate waste water before it is returned to the Mississippi River. The reality is that few places desalinate water, because it's a highly expensive and complicated process. That meant my tank was dumping salt into the river, so I stopped reefing, even though it was a small tank and my individual contribution was just a drop in the bucket.

 

But I'm getting the itch to keep a low-maintenance reef tank again.

I've researched how to desalinate saltwater at home (boiling or baking until all water evaporates and only the salt and minerals remain). Some people do this to make their own sea salt for cooking.

I'm thinking that if I kept a smaller tank (15-20 gallons, or maybe even 10), a 10% weekly water change would be manageable and I could desalinate water at home to avoid contaminating the Mississippi River. If I did this, could I re-use the salt to mix water for my tank? Or would the salt and minerals somehow retain nitrates and ammonia?

Thank you for reading.

[ReefGoat]

I just cant fathom how your tiny bit of saltwater from water changes in a nano tank could even begin to make a difference in raising the salinity of such a massive amount of water. 
 

if it bothers you that much and makes you feel that much better about it. Just quit reefing. I really don’t G.A.F about things like this. 
 

if our government can invest trillions of dollars in endless wars and dabble in nation building all over the world. they could stop all that and invest in things like desalination plants. But they choose not to. So I’m going to enjoy the things I love in this short time here and the government can kiss my arse and figure out how to desalinate the water supply instead of destabilizing the planet like the literal demons they are 

[seabass]

On 9/29/2024 at 9:54 AM, Fiver said:

I've researched how to desalinate saltwater at home (boiling or baking until all water evaporates and only the salt and minerals remain)...  If I did this, could I re-use the salt to mix water for my tank? Or would the salt and minerals somehow retain nitrates and ammonia?

Inorganic nutrients would not be removed.  Boiling turns the water into steam (pure water), leaving just the "contaminants".  Plus, the resulting salt cannot be reconstituted into seawater.  Check out this article which discusses why this is so:  https://web.archive.org/web/20121004105544/http://www.seachem.com/Library/SeaGrams/Salt_Mixes.pdf

[seabass]

On 9/29/2024 at 9:54 AM, Fiver said:

a 10% weekly water change would be manageable

If you are concerned about pouring a lot of saltwater down your drain, I'd probably try to setup a tank which needs limited water changes.  You could manage nutrient uptake with chaeto (or some other macro algae) or through carbon dosing; and element replenishment can be performed via dosing.  A 10 percent weekly water change really isn't necessary.

[Fiver]

20 hours ago, seabass said:

Inorganic nutrients would not be removed.  But ignoring that, boiling turns the water into steam (pure water), leaving just the "contaminants".  Unfortunately, the resulting salt cannot be reconstituted into seawater.  Check out this article which discusses why this is so:  https://web.archive.org/web/20121004105544/http://www.seachem.com/Library/SeaGrams/Salt_Mixes.pdf

Thank you for the link! 

That seems obvious now that I think about it. Thanks for your input!

[Fiver]

17 hours ago, seabass said:

If you are concerned about pouring a lot of saltwater down your drain, I'd probably try to setup a tank which needs limited water changes.  You could manage nutrient uptake with chaeto or some other macro algae and element replenishment can be performed via dosing.  A 10 percent weekly water change really isn't necessary.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look into it more, because that would be ideal if I could get it to work. I wouldn't have any issues limiting corals to easy soft corals to accommodate dosing vs water changes.

Do you have personal experience with this method yourself, and any tips/thoughts about it?

[seabass]

7 hours ago, Fiver said:

Do you have personal experience with this method yourself, and any tips/thoughts about it?

Anymore, I hardly ever change water just for the sake of changing water.  I find that replacing clean water with newly mixed clean water can be costly and a relatively inefficient way to replenish consumed elements.  However, I still do tank maintenance, which does require removing (and replacing) some water.

 

IMO, filtration (like protein skimming, mechanical filtration, and/or activated carbon) can be helpful when limiting water changes.  Regular testing (and dosing) will also help make sure that levels stay within your target ranges.  You don't even necessarily have to stick with beginner corals; but maybe wait until you get comfortable with the new routine.