akb1 Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Does salt go bad? I had a 30 gallon saltwater tank when we lived in Florida and used Oceanic salt. When we moved and i set up my 12 gallon, I tried to use that same salt (i had saved the container...it's in a sealed jug), but my salinity was way off. It wasn't hard or clumpy. It was about a year after i had origionally opened the jug. Thanks! Link to comment
FishTechNH Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 I don't think that salt can go bad but i'm sure it could change in consistency over a long period of time. Maybe calibrate your tester again to make sure that it's not off. Link to comment
kooky Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 I buy bigger bags of salt and use it over extended periods of time. It gets clumpy and hard but it still works. If you're worried, just buy a new bag. Link to comment
akb1 Posted March 20, 2006 Author Share Posted March 20, 2006 It was really weird. On my hydrometer, my salinity was perfect. I had a shrimp die, so i brought a sample into two different LFS for them to test and they both showed it was really high. I started using Catalina water, and that measured perfect on my hydrometer. Go figure. That's the only thing i could think of is that the salt 'went bad.' Link to comment
GVCatalano Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Does salt go bad? I had a 30 gallon saltwater tank when we lived in Florida and used Oceanic salt. When we moved and i set up my 12 gallon, I tried to use that same salt (i had saved the container...it's in a sealed jug), but my salinity was way off. It wasn't hard or clumpy. It was about a year after i had origionally opened the jug. Thanks! Hi akb1, I have experienced that Sea Salts DO go bad after short periods of time exposed to elements! One of the main reasons is their exposure to Oxygen/Air. I am not an expert, but I can say that I went through the same exact experience when I tried to use leftover salt that my sister gave me. It was 1 year old and using it threw the entire balance of my system off causing the death of 3 of my inhabitants overnight. There is a general rule of thumb that I use when I use salts now... If the salt looks like it is starting to clump or crystalize due to exposure to humidity, throw it out and buy new salt...otherwise, it may be depleted of any beneficial minerals. I hope this helps! Regards, GVCatalano Link to comment
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