Can my back up water go stale?

beasone

beasone

Member
I have SW in a garbage can with a powerhead,that is covered tightly. Will it remain usable indefinitely?
The numbers on it were good, when I do another water change this weekend should I test it again?

Thoughts or experience on 'storing' Salt Water?

I have no RO unit... :( and don't make it to the LFS every week...
 
Heliox

Heliox

Member
No such thing as a stupid question. May just be no one has a good answer for you. I don't honestly know, but I use distilled water and the bottles that I have do have an expiry date of about 2 years.
But as far as salt added water... don't know either.. sorry.
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
I buy my ro/di saltwater at lfs & keep it in sealed 5 & 7 gal jugs, I have had no problems with this method when storing for up to two months, if that helps any.
 
molsen187

molsen187

Member
i always have a 5g bucket with premade saltwater in it i have never had any problems using it.but it usually only in there for two weeks at the longest. i cant see why it would go stale as long as the flow is good enough to keep it from going stagnant. i'm still relativly new to sw so i'm no expert by any meants. but that just my two cents.
 
Neptunesghost

Neptunesghost

Member
I store my mixed water for 2-3 weeks in the garage in a rubbermaid container. It has a tight fitting lid as well, but it is constantly agitated by a Koralia K4 and a 6" airstone to keep the PH stable. I don't know if the agitation is necessary, but it definately works.
 
Wakeskater02

Wakeskater02

Member
You can keep SW for a year or more. You just need to make sure that it was mixed with 100% RO/DI water. The reason is because if not, then minute organisms in the water will die off and contaminate the water. With RO/DI there are no organisms because they have all been filtered out.

The main goal will be to make sure that it is surely sealed and to try and not let any bacteria in to the water while it is just sitting. Secondly, make sure that you have strong flow in the storage container, this will keep the salt dissolved and in suspension. If it falls out of suspension, then you will run in to problems with not having the correct SG reading.

There is your answer.....=)
 
beasone

beasone

Member
thanks so much! that helps!
(very sad .. my jawfish jumped and found her just now..)
I have barely 2 inches uncovered on the back of my tank... guess I could put some kind of netting over that.

I don't know why it gets to me so when I loose a fish.. but it does. sad. :(

Seems like I have the worse luck with keeping these dear fish :tears:
 
fishmama67

fishmama67

Member
beasone said:
thanks so much! that helps!
(very sad .. my jawfish jumped and found her just now..)
I have barely 2 inches uncovered on the back of my tank... guess I could put some kind of netting over that.

I don't know why it gets to me so when I loose a fish.. but it does. sad. :(

Seems like I have the worse luck with keeping these dear fish :tears:
Click to expand...

I completely sympathize! I get so sad when I lose a fish! I am sorry for your loss!
 
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