mixing salt went wrong...

KRAZE

KRAZE

Member
On Saturday I made 4 gallons of saltwater in a 5gal bucket. RO/DI water with Red Sea Coral Pro salt. I put in a little over1.5 cups of salt over an hour time span with a 600gph pump running in the bottom of the bucket for flow. ( I don't add the full 2 cups until I test the sg after 24 hours, since I guess at the 4 gallon amount)

Well I didn't end up having time to do my w/c Sunday so I covered the bucket to keep the cat out. I go to theg/fs Sunday nights- tuesday night so the bucket sat covered with a pump running the whole time, which people do all the time, right?

Well o went to do the w/c tonight and when I opened the bucket EVERY surface was covrred in a white film. Not a precipitate that brushes off easy or goes away with water stirring... It was CAKED onto the walls, floor, pump, the wire... and I had to wipe it off with a towel. It smeared as I used the towel, so I had to keep using new spots and rinsing. The internals of the pump were so covered I had to dissassemble it and use a small brush to clean it.

Anyone ever have this happen? The water was up over 90 b/c of the internal pump and lid I am assuming... think that is the cause? The first 24 hours the water was about 70-75, so most of the disolving should have been completed by then.

I threw the water outside, but the sg was 1.021, so it wasn't that there was too much salt. Any ideas what went wrong?
 
jjmoneyman

jjmoneyman

RS Sponsor
It sounds like the calc precipitated from the solution adhering to all the surfaces. I'm not really sure if the heat contributed to it since I'm not a chemist but sounds logical.
 
reefer gladness

reefer gladness

Well-Known Member
Happens all the time. Probably calcium and magnesium. I had some mixing in a tank for a week or so when I moved tanks. I kept siphoning of the precipitation and the magnesium was down to around 1000 ppm .

On a side note, buy a cheap digital scale to weigh out your salt. I got one for 8 bucks on eBay.
 
KRAZE

KRAZE

Member
Yeah once my red sea pro salt runs out I'm going back to IO and dosing calc, mag and trace myself.

As for siphoning it off... no way I could have, it was STUCK. Had to be scrubed down with a towel and brush...

As for weighing salt.... new to me, I have always had good luck mixing by the half cup/gal route, and I have the refractometer to get sg right where I want it. Please enlighten me as to weighing it it, I have several scales to choose from! (no not a dug dealer, I breed snakes and I keep trqck of their growth rates by weighing them and their food)
 
PIMPALA

PIMPALA

Well-Known Member
thats just the red sea salt. took me the first WC in a full bucket to realize it, then I sold it and switched back to IO
 
reefer gladness

reefer gladness

Well-Known Member
The red sea salt comes with an info packet listing the weight of salt needed to mix a 5 gallon bucket at various salinities. For example it's 1.5 lb salt to mix at 1.023 and 1.6 lb to mix at 1.025. I mix at 1.024 so I went for 1.55 lbs. If you mix more or less than 5 gallons just divide by 5 to get the per gallon weight and multiply by however many gallons you mix.

Depending on your scale you may find it easier to convert lbs to ounces for accuracy. I use a small digital mail scale and measure in ounces. I also check my salinity after mixing 20-24 hours using a refractometer and it's the same every time. I'm sure it would work with whatever brand of salt you want to use. I'm on my 3rd bucket of the RS salt, keep finding it on sale and didn't want to mess with something that was working okay (except for the stuff left in the mixing bucket).
 
KRAZE

KRAZE

Member
well looks like i will be getting some IO today lol

I left a new batch of salt mixing just overnight and this film thing happened again. Not as bad as when it sat for 4 days, but still, thats just rediculous to have cloudy water like that out of a product that you pay more for.

As for the scale thing... i think thats just a waste of my time personally. I find it much easier to fill my measuring cup up to the amount of cups needed (i have a 1-cup measuring cup, and I fill it just below the 1 cup mark twice for my 5 gal bucket that not quite full), mix it overnight, then check my sg. Once my w/c is ready to be done, i match the salinity's by topping off with a little more salt till it's just right. If i had to use a scale, I would still have to scoop out the salt (prob useing my measuring cup lol) and then weigh it. I would also have to know exactly how many gallons of water are in the bucket, and i just fill the bucket to a few inches below the top, i dont take the time to measure it out per gallon, so that all seems like a lot more extra work i don't need to do! But if i ever did decide to take the time to mark out the gallons on my buckets and weigh salt, i do have the scales and they are all in grams.
 
reefer gladness

reefer gladness

Well-Known Member
FWIW, using your method of topping off salt to reach the desired salinity doesn't really give the added salt a chance to mix. I'd do it the other way around and mix at a slightly higher salinity and add your RO water at the end to lower to the desired salinity.
 
M

major fish

Member
i use a jug to measure out my salt and luckily it works at a level jug to 20L of water.

i use D&D salt which comes from the same plant as redsea salt! never had a problem with it. have mixed at temp and at room temp. i have my power head near the top of the bucket and sprinkle salt in slowly.
 
Brandon78

Brandon78

Active Member
I use Instant Ocean, and ill honestly probably never change it. Have had awesome results with it and never seen anyone complain.
 
BLADEYAMAHA

BLADEYAMAHA

Well-Known Member
I had that problem with Instant Ocean, instantaneously, but not with the batch of Red Sea Pro Coral Salt I have right now at all, but I don't mix over night.
 
KRAZE

KRAZE

Member
I had previously only been mixing salt for 2-3 hours, and the red sea was workng fine... then I was informed by a friend that I can't do that and needto mix overnight. I asked the LFS and they told me 12 hours minimum, 24 even better. They had no idea what salt, that was previous to my troubles anyway. But could it be that Red Sea salt is made to be used right away vs letting it sit? And will my params all be in check with only a couple hours mixing?

I had no complaints about the salt up untill this mixing incident. Coral was growing great!
 
dmatt88

dmatt88

Has been struck by the ban stick
I recently bought red sea coral pro. I'm not a fan. Io I'm home again. As for mixing I have the best luck taking room temp or chillier water and slowly adding salt to the water that has the pump in it. Seems to help mix faster. Good luck

..........tequilla is not my friend anymore
 
KRAZE

KRAZE

Member
yeah i can take a whole 2.5 cups of IO and dump it into my 5 gallon pail with a pump at the top and by morning its mixed lol, i have no problems with mixing technique... but I dont do that unless i have to, i typically add salt slowly also.


It's the whole mixing overnight thing, do i REALLY have to do it, what do you guys do? (Regardless of salt brand)
 
M

major fish

Member
I am using the Red Sea Coral Pro, now as my LFS has stopped doing the D&D salt. They both come from the same factory though, same buckets, and plastic ties to the internal bag.

The instructions for the Coral Pro are:

Use RO water at 20 degrees C, which equals 68 degrees F. Always add salt to the water

Mix vigorously without aeration for 30 mins to 2 hours, until all the salt is dissolved and ph has stabilised to 8.2-8.4. DO NOT MIX FOR MORE THAN 4 HOURS. (not shouting, its in capitals on the instructions lol) SO THERE

Raise water temp to 25 degrees C which equals 77 degrees F and measure the sg/salinity. Add salt or water as necessary to achieve the desired parameters.



I have had no problems doing it this way and so one might presume that problems are being caused by user era.......not following procedure and making it up as per other salt brands used.
 
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