Help! Frustated with Red Sea Salt

[newfishguy]

Can somebody please recommend good salt that mixes well. This Red Sea salt is horrible because it never completely dissolves. I started over gain. I am mixing 2 gallons of water with 8 ounces of salt. At this rate it is going to take forever to mix the salt. It can't be this difficult. My water is around 75 degrees and I am simply mixing it in a bucket with a wooden spoon.

 

[ramsey]

Instant Ocean is what I used and it quickly mixed into the water and maybe a few grains here and there after its all mixed up and not big clumps all over.

 

[dogstar]

With any brand you should mix it at least over night with an air pump or small powerhead in the bucket.

 

[fishieness]

i usualy do not do the overnight thing, but i am goign to start. But a powerhead will definatly get it going.

 

[dogstar]

If you useing a small bucket its better to just use an air stone if you can becuse the pump will heat the water being in just a small bucket but you can let it cool befor adding to tank if thats what you want to do.

 

[mhoup]

How big is your tank? You can go to the depot or lowe's and get a 55g bucket or something that will work for your tank and a small power head just for water changes. Mix the salt & water the night before and run the power head in it overnight and use the power head to pump the new water in your tank. If you use a small power head in a 55g bucket it shouldn't heat the water too much, you also test your sg before you transfer the mixed water to the tank.
It depends on your living accomadations if you have the ability to do this also.

 

[newfishguy]

Ok. Originally I mixed the salt into a 15 gallon tank qt with a small pump that came with the salt. It had a little bit of salt left over which was driving me nuts. I could not make it dissolve. So, I emptied the tank and started over. However, it appears as though a little bit of salt might be left over, correct? I guess the only reason it is bothering me is because it is a qt and I am not putting any sand in it so the salt shows up on the bottom.

 

[kevtheiris]

I use deep ocean, and have no complaints about it at all.

 

[mhoup]

Originally Posted by newfishguy
I guess the only reason it is bothering me is because it is a qt and I am not putting any sand in it so the salt shows up on the bottom.

I see what your saying...my qt tank is the same way. I used it to qt my fish and dosen't seem to pose a problem.

 

[newfishguy]

Ok. I guess Ill just deal with the small amount of salt on the bottom. I thought it was a problem but apparently not.
Originally Posted by MHOUP
I see what your saying...my qt tank is the same way. I used it to qt my fish and dosen't seem to pose a problem.

 

[mhoup]

I thought so too, it just looked like undesolved salt was sitting on the floor of the tank but when I went to move it, it was hard almost like calcium deposit. I left it there and tested the water in that tank for about 4 weeks before I bought any new fish and actually used it and it has worked great for me.
I'm not saying this is the best way or that it does not have an adverse effect later on but it worked for me in the early stage (ie; 2 months old) and my sg & test were all good, I make sure it matches the display exactly before I introduce new fish to it.
I hope it works out for ya!!

 

[greggti]

I use Tropic Marin Pro Reef and it dissolves 100 times faster than the IO I used to use