help! salt wont mix

rushprop

Member
I am trying to do a water change on my cube and have been mixing the salt with the ro for about an hour now and the salt will not mix. i am using instant ocean. any help/advise. thanks everyone.
 

rushprop

Member
half a cup per gallon. I checked the sal. with my hydrometer and its barely reading it, im assuming because not all the salt is mixing, so i dont want to add more.
 

rushprop

Member
i am mixing with 2 power heads one is an aqua clear 70 and the other is the pump that comes stock on the biocube. I am mixing it in a five gallon bucket.
 

t316

Active Member
Is the salt really old, or has it been exposed to moisture prior to this?
This shouldn't really be a big deal. Is the water really cold?
 

aztec reef

Active Member
Oh, it is mixed.
As long as u don't see the 1/2 cup of salt sitting on the bottom of bucket and u have powerheads aerating it.. the reason why its barely reading its cause its not enuf salt yet.
how many gallons are u making????
 

rushprop

Member
i am making 4 gals, the water temp is 83.i tried the spoon for a while, seems like most of the granuals that were at the bottom are no floating, water seems pretty cloudy but nothing floating now. sg is only at 1.o13 think i shlould try to add more, or better off to put this in since it finally mixed and try to get either dif salt or premixed from lfs next time? The salt has never been used, just opend the bag, not sure how old i got it from the guy who sold me my tank.
 

aztec reef

Active Member
the salt is fine. The problem here is that your mixing it in 83 degrees. wich is making it harder for salt to dissolve, plus salt water has a low solubility. specially at that temp.. heat makes everything condense and saturated.
add 1/2 cup more, and that should take u within range.. Take the heater out for now(if theres one).
let aerate for 24hrs..
btw,
It usually takes me around 3 cups of salt mix for 5gallons...= 1.022 in hydrometer & 1.025 on refractometer..
Always use cold water to mix in salt, after specified salinity is achived, then u can add a heater if necesary.
 

stanlalee

Active Member
Originally Posted by rushprop
http:///forum/post/2666135
i am mixing with 2 power heads one is an aqua clear 70 and the other is the pump that comes stock on the biocube. I am mixing it in a five gallon bucket.
it would help a great deal if you stuck something in there and stirred it yourself instead of relying on powerheads. Powerheads are more for stored water after you've mixed the salt.
 

keith burn

Active Member
Originally Posted by rushprop
http:///forum/post/2666095
I am trying to do a water change on my cube and have been mixing the salt with the ro for about an hour now and the salt will not mix. i am using instant ocean. any help/advise. thanks everyone.
Do you or did you add all the salt a one time?
I add 1/8 of a cup at a time and it works for me.
You can mix it byhand and then with the p/h's for 24h it will mix in that time
 

ibew41

Active Member
Originally Posted by Aztec Reef
http:///forum/post/2666244
the salt is fine. The problem here is that your mixing it in 83 degrees. wich is making it harder for salt to dissolve, plus salt water has a low solubility. specially at that temp.. heat makes everything condense and saturated.
add 1/2 cup more, and that should take u within range.. Take the heater out for now(if theres one).
let aerate for 24hrs..
btw,
It usually takes me around 3 cups of salt mix for 5gallons...= 1.022 in hydrometer & 1.025 on refractometer..
Always use cold water to mix in salt, after specified salinity is achived, then u can add a heater if necesary.
I thought it is the other way around the colder the water the salt will not dissolve and always mix at the same temp as your tank
 

nordy

Active Member
My 2c. worth-I always mix my salt in a 5gal bucket of RO, right out of the filter, so it's about tap water temp, add the usual 1/2 cup per gallon, and mix vigorously by hand. That gets most of it mixed up and then I put in a small powerhead and a heater and next day, it's perfectly mixed and ready to go, after checking a few times for salinity and temps along the way.
I did run into a batch of salt that had something in it that looked like salt (sand perhaps?) but just would not dissolve. There were maybe a couple of tablespoons per bucket of the stuff but the next bucket of salt didn't have it.
 

flricordia

Active Member
IO is known for using low grade ingredients and of which sometimes batches of their salt will not fully dissolve. I have seen it many times when I have had to use IO for one reason or another.
 
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