how much salt?

claire_r

claire_r

Member
:notsure: I've got my new tank filled with ro water that is coming up to temp. Almost ready to add the salt. Here's my question...How much salt do I start with? I know that I'll need to check the salinity, but are there any suggestions like so much per gallon? I have a 29g and as a newbie, I don't know whether to start with a cup or what. Thanks for any help!
claire
 
nas19320

nas19320

Active Member
They should give you a general guideline on the container. I believe IO is 1/2 cup of salt to a gallon of water.
 
radioactive

radioactive

Member
I know on instant ocean it says to add 1.5lbs for a gallon of RO water. I have always used a cup of salt and filled up a blender with water and mix really good. you will need a hydrometer or refractometer to make sure you don't add to much or to little.
I keep mine around 1.026.
Just remember to mix the salt with water before adding to your tank. I hope this helps ...
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator

Originally posted by radioactive
I have always used a cup of salt and filled up a blender with water and mix really good.
Can you explain this in a little more detail? It sounds like a really bad idea.
 
jacknjill

jacknjill

Active Member
1.5LBS!!!!!!!!!!! no it doesnt. i use instant ocean and its 1/2 cup per gallon. thats how most salts are. just make sure to check your salinity with every couple scoops. stir well :joy:
 
claire_r

claire_r

Member
:thinking: So...somewhere between 1/2 c and 1 and 1/2 c per gallon? The salt that my LFS sold me is ina clear plastic bag and only says "not for resale" on the bag. I know, it's probably cheap stuff that's not the best. Any advice?
 
mbrands

mbrands

Member
I'm not sure about the blender idea (trust BangGuy!), but why bother with it? If you are adding new water/salt to a new tank I would suggest not filling the tank completely with water, guess about 1/2 cup of salt per gallon, let 1 or 2 powerheads mix it inside the tank (you can only do this the first time). Check the salinity about 48 hours later. Since you left some room in the tank you can adjust by adding more salt or more water. I set mine up this way and it worked great.
Good luck!
Mike
 
radioactive

radioactive

Member
Bang guy
Just to make sure and clarify what I do: which may work for me and not others but this is how I was taught to mix salt :
1 - I take a half cup of instant ocean and fill up my all plastic blender with RO/DI water and mix.
2 - Then I pour the water that was just blended into a 68L / 18g plastic tub with a maxi jet 600 p/h and a heater.
3 - I continue to check with a refractometer every 2hrs
. I keep my tank at 1.026 and quarantine at 1.026.
4 - I let the water aerate overnight and then I filled my 180g display. I used the same method on my 75g and so far in 3 years I have had no problems. But again what works for some may not work for others. I was just giving my advice ..
If you have a better suggestion please add ... Thank you
 
pontius

pontius

Active Member
the instructions on my salt say .5 cup per gallon. however, I use less than that because I let the water stand in the tub for a few days with a powerhead and heater running. so after 2 or 3 days, the water will evaporate some. so for example, 16 gallons, I usually add about 7 cups and let it age for about 3 days. and the sg is usually about 1.024 after 3 days.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator

Originally posted by radioactive

If you have a better suggestion please add ... Thank you
In my opinion mixing the salt into a small quantity of water will saturate Bicarbonate and Calcium to such an extent as to force Calcium, Magnesium, and Bicarbonate to precipitate out of solution.
It's easy to check. If there's white powdery looking stuff at the bottom of your 18g container after you're all done mixing then it's precipitating. If you don't see the fine white powdery stuff then I'm wrong.
 
jacknjill

jacknjill

Active Member
you can mix it in the tank the first time, but i wouldnt. if you have fish in there and attemp to mix the salt in the tank, the fish will basically melt
 
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