Making Saltwater Mix

[chrisandjeno]

How long can I keep water that I make for water changes? is there a rule of thumb or a known amount to time? Does it create bacteria on its own over time?
I have been making it as needed and it has been a real pain when it comes to doing my partial water changes.

 

[nordy]

First of all, Welcome to the Boards!
The issue with having mixed salt water around is dust or other stuff getting into the water as it sits around and then contaminating it. How do you mix it up? I like to put the salt and ro/di water in a bucket, put in a small heater and powerhead, then let it aerate and get good and mixed up. How big is your tank and how much do you mix up at a time?
Technically, it shouldn't foster growth of bacteria and algae since there should not be any nutrients (nitrates and light) in the freshly mixed up water, especially if you use ro/di but I wouldn't leave it for more than a week. keeping it warm, aerated, and ready for use will cause some small evaporative losses so recheck the salinity if you do leave it sitting and circulating for more than a few days.
I do my water changes weekly-mix it up Friday night, change it out on Saturday night.

 

[chrisandjeno]

I only have a Biocube, so it is quite small which is why I want to be able to keep water on hand to do frequent partaial water changes. I do not have R/O equipment yet however, it will be a purchase in the near future. I unfortunalty live in a renatal so I am limited to room and a whole bunch of extra hardware.. I plan to soon move back into a house where I can make more perminant arrangements with r/o and housing larger tanks.
With my current situation, my goal is to keep the water fresh and keep the livestock healthy..
I usually mix about 5 gal at a time however would like to keep an extra 5gal on hand ready to go for the next weeks partial change.
I have considered making a larger amount just to have ready to go, but that was where I had been unsure how long it would be ok.
So, if I make like 20 or 30 gal and keep a lid on it with a pump and heater it should in theory be okay to keep on hand?
I have a new baby so time is short lately.. thats why I want to get ahead when I do have the time...

 

[ilovemytank]

Use a 5 gallon bucket with a lid on it. The lid doesn't have to be secure but that will prevent most debris or dust from getting in it. As long as you keep the water airated and moving it will not settle and be fine. I make 50 gallons of saltwater at a time in one of the large heavy duty 64 gallon recyling garbage containers on wheels. I use a heater and two mag 7s and can close the lid. When its ready I roll it over and pump it into my tank. Welcome to the boards and have func !