Salt?

[bcarp]

I keep my top off water in a 35 gallon rubber maid container. I have a heater and powerhead running all the time. I dont want to mix the salt into the tub. When I go to do water changes can I just fill up a bucket with the water in the rubber maid then mix the salt in and put in the tank right away? Or should the water be aerated again with the salt in it before it goes into the tank?

 

[needhelp]

ya you can do it

 

[bdubbya]

They way I was told to do it, is to add the salt and let it aerate for 8 to 12 hours. Not sure why probably just to make sure the salt disolves. HTH.

 

[bcarp]

What?

 

[wrassecal]

I kind of do the opposite. I have a non aerated bucket of top off ro water and I keep a bucket for water changes. I add salt, small powerhead and wait 24 hours to do the water change. I think one of the reasons to do it this way is to get a correct sg reading on the water you using for the change. I have noticed when I first mix and when I add I can get different readings. If I have to make minor addtions to the change water I do not wait another 24 hours, just check it an hour ahead or so. HTH

 

[madd catt]

Let the salt Disolve and to airate completely before use.There is more to salt dissolving than just being clear something to due with hydrogen ions.Its not good to mix undissolved salt to a tank with fish in it.Each saltmix should have thier own instrutions on the bag.

 

[wildblue4]

look at your salinty levels before adding saltwater back into the tank. for just topping off your tank you will probably not even need salt in the water. some people complain that there tank salinty levels get out of range and cant figure out why. well as the water evaporates most of the salt stays in the tank so all you need to add is water. just a little help.

 

[frankl15207]

You should let the salt dissolve for 24 hours, preferably in moving water before adding it to a tank. The salinity on newly mixed salt can climb considerably from the time that it looks completely dissolved.

 

[bcarp]

Thank you for the responses. I have talked to other people. They say they will dump salt right into the tank or mix it in a bucket let it sit for fifteen min. then check salinity then put it right into the tank. Would it be that bad to do if you are only changing 5 gallons a week? I will probably aerate the water for atleast 24 hours before I put it in the tank. Thanks again!

 

[bluemarlin]

In this hobby it is very good to be safe rather than sorry. Don't get in a hurry. Never add salt directly to your tank. Never add a newly mixed bucket of saltwater to your tank either. I don't wait 24 hours but I do wait about 5-6 hours before adding the new water. Keep in mind too what was mentioned earlier, you do not have to add salt to the water when you are topping off. The salt does not evaporate just the water does.

 

[bcarp]

I have a seperate 35 gallon rubber maid airated and heated for my top off water. I was going to use this water to for water changes and just add salt then put into the tank. So I guess I better let the salt dissolve first for 5 or 6 hours even if i have good airated and heated to right temp. water?

 

[joerdie]

Originally posted by wildblue4:
<strong>look at your salinty levels before adding saltwater back into the tank. for just topping off your tank you will probably not even need salt in the water. some people complain that there tank salinty levels get out of range and cant figure out why. well as the water evaporates most of the salt stays in the tank so all you need to add is water. just a little help.</strong><hr></blockquote>
accually all of the salt stays when water evaporates the only time i have ever had to add salt when topping off was on my old tank i didnt have a lid and i had salt creep so bad that there was salt everywhere outside of the tank. but even then i only had to add a little salt to rectify the creep problem. (and add a lid)

 

[broomer5]

I have always had better pH readings, alkalinity and calcium readings by first aerating RO/DI water overnight, then mix saltmix to close to the desired salinity, let this mix overnight with powerhead/airstone/heater .... then the next day tweek the salinity, check for temperature, run any other tests you want ( if you want to ) and then proceed to do the water change.
Doing it any other way than this your choice.
I've just developed this habit and it seems to work very well for me now, and my test result numbers are on the money.
In my opinion, it's best to mix the saltwater overnight, or at least several hours prior to adding to living tank.