Help On Adding Salt

[G7EG]

Hi all,

I have just filled up my big bucket with RO water (1st time doing this) and I also bought a box of salt from my LFS.

It says add a small amount to a cup? What kind of cup do they mean and what do they call a small amount? I haevnt a clue as it didn't come with a cup.

Also, when I have done the above and the salt is ok in the RO water. do i then put some of that into the hydrometer (after 24hrs) to see what the reading is? do i just lay it down and it will move (the arrow) to tell me how it is.

I guess after that I had it to the tank and repeat this process till my tank is full?

Cheers guys

 

[SkiFletch]

Get a measuring cup and start measuring out salt. You're going to want to add 0.5 cups per gallon for a 1.022sg and 1 cup per gallon for 1.027sg. If you're going fish only, 1.022 is fine, if you're keeping corals and reefs, you're gonna want around 1.026 or so. So if your bucket is 5 gallons, you want somewhere between 2.5 to 5 cups of salt. Stir the salt manually and if you can, leave it for 24 hours with a powerhead and heater. Remember, you cannot measure specific gravity (sg) accurately without the tank at 25c. sg is relative to temp so it needs to be up to temp before you measure

 

[G7EG]

Hi Mate,

THanks for the reply what would you class as a cup? I have a measuring jug which measures Pints, Fluid Ounces and Milliletres. Is this suitable?

How much is a cup full roughly? We are going FOWLR route only in a Jewel Rekord 180 tank size is three ft but I am not too sure on the gallons, Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, 2 cups are in one pint. For some volume converisons, go ahead and check out onlineconversion.com they're my savior

 

[G7EG]

Just working out how many gallons are in the bucket

 

[G7EG]

I have got the tank on the link below. Anyone know how many gallons it holds?

http/www.aquariumsuperstore.co.uk/mall/j...rio180black.asp

 

[G7EG]

Thanks for your help.

We have worked out that a safe point on our bucket to use is 4 gallons.
So if we are correct we will need a pint and a half of salt per bucket?

Didn't realise we needed so much salt !! Gunna have to buy loads more.

Once we have done the bucket after 24 hrs and it has been heated to 25 do we simply take a test on the Hydrometer and if it is showing 1.022sg we are good to go?

We will repeat this until the tank if full which looks like it could take weeks ha ha !!

 

[SkiFletch]

Lol, yeah it may take a while with only a 4 gallon bucket . If I were you I'd invest in a big platic storage bin. You can usually mix 20+ gallons in one of those. Set it up on a table or countertop, fill it with water and salt. add heaters, and powerhead, wait 24 hours. Then you can siphon it off into smaller containers to bring to the tank. Thats what I did/do at least

 

[G7EG]

Yeah I see wht you mean but after I have filled the tank up once after that it will only be about 20% of a water change, like 2 gallons or something.

Can't beleive I have to add like a pint and 1/2 of salt per bucket didn't think they had that much salt. In total when my tanks full it will have around 13 pints of salt crazy!

 

[mantis147]

skifletch why do you leave it for 24hrs? when i mix saltwater i use a 25ltr bucket & a powerhead add the RO to the bucket to heat it up i put the bucket in a sink of hot water until it reaches about 26c then add the salt gradually (dissolves instantly) keep measuring with the hydrometer until it reaches 1.025 the whole process takes me about 20mins.

 

[G7EG]

If I carry on the way im going and wait 24 hrs per bucket then each bucket is taking me around 2 days LOL

Should be ready in a month

 

[@ombomb]

The thinking behind leaving the water to age for a day is to make sure the pH is stable as it can often swing a little when first mixed. If you give it some time then the pH should be stable when you add it too the tank.

 

[G7EG]

Yeah thats no problem, will just take a while to fill the tank up.

Can't beleive it needs around 1 and 1/2 pints of salt per 4 gallons... seems crazy

 

[steelhealr]

Saltwater should be 'aged'. Although there are some people who don't do it and get away with it, mixing it up and using it immediately might not be wise:

1) aging allows full dissolution of all minerals, buffers, etc
2) aging allows aeration, oxygenation and equilibrating CO2 (of course, one uses a powerhead to mix). I aim my powerhead upward a bit so the water agitates on the surface.
3) freshly mixed salt water is reported to have a 'caustic' quality and aging reportedly lessens this.
4) see the maintenance pin in the Nano FAQ section on methods

SH

 

[mantis147]

I must just be lucky then, Ph always stays the same & i have done this for over a year doesnt seem to be a problem + i dont add any buffers.