Issues With Salt

[Straydum]

here it goes, i dumped 2kg of Red Sea marine salt into 30g of water. the packet says 1kg = 30L of water, which means 30g requires around 4kg of salt and i would have to get another 2kg more. the shop at my area only has the 4kg pack and for me to get the 2kg would mean some traveling quite a distance (which would not be guaranteed to have the 2kg pack either).

so i'm asking if i get the 4kg pack, how long can i keep the remaining 2kg? i mean the salt would be unsealed and exposed to air (water vapor) and all. is it safer to get the 2kg pack over the 4kg?

edit: just took an sg reading, already 1.019

 

[Crazy fishes]

Provided you put in an air tight container there really isn't any limit on how long salt can last in a usable state. If you put it in an air tight container and when you are going to using it look to see if it has stuck together (which is usually due to moisture in the air) break it down into granular form and ensure it is dry. Then it is fine to use again.
Just interested how long you have been using Red sea marine salt? I used the stuff back at the start of my marine campaign and it is awful stuff; chemistry all over the place and even salinity fluctuated. How have you found it??

Hope the former helps

Regards

 

[Straydum]

thanks i was considering air tight and now i'm more certain it'd work. hmm it's my start at marine too so i can't compare it to other salts. salinity went up by 0.001 since my last post which should be due to the undissolved salt i see on the sand bed. now its 1.020 with no salt crystals being visible. i'll update any changes here though

just a thought, my sg is already close to 1.021 which is more or less ideal right? so do i actually need to put in 2kg more as the packet says, just to bring it up by 0.001

 

[Crazy fishes]

A specific gravity of 1.021 is too low; aim for 1.024-1.026 that is more in keeping with the oceans. The nitrate should be less than 10ppm, phosphate less than 0.003ppm (salifert kits read reliably to this level), pH 8.1-8.4, Kh alkalinity 8-13 (try to keep in the higher end of the range 11-13), calcium 380-450ppm and ammonia and nitrite should be ZERO which is obvious if you have any idea of fish keeping. I believe you have kept freshwater fish before so marine isn't that different from the water conditions of african cichlids. Of course salinity is higher but alkaline hard water is the essences.

Do you have any live stock in the tank yet??

Regards

 

[Straydum]

ah okay. i always thought alkalinity was 6-9KH, though now i know better. i'd get the water up to the ideal stats tomorrow and probably get my first batch of live rock too nope there's nothing in there now except a piece of rock from my previous freshwater setup which i think could be converted to live rock eventually.

thanks for your help