Can salt go bad?

[curtismaximus]

I've got a buddy that has some old Reef crystals for sale. the box is gone but it says 2012 on the packages. I just want to make sure it's still good before I buy it.

 

[curtismaximus]

Some had hardened and some were not. Should I not use the hard ones?

 

[acroholic]

I've used Instant Ocean that was hard in the bag. Put it in water and it dissolves right away. Never had an issue. I would not worry about it, personally.

 

[curtismaximus]

Yea its IO reef crystals so I might give it a try.

Thanks for the advise guys.

 

[joseayes]

Yes, calcium will precipitate out, I don't know about the rest of the chemicals, but I had purchased a hard rock IO saltmix and what I noticed on my mixing 25gallons container is that lots of white dust settle on the bottom, even if I left an skimmer pump for keep stirring the saltwater that won't dissolve anymore, however I have used almost all of that box and haven't had an issue, I'm just adding a CA solution to raise level where I wanted, even so I don't have any sps or clams nor calcium demand, but what I can see is purple coralline growth up. I think its just depends on your tank needs for choosing the right salt and the age of it.