Mixing saltwater and precipitation

[PJs_Bucket_List]

A few more questions for today, y'all. This time regarding mixing the saltwater. How common is "precipitation", which (from what I've read) makes the water unusable? What should I do to avoid this? How quickly, or slowly, do you add your salt mix to the water? When should I check the salinity? I've never done this before, and I'd hate to waste all that time, water, and salt mix. Please give me specific details. Think OCD, nerdy, makes lists and does science experiments for fun type .. that's me. Thanks!

 

[shanepike]

Each salt mix I've seen has its own directions for mixing, and they're often quite different (mix at room temp vs warm up water first, mix for 15 minutes vs mix for at least 2 hours, use immediately vs can be stored for several weeks, etc.).

I've never heard of precip making the water unusable. I would assume that it makes it less valuable since something is precipitating out, but you can minimize it (or eliminate it altogether) by following the specific mixing instructions for the salt you're using.

 

[Steve Burton]

Precipitation generally refers to dosing, (most commonly alkalinity). When the base liquid (saltwater) is saturated with the dosing element, the excess dosing element becomes solid, making the excess unavailable, the saltwater is still ok. You want to prevent precipitation because the solid hardens on surfaces in the water and because it is wasteful.