salt mixing question

[winkkle]

Can you over mix salt? I have been mixing for about 48hrs because ive been too busy to bottle it. Now there is a some brownish film on the top and around the container. Im thinking its just algae but should i scrap this water and start new water or will this still be ok?

 

[winkkle]

Nah red sea pro. I thought ive read about things precipitating out if u continually mix it but i dont know.

 

[winkkle]

so would u use this batch still?

 

[ryansg1986]

it shouldnt be a problem to keep it moving. ive never had a brown film, but i keep my salt water circulating with a pump non stop to make sure the water doesnt sit stagnant. occasionally i get some foam and thats about it.

 

[darren24]

I have let mine sit for several days with no issues. I use RC and it leaves a whiteish crust in my water mixing bucket but I hear that is normal.

 

[winkkle]

I mix it in a 20gal brute with a maxi jet 900 so there is strong movement. Im thinking it might be algae from the bathroom light being on.

 

[tinmanunited]

what do you think it's doing when it's in your tank.

 

[oil_fan]

I always seem to get build up in my mixing tank. I try to take my pressure washer to it every few months to blast it out. But it just comes back... But the water itself is always fine.

 

[seth the wine guy]

With salts like RS Coral Pro and Salinity, you don't want to keep it mixing. Causes precip. Especially on pumps. You want to do a quick mix and dump with those.

 

[grouper therapy]

How in the world can you mix it too much when you are about to put it in a tank that has 100 times the flow and is mixing 24/7???

Edit:

Seth The Wine Guy;815999 wrote: With salts like RS Coral Pro and Salinity, you don't want to keep it mixing. Causes precip. Especially on pumps. You want to do a quick mix and dump with those.

So what happens when you dump it ? Does it magically stop mixing in the display tank? No no don't tell me., the MP's have a sensor that detects new lightly mixed saltwater and will not allow it into the propeller area or in the magical undertow!

 

[winkkle]

That's what I thought too that u can't over mix, but I've never mixed it for more than 24hrs until this time and I've never had brownish film in the water until this time.

 

[rdnelson]

I use RSCP and regardless of the mix time I get the same results. I tend to mix it a couple hours before use but have mixed it a week in advance with no issues that I could see.

 

[grouper therapy]

The only time I would ever do a quick mix and dump is in a an emergency. If my salt cannot be mixed days ahead of time I'm not sure I want it in my system where it will be constantly mixed.

 

[jef4y]

I believe the brown stuff is just some simple alage. I used to mix 30 gal at a time and leave it while I did 5 gal changes weekly on my biocube. It would sit for over a month, mixing, and would get a brown grunge on the inside of the container. Many people said this was common so I ignored it. Never had an issue or problem using that water.

 

[seth the wine guy]

grouper therapy;816022 wrote: How in the world can you mix it too much when you are about to put it in a tank that has 100 times the flow and is mixing 24/7???

Edit:
So what happens when you dump it ? Does it magically stop mixing in the display tank? No no don't tell me., the MP's have a sensor that detects new lightly mixed saltwater and will not allow it into the propeller area or in the magical undertow!

I tend to believe the people that manufacture the product. (Unlike a pump or skimmer manufacturer they have nothing to gain and much to lose by giving bad info) Especially when my own experience reinforces their reasoning. Red Sea told me the same about their RS Coral Pro salt when I asked them about it at MACNA. Dave, don't you use IO? I used to and would let it mix a week with no precip. Maybe because there's little to precip out?

Like most people in the hobby, I didn't make some grand discovery. I simply found the source of factual information a regurgitated for others. Or, have you discovered something about these salts their manufacturers don't know?

Seachem;792145 wrote: @nmr2930

salinity is unlike any other salt currently produced and also has a tendency of behaving a little different. Any cloudiness will not be harmful if used but there are a few things that can help reduce clouding and deposits.

First, always mix at room temperature. The warmer the water, the more cloudiness is typically seen. Also, we have found that using a smaller pump really helps. I personally use a medium sized Koralia ( sorry, don't remember the model) to mix my 30 gallon vats at home and have no issues with cloudiness and residue. As strange as it sounds, it seems that the more agitation, the more cloudy the water gets. Lastly, we recommend using the salt within 24 hours, even if still cloudy. The cloudiness will clear fairly fast once added to the aquarium and will not harm any of the inhabitants. The longer any salt is mixed, the more time it has for the properties to degrade. CO2 dissolves into the solution from the surrounding atmosphere and will slowly break down components of the alkalinity. Using the mix within 24 hours helps reduce this effect.

I mix my 30 gallons in my garage and use the mix within an hour of two. Generally I have my RODI in the container a day or two before and don't start mixing until I am ready for my water change. I then add two big scoops of salinity and turn on the pump. Somewhere in the middle of cleaning up the tank I will check the salinity and make any adjustments which are typically very small. Then once I am finished in the tank I pump the water over and am done. My mix is almost always crystal clear and leaves very very little residue at the bottom of the drum.

I hope you find some of this info helpful, please let us know if we can help further.

 

[eagle9252]

i never had a problem in the past mixing Salinity un til i heated the water first, then it turned cloudy but got better when put in the tank. i always mix overnight or for several hours.

when i was using IO i noticed my pump (mag7) not working as good as before. i mixed about 300 gal of salt and pump screen and pump was covered in a thick chalk or crust.

cleaned it all off about the time i switched to RSCP. i have ran 350gal and now i have switched back to salinity with now problems. i did cut the last 3 batches 1/2 RSCP and 1/2 salinity. it like night and day all of my corals have perked back up :^) i can wait untill the next wc and it will be all salinity.:dance:

 

[grouper therapy]

Seth Two questions for you.
Where does it explain the difference how mixing in the w/c barrel differs than mixing in the display tank? The exposure to CO2 in the smaller container is logically less than the larger surface of the display no?
Second Regardless of where the precip occurs why would you want it to take place at all!! As per a reply by Seachem that which precipitates is useless to the system unless it is dissolved again!

Edit: The seachem rep mixes in his garage as well. If a vehicle is parked there I cannot imagine How the co2 levels are elevated:unsure:

Edit: I did discover that my system appeared to do just as well with IO as it did the 6 different salts that I have tried over the last 6 years. I also discovered that you cannot mix salt too much . I did discover in the quote you posted that seachem basically says that if you want to minimize the cloudiness in the mixing container just finish the mixing in the display tank and allow the cloudiness there. Then you can set back and watch your additional calcium /money precip in front of you.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

grouper therapy;816022 wrote: How in the world can you mix it too much when you are about to put it in a tank that has 100 times the flow and is mixing 24/7???

Edit:
So what happens when you dump it ? Does it magically stop mixing in the display tank? No no don't tell me., the MP's have a sensor that detects new lightly mixed saltwater and will not allow it into the propeller area or in the magical undertow!

Theres this thing in your aquarium that your mixing tank doesnt have. It's called "life". Metabolism. Consumption. Production. Ionic exchange. Amino acids. Proteins. Etc etc etc. There is a LOT of this in the aquarium which would react differently to mixing saltwater than your mixing tank.

 

[grouper therapy]

Seth The Wine Guy;816039 wrote: I tend to believe the people that manufacture the product. (Unlike a pump or skimmer manufacturer they have nothing to gain and much to lose by giving bad info) Especially when my own experience reinforces their reasoning. Red Sea told me the same about their RS Coral Pro salt when I asked them about it at MACNA. <u>Dave, don't you use IO? I used to and would let it mix a week with no precip. Maybe because there's little to precip out?</em></u>

Like most people in the hobby, I didn't make some grand discovery. I simply found the source of factual information a regurgitated for others. Or, have you discovered something about these salts their manufacturers don't know?

Sure do and yes I had little to no precip out. There was probably little to precip out in the water column since the dinner plate size colonies utilized most of it .

Edit:

jmaneyapanda;816066 wrote: Theres this thing in your aquarium that your mixing tank doesnt have. It's called "life". Metabolism. Consumption. Production. Ionic exchange. Amino acids. Proteins. Etc etc etc. There is a LOT of this in the aquarium which would react differently to mixing saltwater than your mixing tank.

So why the cloudiness in some display tank? The same life is in the system that used the IO that was mixed a week ahead of time.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

grouper therapy;816067 wrote: Sure do and yes I had little to no precip out. There was probably little to precip out in the water column since the dinner plate size colonies utilized most of it .

Edit:
So why the cloudiness in some display tank? The same life is in the system that used the IO that was mixed a week ahead of time.

Because IO and Salinity use different materials in creation. VERY different. Comparing the two salts is like comparing a flip flop and a high end walking shoe. Both cover your feet and both with allow you protection when walking, but they are made different and are used differently.