[gramma royale]

Hi again,

Just wondering for the sake of wondering, but how long does it take you guys to mix saltwater, how do you do it, and what brand salt do you guys use?

[CaptainK]

Hi gramma royale,
I run my tap water through the Aquarium Pharm. TapWater Purfier first. Then I add Instant Ocean to this water in a 5 gallon bucket per the instructions on the bag. Then I leave an airstone in there over night to let the salt disolve and stabilize in this water.
If it gets cold during the nights you may also want to have a small heater in the mix so you do not shock the main tank when adding the newly mixed water.

HTH,
CaptK

[cod]

I use Instant Ocean. I mix with a PH and aerate for at least 24hrs. I make sure water is at tank temp before measuring s.g., and, as capt.K pointed out, so it won't "shock" the system. Also, I make a few extra gals. each time so I have some on hand in case of emergency

[schrocat]

Howdy...
IO here also.

I utilize a few constantly rotating yet content specific 35 and 50 gallon plastic trashcans. The cans are marked SALT...FRESH...and WASTE, just to make sure misidentification doesn't occur.

I make 70 gallons of water on change week. (normally it's 15-20 gallons per week as needed for evaporation)
35-50 gallons reserved for salt make water...the rest stays fresh for top off.

Spectrapure RO/DI unit fills the can (or cans)...add premeasured IO slowly.
Then I throw a monster powerhead into the trashcan and seal up the lid.
Wait a few hours.
Jiggle powerhead around to sweep any salt mix off the bottom of the can.
Check salinity with refractometer.
Adjust mix if neccesary.
Jiggle powerhead some more as needed.

I always wait at least 24 hours after I get the desired reading off the refractometer...just to make sure.

I use up my salt water pretty quickly...never kept it more than a week or so.

Fresh water covered, sealed, with a powerhead in the container has kept for weeks (by me) with no problems.

HTH

[icemark]

I make 6 gal batches using IO. I have a 7 gal food grade bucket from a home brew supply store, that works perfect. I use that bucket as it is easy to carry /move to the different tanks. Much larger, and its too hard to carry and dump in. Smaller batches also allows me to alter the salinity as needed much easier, for the tank that the water is going into.

Generally, I too use the the Aquarium Pharm. TapWater Purfier first, or when the cartriage is dirty and I have not got a new one yet carbon, and mix up the salt into the bucket while it is filling. I Let the new salt water sit for a couple of hours or overnight, stirring occasionally, so that the salt is well dissolved.

I also dump/or pump the water into the sumps rather than the tanks directly as I figure its getting additional mixing and less likely to shock the flora and fauna of the main tanks.