jnguyen4007 August 20, 2009 August 20, 2009 Does anyone know how long the salt water that we mix is good for if we don't use it all up after mixing it?
gsedlack August 20, 2009 August 20, 2009 I store it in my display tank for months at a time Just don't let a lot of stuff fall into it
jnguyen4007 August 20, 2009 Author August 20, 2009 I store it in my display tank for months at a time Just don't let a lot of stuff fall into it Do you keep your water circulated as well during storage?
onyx August 20, 2009 August 20, 2009 I keep mine for several weeks inside a brute trashcan. I keep the lid on and I have a heater and circulation. You don't want to let the water sit stagnant for any period of time. I like to have a full trash can on hand for whenever I need it.
bshriver August 20, 2009 August 20, 2009 I keep mine for several weeks inside a brute trashcan. I keep the lid on and I have a heater and circulation. You don't want to let the water sit stagnant for any period of time. I like to have a full trash can on hand for whenever I need it. Me too.
reefhunter August 20, 2009 August 20, 2009 I was under the impression you can let it sit (no ciruclation or heat) after you mix it.... anyone can confirm this?
Larry Grenier August 20, 2009 August 20, 2009 I was under the impression you can let it sit (no ciruclation or heat) after you mix it.... anyone can confirm this? Alternatively, can anyone confirm something bad happens to salt-water that has been sitting stagnant? If I had a batch sitting stagnant I would probably check and adjust the salinity and run a carbon/mechanical filter plus heater on if overnight just in case bugs or something got in there.
Steve G August 20, 2009 August 20, 2009 Over the last few years I've had mixed salt water sit for up to a couple of weeks with no circulation. So far no tank crashes. i keep a lid on it loosely and when it's time to use, let it heat/circulate overnight, re-checking salinity before the water change.
Boret August 20, 2009 August 20, 2009 I keep mine for over a week before I use it for a water change. I only keep 10 gallons as that is what I use every 2 weeks for a total of about 25% water change a month. I keep a tiny heater and a modded MJ1200 to keep it mixed. I have it covered to avoid dropping stuff in, but not sealed. Just a straight plastic piece over the container. I think is good to keep it agitated so it maintains a stable pH. I still test it for salinity, pH and temp before I put it in. I only test Calc, phos and alk when I use a new batch of salt. I mix it with a salinity slightly above my tank's to compensate for salt creep (plus I think you get more trace elements that way) I keep it at around 76.5 - 77 degrees. pH stays at around 8.2-8.3
reefhunter September 17, 2009 September 17, 2009 anyone else use stagnant water? I have a trashcan with salt water that has been sitting for 1.5 months stagnant.... I should probably just dump it and make new water....
lanman September 17, 2009 September 17, 2009 anyone else use stagnant water? I have a trashcan with salt water that has been sitting for 1.5 months stagnant.... I should probably just dump it and make new water.... you probably should... even though I'm sure it's fine; just aerate it good... bob
Mountaineer September 17, 2009 September 17, 2009 Just aerate and use - no big deal +1, but if it makes you feel better, maybe test all of the water parameters you would test your tank for. I used to buy pre-mixed salt water from stores in the Virginia Beach area that the store mixed and stored, and I had no idea how long that had been sitting, but I would guess quite a while.
dano September 17, 2009 September 17, 2009 I often use batches of ro/di salt water that have been sitting stagnant for months... maybe as long as 6 months. I then will add it as I do a water change without any further preparation other than checking salinity. If the water is really cold I will heat it to tank temperature but otherwise I will just add to tank as my tank runs hot and I think it is good to add some cooler water. Now I am not recommending that this is the best way to do any of these... it is just the way I've been doing it and it seems to work o'kay .... although now that I mention that I do have an issue with cyano... I don't know if that could potentially be related.
reefhunter September 18, 2009 September 18, 2009 well shoot... I am going to use it and see what happens... it looks and smells fine...
Steve175 October 4, 2009 October 4, 2009 Any issues w/ using the 1.5mo old SW. I always have 150G mixed and ready (for emergency) w/ 2 heaters and a circulating pump buy would like to save the electricity on the latter and only start them 24h before routine water changes.
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