Salt Mix

[alindell21]

So salt mix is expensive and I am curious were you guys get yours for an affordable price. The tank I will be setting up is a 75 gallon and I do not plan on making it "high end" reef tank meaning I will stick to softies and maybe some easy SPS like birdnest or porcillopora. What do you recommend? Where can I buy it? Price is important as I am trying to do this tank on a budget and also another question is, we are going to do automatic water changes using plumbing and a storage bin, how long can we hold salt water in the storage bin. We will be performing 10 gallons every two weeks for the 75. Also are there any special tips you have in mind for storing and mixing salt as i want to water changes simple and effective such as simply drain water and add new water. What do you do for storing and mixing? I heard it is better to add the salt slowly going by 1/3 the amount you add and fully dissolve it and let it sit until adding more thirds until you get the the salinity and temp for what you want and then doing the water change the next day, so basically an overnight process.

 

[Irishman]

I use Fritz pro reef sat that retails around $50 I think. I add all the salt at once and it's usable as soon as it's all dissolved, mixes and dissolves real quick with a 700GPH return pump. I keep my mix in a 30 gallon brute trash can with the pump and heater always running. You always want the mix to be moving so it doesn't settle. I use a heater in it so I don't have to worry about heating up the mix before I do a water change.

 

[alindell21]

so as long as you kept it the moving and stirred in that brute, how long do you think you can have it in there?

 

[timnem70]

I am going to switch after my Fritz is gone. My Mag. Readings are consitently over 1480. It has really high mag. and since I have a 30 gallon cube, water changes bi monthly don't afford me the opportunity to adjust that particular parameter without messing with the rest. The ONLY way I am aware of getting Mag. in compliance say around 1350 or so is to add RODI but with a tank this small the Specific gravity wouldn't be okay. Although if any element in the tank is high, mag. at least doesn't appear to have any real adverse effects... Ulike DKH or Calcium. Both of those in my case are where they belong. Ca.440 and Dog at 9.

 

[timnem70]

Dkh. Oops

 

[rjl45]

so as long as you kept it the moving and stirred in that brute, how long do you think you can have it in there?

I keep my water in 5gal buckets and throw a power head in and stir/heat the water for an hour before water changes. As long as the water is covered so dust and contaminants can't get in, it'll last a long time.

 

[SynDen]

I use Fritz, but Instant Ocean reef crystals are also a good option. I like fritz though as it always mixes consistently and with numbers that are in range of my reef tank, its also fairly inexpensive. I bought the current batch with a group buy we organized not long ago. We also should have Fritz becoming a sponsor soon, which will mean lots of chances for group buys in the future too.

 

[aquarius]

Salinity

 

[Walter White]

Plain ol Instant Ocean purple box.
Been used on amazing reefs around the world probably longer than any thing else.
I buy on Amazon for 35-40$ for a 200g box shipping included
Mixes to about 1.026 at a ratio of 1 bag to 45 gallons of water.
Use cool room temperature rodi and a strong power head and pump. Mixing in cool water prevents precipitation that can occur in the water and on heaters.
Add the entire bag to the entire amount of water, never the other way around.
Use mag sulfate crystals to adjust to 1350 then add calcium chloride to adjust to 420. BRS calculator makes this a snap. Space mixing each component at least 1-2 hours allowing salt mix to fully dissolve then the mag then the calcium.
As long as container is sealed to prevent evap and is constantly agitated it keeps for months at a time.

This is just what I do I find it works every bit a well as any premium brand salt I have ever tried and costs a fraction of the price. It's a tad more work but you get a fairly customized blend that has been proven throughout the years at the cheapest price possible.

 

[Walter White]

Other question I didn't answer.
Food grade brute trash can works great. Personally I'd through an external pump on it with some bulk heads and some additional plumbing with a hose to make moving the water easier but the fancier you get the more it will cost. I let my water age a least a week before using it but I'm sure 24 hrs is just fine. Depending on your setup and its location it can be set up so that all you need to two is turn a couple valves to change the water but this can be difficult to explain without understanding your sump design, And where it will be located in relation to the salt vat and if you have a sewage line accessible. This kind of setup may not be possible on your system but If you are interested in learning more about this you can pm me.

 

[alindell21]

Thank you Walter White, your answer is very helpful. Another question is do you dose minor trace elements, like potassium or strontium to your salt mix or tank or is this not needed?

 

[Walter White]

Thank you Walter White, your answer is very helpful. Another question is do you dose minor trace elements, like potassium or strontium to your salt mix or tank or is this not needed?

I dont do it never have and personally dont feel a need for it. In my opinion I wouldn't trust the test kits out there to measure these trace elements accurately anyway and I dont believe you should dose anything you cant accurately measure. Any good salt mix should already have these trace elements and in my opinion can be easily maintained with regular water changes. Other may disagree, but if you read RHF's take on trace elements he basically states the same thing.

One thing I have found during my time in this hobby is keep it simple. If you are going to dose something make sure there is a reason you need to do it and understand why.

 

[jda123]

Hard to beat Instant Ocean. You can use it as-is for most mixed reefs. I doctor mine up a bit for my SPS tank, but not much. I mix the bags in a 44G brute which come out on the money every time - if you use the buckets, you have to stir up the mix since it can settle.

 

[alindell21]

where did you guys get the brutes and how do you know they are safe?

 

[aquarius]

There's been quite a bit of debate about whether or not the brutes leach phosphates into your water, I personally don't know as I've never used them but for sure something to think of. Before I bought my Ace Roto tanks I used 55 gallon barrels that were for food storage. Not sure if these ever leached phosphates but they were food safe so I imagine that they didn't. There's a place in north Broomfield area that sells them with a modified 8" screw on lid for about $40-$50 each if you're interested I can get you there number. I bought the black ones with a full screw off lid for $40 that were used for sausage casings because clean up and access was the best.

 

[Irishman]

I got mine at Home Depot and made sure they had the correct symbols on them.

Here is a link I used
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/plastics.html#foodgrade

 

[jda123]

Home depot or Lowes sells the brutes. Brutes are food safe. Once you are in the hobby for long enough, you will see everything blamed for phosphate, nitrate or the like. I saw a guy post once that he thought that nitrogen from the air in his home was fueling his algae and asked how he could get rid of all of the nitrogen. It was probably the salt.

You can order different size brutes online at uline - shipping is quite cheap for what it is.

Container Reclaimer is the guy who sells stuff - he is all over craigslist. Some of the stuff is OK and some is not. I got buckets from him to recylce oil that were used for oilfield bacteria killing and had hazardous materials on them. Also got some that had whey protein in them, which were probably OK if rinsed out enough. Get a brute and be safe.

 

[Balz3352]

I got two 55 drums from container reclaimer they were used for soy sauce. Snell really good. Just putting them through a washout cycle.