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Water storage/mixing questions

yngplo

Supporting Member
Hey folks, I've been getting pretty tired of making RO/DI water and mixing it in the same day, so I've decided to look into buying some brute trash cans or some storage to store RO/DI water and salt water.


When you mix your salt water, do you mix it warm or do you mix it cold? How long can you store mixed salt water? Do you always need to have a pump running, and does the salt water always need to be heated while storing

I was looking into some 55 gallon food grade barrels, but it seems that brute cans would be easier to get my hands on.
 
I mix my water with a return pump and it created enough heat for the volume of water I mix so I don’t use a heater. I mix and then use half the water for a water change and save the other half for another water change.

When I’m going to use the stored water I mix it until it reaches the tanks temp then I use it. I use tm pro salt which doesn’t seem to leave much residue and I haven’t experienced issues leaving it without a pump. But I do not store it for long.
 
for red sea coral pro I keep it unheated and use my arm to stir. with high alk mixes the longer it sits the colder and more stagnant it should be
 
I have an auto-water-exchange system, so definitely keep salt water mixed for a month or two easy.

I mix it hot/cold/whatever the weather makes it, and system is in an outside shed.
I keep a tiny powerhead in it, always running.
Works fine for standard IO and RS blue-bucket.

*** I would NOT leave some of the "enhanced level" or "amino added" premium mixes sitting like that.
 
Check the instructions for the salt that you use. Depending on what is in it, the manufacturer will recommend the optimal temperature to dissolve their salt. It also depends on how fast you are going to use it.

IIRC, Red Sea Coral Pro is recommended to be mixed cold. Mixed for less than 4 hours then used immediately. It is not recommended to be held for longer than 4 hours. I've experienced brown residue when I let RSCP sit for too long.
 
I don’t know if anyone ever really addressed what exactly is in the brown residue, but I think it’s basically bacteria that may be helping to precipitate out other stuff. I noticed the more brown stuff is already in my container the more I end up with next time, when it’s cleaned between mixes I never get it, and seems to worsen if I leave the lid off, or contaminate it with display water.

By this theory a mix that contains less ammonia and P, like Tropic Marin which claims zero, should be less prone to brown crud. I guess this could be tested by measuring the ammonia and P in a fresh mix and then after the brown crud forms.
 
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