Can I use stored saltwater that has been sitting?

[Leon Gorani]

I have a brute trash can with a little bit of saltwater I mixed a few weeks ago. It has just been sitting with no water movement the whole time and no heat, is it safe to use for my tank?
How do I need to store my water when mixed with salt? Does it need to have circulation and does it need to stay heated after it is mixed with salt in the brute trash can ???

 

[Old Fritz]

When I was at petco we used a brute garbage can to make salt water. We had a plumbing issue once where we couldn't use the drains for like two weeks and also during this time a bunch of the outlets stopped working (wonderful isn't it that everything seems to break around the same time lol) anyways I had a brute garbage can with no heat no flow and it was already a week old when everything started going wrong. Just to be safe I tested the water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate and got no readings. I used it and had no issues. I think it can pretty much be stored indefinitely

 

[zalick]

My non- scientific answer: I'd put a pump in there and mix for an hour to make sure it's oxygenated, then use it. Ive done it a ton.

Curious to see if there is a chemistry related reason not to use it.

 

[Darsh]

I agree with the others. Give it a mix for a while and it should be fine.

 

[WiscoFishNut]

I'd test salinity in case there was significant evaporation

 

[Mortie31]

With some Of the high alkalinity brands you may have got some alkalinity precipitation, other than that it will be fine..

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The concern for aeration is much higher in a mix that has organics in it. Like vitamins. If those smell like rotten eggs, don’t use it. Most mixes are fine. I stored normal IO for a month or more unstirred while I used it.