Fillinf 100g for first time

[Michael Gray]

What's beat way to mix saltwater for a 100g tank. Initial fill for cycling. Do I mix 50g at a time in my mixing station and make more and mix and pump or do I fill entire tank with rodi water. then just slowly pour salt in display and let pumps just mix the water. Is thia ok with sand and Marco rock??

 

[Old Fritz]

For initial tank setup you can pour the salt in most of the time for smaller tanks, however for a hundred gallon unless you have a lot of flow it will probably fall to the bottom, solidify, and take a literal day to mix up. I use a 35 gallon rubbermaid garbage can to mix salt in and if I pour too much salt it will do that. Best to mix slowly imo

 

[Biokabe]

Generally speaking, it's okay to do on your first fill only, when there's no life in the tank; as saltwater mixes, it goes through pH swings and occasionally releases heat. Bacterial life is generally robust enough to survive the mixing process.

But as @Old Fritz said, you will need to take steps to keep the salt in suspension until it mixes with the water. If you are going to mix in the tank, add the salt right next to a powerhead, and only add in a little at a time until you've achieved your desired salinity.

 

[PatW]

I would mix in separate batches. It will not hurt the tank to be partially full for a day or two.

 

[Qasimja]

i just did a 150g tank with 30g sump i placed my rock and sand then mixed the salt inside the tank after i filled with rodi and had all my pumps and returns running as long as you have power heads and returns running the salt mixes quickly just need to add a little at a time could also try adding the salt to the return section of your sump if your running one i did both