Found old salt buckets.. should use them?

[kamla]

hi

i was looking around my supplies and guess what i found 2 buckets of
Red Sea CORAL PRO SALT MIX (175 GALLON)

1 bucket is sealed up NOT even open, the other is 90% full, the slat seems a Bit clumped up but not much.

the salt is from 2012 :O

what do you guys think? can i use it?
BTW i am start a new tank, this is the ONLY salt i have.

Thax
Kamla

 

[Meat locker]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/does-reef-crystal-salt-go-bad.135424/

 

[andrewkw]

Mix them and find out. The sealed bucket should for sure be fine. The clumped bucket is very likely fine.

 

[KrisReef]

It should be fine for starting a tank. One it dissolved it’s good to go

 

[kamla]

thax guys,, for the quick help ...

i will mix up the slat and check.

so if the ALK levels are low then the salt is bad right?

 

[lapin]

After mixing, test the mix for the same things you test your tank water for. This will tell you what the difference is. If you have fish only then its not a problem. If you have sensitive sticks then .........

 

[shred5]

I do not care what anyone says salt goes bad.
I have had salt get old and when it clumps do not use it.
I have open sealed buckets that have clumped too.
There allot of chemicals overtime that loose potency or expire like allot of drugs we use. Why would it be any different for some of the chemical in salt?

You can usually tell because if you measure alk it will be off sometimes or sometimes it will leave a white film on the bucket from stuff not mixing right. Sometimes it will take more salt than normal too to make the same size batch and you can tell this way. I am not sure you can tell all the time by measuring just alk.

Personally if it is clumped don't use it for a reef.

How do I know this? I have tried using old buckets of salt before.

 

[jtl]

I have used old salt before with no issues but maybe it was not so old to cause problems. I mixed some up and tested before using it.

 

[kamla]

I have used old salt before with no issues but maybe it was not so old to cause problems. I mixed some up and tested before using it.

what should test for?
:)

Thax @shred5
Thax Kamla

 

[jtl]

what should test for?
:)

Thax @shred5
Thax Kamla

I did the big 3, alk, mg and ca.

 

[Dkeller_nc]

I do not care what anyone says salt goes bad.
I have had salt get old and when it clumps do not use it.
I have open sealed buckets that have clumped too.
There allot of chemicals overtime that loose potency or expire like allot of drugs we use. Why would it be any different for some of the chemical in salt?

You can usually tell because if you measure alk it will be off sometimes or sometimes it will leave a white film on the bucket from stuff not mixing right. Sometimes it will take more salt than normal too to make the same size batch and you can tell this way. I am not sure you can tell all the time by measuring just alk.

Personally if it is clumped don't use it for a reef.

How do I know this? I have tried using old buckets of salt before.

From a chemistry perspective, this is not quite true. Drugs and the like are generally organic chemicals, and they do oxidize or go through other reactions over time that could change their biological effect. It's also true that some drugs and other chemicals have expiration dates simply because that's how long the manufacturer thought was a reasonable time period for use, and simply doesn't have data to support any longer of an expiration (the FDA requires proof for expiration claims).

In contrast, most of the chemicals in salt mixes are inorganic, and they're usually ionic salts of inorganic substances. The reason that salt clumps over time is a reaction between the calcium chloride and sodium carbonat/bicarbonate in the mixture to form insoluble calcium carbonate. If that happens to a large degree, the dissolved salt will yield a seawater mixture that's low in alkalinity and calcium. But at that point it's likely to be so hard that it's not worth mixing up and supplementing back to specification.

But no, the chemicals in salt mixes don't "go bad" the way something like an antibiotic on the shelf does.

 

[shred5]

From a chemistry perspective, this is not quite true. Drugs and the like are generally organic chemicals, and they do oxidize or go through other reactions over time that could change their biological effect. It's also true that some drugs and other chemicals have expiration dates simply because that's how long the manufacturer thought was a reasonable time period for use, and simply doesn't have data to support any longer of an expiration (the FDA requires proof for expiration claims).

In contrast, most of the chemicals in salt mixes are inorganic, and they're usually ionic salts of inorganic substances. The reason that salt clumps over time is a reaction between the calcium chloride and sodium carbonat/bicarbonate in the mixture to form insoluble calcium carbonate. If that happens to a large degree, the dissolved salt will yield a seawater mixture that's low in alkalinity and calcium. But at that point it's likely to be so hard that it's not worth mixing up and supplementing back to specification.

But no, the chemicals in salt mixes don't "go bad" the way something like an antibiotic on the shelf does.

Well that may be true, I am not a chemist but I have had buckets go bad that are old.
Some were sealed and the bucket had got slightly hard. You could still get a scoup through and break it up but they measured out wrong.
Sounds like it must go bad if you read what you posted above in bold. Insoluble sound like wont mix up right.
Maybe other things react with each other also? I do not know but I have had buckets that are bad. I have had bags with holes in that come in boxes bad.

 

[kamla]

my salt is not THAT hard.

its a bit clumpy but when u run it it breaks apart into fine salt..


hope that makes sense...... :)

kamla

 

[Dkeller_nc]

Shred - What I'm getting at is that salt doesn't go "bad" in the way that food or other organic compounds can, in that they can degrade into toxins and/or grow bacteria. There might be an exception for a salt mix that contains a lot of organics, but for most salt mixes, yes, you'll get insoluble calcium carbonate "sludge" at the bottom of the mixing barrel, and they may be depleted in calcium and alkalinity. Perhaps to the point of needing supplementation, but using salt like this isn't going to harm your reef (other than the calcium and alkalinity, which you can test for).