How high can I mix Instant Ocean before I have to worry about precipitation?

[Sisterlimonpot]

@Randy Holmes-Farley ,

I'm wanting to mix above 35ppt but i'm afraid there will be mass precipitation. So, I have 2 questions...

How high can the ppm get before I start to worry about precip?

And can you recommend a good source of just salt that would be safe to use in a reef tank? The goal here is to mix IO to a safe level and then use straight salt to achieve the targeted ppm.

Thanks
Jimmy

 

[Saltyreef]

What are you trying to do here?

Mix the instant ocean to 35ppt and be done....

If you want a boost in elements, buy that element in liquid form (bionic is my go to) and dose it to the 35ppt water......
Test of course to see where you are before and after....

 

[Saltyreef]

Or use reef crystals

 

[MaxM]

Saturation for sea salts is 10 times the concentration of sea water. Anything below that 10 fold value should remain liquid.

That said, different mineral components may be more soluble than others so I would stay below saturation for any of the major minerals.

Look up saturation values for the top 5 ingredients in your salts mix.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

What are you trying to do here?

Mix the instant ocean to 35ppt and be done....

If you want a boost in elements, buy that element in liquid form (bionic is my go to) and dose it to the 35ppt water......
Test of course to see where you are before and after....

It's a bit more complex than what a normal reefer does. Increasing or decreasing major or minor elements isn't a concern.

I'm wanting to know how to mix to [let's say] 35ppm 35ppt and avoid precipitation.

 

[Saltyreef]

It's a bit more complex than what a normal reefer does. Increasing or decreasing major or minor elements isn't a concern.

I'm wanting to know how to mix to [let's say] 50ppm and avoid precipitation.

Good you tagged randy already.

Im just trying to figure out your reasoning.

Please digress so we can figure out alternatives

 

[((FORDTECH))]

It's a bit more complex than what a normal reefer does. Increasing or decreasing major or minor elements isn't a concern.

I'm wanting to know how to mix to [let's say] 50ppm and avoid precipitation.

We are all still wondering why you wanna do this and what you’re trying to accomplish maybe there’s a different way to go about it that we can help you with

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Good you tagged randy already.

Im just trying to figure out your reasoning.

Please digress so we can figure out alternatives

Exactly

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

For the sake of argument, let's call the questions hypothetical.

Hypothetically, how high can you mix "brand x" salt before having precipitation issues?

And based on that answer, can I source just reef safe salt [void of any trace elements] to avoid said precipitation so that I can mix to a higher concentration?

 

[Saltyreef]

 

[Roatan Reef]

You should mix according to instructions. I make 2.5 cups for 5 gallons, so 5 cups for 10 gallons. Why you want to add more than instructions tell you? I use same salt...btw

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

@Randy Holmes-Farley ,

I'm wanting to mix above 35ppt but i'm afraid there will be mass precipitation. So, I have 2 questions...

How high can the ppm get before I start to worry about precip?

And can you recommend a good source of just salt that would be safe to use in a reef tank? The goal here is to mix IO to a safe level and then use straight salt to achieve the targeted ppm.

Thanks
Jimmy

I doubt many of us have attempted this, so maybe you'll be a pioneer and teach us something
I'm sure you could mix in small batches and find the sweet spot of max salt and min precip.

As for adding "straight salt", non-iodized table salt is 100% sodium chloride... That's also the first ingredient in IO salt.

 

[Miami Reef]

For the sake of argument, let's call the questions hypothetical.

Hypothetically, how high can you mix "brand x" salt before having precipitation issues?

And based on that answer, can I source just reef safe salt [void of any trace elements] to avoid said precipitation so that I can mix to a higher concentration?

I don’t think anyone can “hypothetically” answer these questions. We need to know what your purpose for it is. Especially the 2nd question. Like, can you use Morton’s Iodized Salt?

There’s no context to go off of.

 

[Fishyfish22]

Instant ocean itself precipitates really easily. even mixing to 1.025 SG I find that there's always either a gross slime coating or white dusty residue in my mixing container. sometimes both. I swapped over to red sea coral pro and mix my salt up to around 1.038 and it will still mix clear. (it's the perfect level where I can add half salt and the remaining fresh into a 3rd container that I roll to my tank and have it be 1.025)

 

[killer2001]

I drip acclimated my freshwater molly @ 70ppt. Molly was in 2 gallons of freshwater and over the course of 5 to 6 hours I dripped 2 gallons of 70ppt into the bucket to finally achieve 35ppt to match my tank's salinity.

edit: I used RS blue bucket.

 

[Dan_P]

It's a bit more complex than what a normal reefer does. Increasing or decreasing major or minor elements isn't a concern.

I'm wanting to know how to mix to [let's say] 50ppm and avoid precipitation.

Just do it on a small batch and observe.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

I don’t think anyone can “hypothetically” answer these questions. We need to know what your purpose for it is. Especially the 2nd question. Like, can you use Morton’s Iodized Salt?

There’s no context to go off of.

perhaps injecting a salt brand was the beginning of the end for this thread. I think people are reading waaaaay too far into my question. Trying to figure out the why and losing focus on the questions. I get this site has devolved into people saving others from themselves. Let's operate on the assumption that the purpose of my questions is to glean information strictly for experimental purposes. Remove the notion that I want to raise salinity in my reef tank, remove the notion that I need to be saved from myself.

It's no secret that each brand of salt has their own "proprietary" blend of elements which will express precip sooner than other when adding salt blends too fast or at levels greater than 35ppt. I get that my question can be ambiguous, and I was just hoping for a ballpark answer (and perhaps that's why Randy hasn't answered).

But the question about sourcing an affordable reef safe sodium chloride should be easy to one to answer.

 

[Jmp998]

If you really have a need to do this, and it is so top secret and amazing you can’t say why, then just do it. Mix to 35 ppt. Add some more salt measured by weight or volume and wait for it to dissolve. Add some more and wait for it to dissolve. When it won’t dissolve any more, you have found your answer. If you just want to bump up the NaCl only, use a food-grade or better non-iodized salt.

 

[92Miata]

@Sisterlimonpot

Every time I've accidentally mixed RC higher than about 1.032, alkalinity has been screwy. I adjust the stuff down anyways, so that's not a big deal, but things definitely start happening.

 

[Dan_P]

perhaps injecting a salt brand was the beginning of the end for this thread. I think people are reading waaaaay too far into my question. Trying to figure out the why and losing focus on the questions. I get this site has devolved into people saving others from themselves. Let's operate on the assumption that the purpose of my questions is to glean information strictly for experimental purposes.

This critique seems a bit off the mark. The folks on this site are humans not machines. If you ask an “odd” question and then blow off answering the obvious question of “hey what are you doing”, then I feel you missed two opportunities, first to practice common courtesy and answer the question, and secondly, to learn something. There is nothing so off putting as asking a question and responding “shut up and just answer my question” (figuratively speaking of course).

As for gleaning information from folks, the original question wasn’t quite the optimum way to get what you wanted.