How long before uncovered saltwater goes bad?

[leo12345]

I have a bucket of saltwater that im planning on using that has been sitting uncovered for 2-3 weeks. Would it be okay to use?

 

[AydenLincoln]

Is it being heated and aerated? What is the salinity and does it smell foul? Usually a clear indication is a foul smell. But I personally probably would use it after making sure the salinity is good and aerating it/heating it back up.

 

[leo12345]

Is it being heated and aerated? What is the salinity and does it smell foul? Usually a clear indication is a foul smell. But I personally probably would use it after making sure the salinity is good and aerating it/heating it back up.

It’s just stagnant

 

[AydenLincoln]

It’s just stagnant

If it doesn’t smell bad and there aren’t any debris in it. Then I would probably test it and use it after heating and aerating.

 

[leo12345]

Does it smell bad and are there any debris in it? If no to both of these then I would probably test it and use it after heating and aerating.

There’s some dust but i dont think it smells

 

[AydenLincoln]

There’s some dust but i dont think it smells

Okay that’s normal and mine gets that too even after a day so I would take a net or fine strainer and try and skim it out.

 

[brandon429]

That's the only way I'll store my saltwater. Open topped, in a pantry away from sprays, and I top it up and heat it in a sink for 4 mins before using. Never ever capped not ever


It's the only way to store saltwater safely unless you are throughly* cleaning the holding container regularly, which nobody really does.


We're all developing living micro layers in holding buckets, never cleaning them, on the walls and flooring our scum deposits show that's a living biosystem and it can crash in a capped holding setup (the infamous reefcrystals bucket brown=harmless=but a fitting example)

I've seen my own setup once left two weeks capped and when opened: horrible


But the same setup with the cap off, no storage limit found so far.

 

[brandon429]

Sure, lots of people cap it for fear of contamination. And they're also doing fractional % water changes where some low 02 water isn't harming much. In pico reefs where it's full changes, the water cannot be stressed whatsoever.