How long to store mixed salt water and how to store

[ying yang]

Hi there hope everyone ok.
Ok new to salt water and from my research,mainly watching brs videos,it led me to i will buy a 121 litre rubbermaid brute bin and lid and mix salt water with heater and power head and plan was mix enough water to last 1 month ( enough for 10% - possible 20% per week if needed) but at least enough fpr 10% wc
On advice of local lfs they said just buy a clean never used 25 litre bucket with lid from themselves ( which works out just under 10% ) as 300 litre display tank plus roughly 50- 60 litres in sump so probably 300 litres actual water in system.so bought 25 litre bucket then as stood outside lfs already regretted purchase as thinking the 121 litre brute bin would also act of somewhere to keep fish and corals ( when bought) if worse happens like leaking tank and need empty tank to fix.
So question is how much salt water do people mix in one go and how do you store it until needed to use it for a wc ? ( like keep it mixing with power head and keep it heated etc etc ) or is it possible to mix saltwater whilst heated then turn off heater and power head until 1 day before want to use it then turn power head and heater back on? Or is this just a complete terrible idea? Im thinking its a bad idea

 

[ying yang]

Just fyi salt im currently using is instant ocean purple bucket ( not reef crystals) gone for cheaper salt as not thinking of getting corals till my tank matures a little so probably 6 months plus i would guess and even then wanting typical begginner corals,
1= because personally think the sway of soft corals look better than sps corals ( maybe my opinion changes as my journey continues).
2= soft corals cheaper so if make begginner mistakes it doesnt hurt my wallet as much.
3= soft corals not need the extra supplements or not need as much etc.
4= if get corals and need change salt then i will do and slowly dilute the instant ocean salt out dt and slowly introduce new salt mix.

 

[ying yang]

Humpty bumpty ^_^
See people writing " bump"
Guess this so question comes up top of search so can get answered easier maybe?

 

[Justanano]

I mix 200 gallons at a time..I have a powerhead mix it during the day at times set up on my apex ...

 

[rgulrich]

I mix 40 gallons at a time, and change it out incrementally over a eight week period, just under 1 gallon/day or 5 gallons a week.
I also run a calcium reactor and dose a little additional alklinity and calcium, so I'm not really all that concerned about trace elements. With a very robust filtration system, I'm not too concerned about major or trace pollutants either.
Cheers,
Ray

 

[ying yang]

Ok thanks so got no real issues with saltwater mixing in a tub and just use part of it each week to do say 10% water change per week.
Seems in my head to do it once per month or even 2 months rather than every week mix 10% and added benefit of did need do large water change or 20- 30% every day for few days then you should always have some on hand.
Ok thanks for replys much appreciated ^_^

 

[Craig77]

I think it really depends on how you want to do water changes and personal preference. Your point about having a large container should a disaster strike is a good one. I use a 44 Gallon Brute trash can and expect that is a pretty common (and inexpensive approach). I don't heat my water tank typically, but I make the water changes slowly with a peristaltic pump that I don't have to directly monitor. If you plan to make these changes pretty quickly (e.g., minutes vs. hours) you may want to preheat the water. I preheat the water when making water changes in my smaller (20G) quarantine and observation tanks because I don't have an automated system to do this so I monitor these changes manually and want to get it done quickly. For these smaller tanks, I move water from my large water 44G trash can to a smaller 5G bucket, throw a small heater in for a few hours before I plan to do the water change and then I'm ready to go. I like having the extra salt water available because I never quite know what I might encounter and I prefer the convenience of not making salt water every week. Even if you eventually buy a larger container, I expect you'll find good use for the one you just got.

 

[S2G]

I have 55g plastic drums with a hole cut in the top big enough for my pump. I've stored water in that for months no issues. It gets heated & mixed for about 48hrs then I just let it sit until I use it. It set for months during 2020 with everything going on. IO regular salt.

I cut the power head & heater on the day I want to use it.

 

[iMi]

All good points. I mix about 20 gallons at a time to keep on hand. Powerheat and heater matched to display tank. clean water doesn’t age in all practical applications. No need to worry about shelf life.

 

[ying yang]

Brute bin i thinking of buying be 121 litres and either 31 us gallons or 26 imperial gallons.i prezume when everyone speaks in gallons they speaking of US GALLONS as alot reefers here from us.
My dt is 300 litres and sump roughly 50- 60 litres so after displacement of water about 300 litres total volume so 121 brute bin just a little over 1/3 my total water volume.

 

[PatW]

I mix mine in a 44 gallon Brute trash can with powerheads. I typically do not heat it. It keeps well until I need to do a water change and I always keep mixed salt water on hand. I am not sure if it really has a shelf life but I have never had an issue with it. I generally keep it on hand for no more than a month and usually less. But I have kept it longer.