Proper amount of time to mix Red Sea Coral Pro Reef salt

[kiran]

Hey guys,

So I just started making my own RODI and saltwater. I use Red Sea's Coral Pro Reef Mix at 34 ppt.

My question is that the instructions on the bucket say that I shouldn't mix the salt for more then 4 hours because it might precipitate. I've also watched the BRS video and they said it should be mixed 8 hours or at least over night. I'm just left a little confused and don't know which advice to follow.

I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with this salt and how long they mix it for.

Thanks!

 

[blaxsun]

Consider this: as soon as you add it to the tank it will be "mixing" for more than 4 hours. Mix it up for 20-30min, add a heater then test the salinity 10-15min later. Adjust as necessary to get the desired salinity. Remove the heater, close the lid and leave it until you're ready for it. Before adding to the tank make sure you give it a good mix again for 10-15min.

And yes, I used the same salt (I just ignored the instructions from Red Sea as they didn't really make a lot of sense).

 

[HB AL]

I dont do water changes but when I need to boost my salinity some I dump a cup of Red Sea Pro in a gallon of water and mix it for around 10 minutes and dump it in when it's cleared up with no ill effects.

 

[Adrift]

Consider this: as soon as you add it to the tank it will be "mixing" for more than 4 hours. Mix it up for 20-30min, add a heater then test the salinity 10-15min later. Adjust as necessary to get the desired salinity. Remove the heater, close the lid and leave it until you're ready for it. Before adding to the tank make sure you give it a good mix again for 10-15min.

And yes, I used the same salt (I just ignored the instructions from Red Sea as they didn't really make a lot of sense).

This is what I do as well. I use the Red Sea blue bucket. Use 1/2 cup per gallon. Puts me around 35ppt’ish.

 

[kiran]

Thanks for the advice guys!

I also noticed the salinity doesn't really change much after 30-45 minutes even if I leave it a few hours past.

This makes it a lot easier for me since before I was checking salinity every 2 hours then adding salt if it was low and that process was taking me almost all day. Started doing it your guys way this morning and I can get the salinity nailed within 2 hours.

 

[CanuckReefer]

I dont do water changes but when I need to boost my salinity some I dump a cup of Red Sea Pro in a gallon of water and mix it for around 10 minutes and dump it in when it's cleared up with no ill effects.

Same somewhat.... I do about 1.5 - 2% every 4 days. 90 gallon. Mix , no heat, wait 10 mins , mix a bit more, in it goes slowly. Been doing it with no ill effect for 25 + years. I figure, heck there are thermoclines naturally in the ocean, so why not in a reef tank? Now, if my changes were larger, well this would probably be a bad idea lol.

 

[Lyss]

I started w/Coral Pro, then switched to blue bucket. When I was using coral pro I just mixed for about an hour or until it was clear, tested salinity and brought to temp. It does precipitate if you let it sit stored for too long.

 

[kiran]

I started w/Coral Pro, then switched to blue bucket. When I was using coral pro I just mixed for about an hour or until it was clear, tested salinity and brought to temp. It does precipitate if you let it sit stored for too long.

How long do you suggest I store the saltwater for? I've made about 35-40 gallons but I only have a 13.5 gallon tank. I do 25% water changes once or twice a week so I'm guessing that some of the water won't be used for over a month or 2.

Would I be able to just mix it up if it precipitates to dissolve everything again?

 

[Lyss]

How long do you suggest I store the saltwater for? I've made about 35-40 gallons but I only have a 13.5 gallon tank. I do 25% water changes once or twice a week.

I tried storing a freshly mixed 5 gallon bucket full of saltwater and the next morning it was cloudy w/precipitation. That was one reason I switched off of the coral pro. I believe Red Sea says you can store it for 24 hours, but that’s off the top of my head and I could be remembering wrong.

Edit: I did use that bucket b/c no way I was gonna dump it. I mixed it more and used it, but it never did get fully clear again.

 

[kiran]

I tried storing a freshly mixed 5 gallon bucket full of saltwater and the next morning it was cloudy w/precipitation. That was one reason I switched off of the coral pro. I believe Red Sea says you can store it for 24 hours, but that’s off the top of my head and I could be remembering wrong.

Edit: I did use that bucket b/c no way I was gonna dump it. I mixed it more and used it, but it never did get fully clear again.

I might have to switch salts if this ends up being the case for me too.

I think I might end up getting Tropic Marines Pro Reef Salt. From everything I've heard it seems pretty good.

 

[Lyss]

I might have to switch salts if this ends up being the case for me too.

I think I might end up getting Tropic Marines Pro Reef Salt. From everything I've heard it seems pretty good.

Yep, I’ve heard good things about that one, too.

 

[HB AL]

How long do you suggest I store the saltwater for? I've made about 35-40 gallons but I only have a 13.5 gallon tank. I do 25% water changes once or twice a week so I'm guessing that some of the water won't be used for over a month or 2.

Would I be able to just mix it up if it precipitates to dissolve everything again?

Sounds like you might need to store some for a bit. Back In my younger days and had many tanks and did lots of water changes (didn't have additives and other filtration methods that we have now) I would place some live rock and a small power head in with the new water to keep it fresh until I used it. I would even use clear containers and let it get indirect sunlight every day so it would come out with nice growth not just pale white. Probably my OCD!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Would I be able to just mix it up if it precipitates to dissolve everything again?

No. Once calcium carbonate precipitates, it is just sand.

FWIW, new salt water in a bucket is different than reef tank water, or ocean water. One cannot presume that things that are OK in the ocean or in a reef tank are necessarily true in a trash can of artificial seawater.

Calcium carbonate is supersaturated in the ocean and every reef tank. That means it wants to precipitate, but doesn't.

Why doesn't it?

Because as soon a a tiny bit of calcium carbonate forms, it gets covered in phosphate, organics, magnesium, bacteria, and other chemicals that poison the surfaces so they stop acting like seed crystals for additional precipitation, and the process stops.

In new salt water that "desire" to precipitate can be much higher still, because alkalinity is often very high, and pH can also be higher than the ocean. High temperature also drives precipitation.

So why does precipitation happen in a bucket and not in the ocean?

There's little organic matter or phosphate or bacteria in new salt water, and the high alk, high pH, and high temp all can serve to push it over the brink, causing rapid precipitation that does not allow for time for the surfaces to become poisoned for further precipitation. In an experiment I did, I was able to push alk very, very high (don't recall how high, but likely above 30 dKH) by adding some specific organics to the solution, without getting any precipitation.

That is why high alk salt mixes suffer from precipitation, even if the same alk in a reef tank often would not be a problem.

That said, folks dosing too much alk or at too high of pH often do get precipitation in their reef tanks. There are many, many threads on folks not able to maintain alk at, say, 8 dKH without large alk doses, and precipitation is the explanation.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

As to Red Sea Coral Pro, it is not as certain to precipitate with heating or stirring as the Red Sea video would suggest. A member gradually stirred it more and more and heated it more and more and it took a big effort for him to initiate precipitation. The home CO2 level may play a factor, as might other things or surfaces already in the container to act as seed crystals.

FWIW, a salt mix like it or normal IO (what I used) can be stored perfectly fine unstirred and unheated. I kept mine that way as I used it over a month or more.

Here's what my IO mixing barrel looked like after years of use:

What is that Precipitate in My Reef Aquarium? by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

The residue on the bottom of the plastic trash can that I use to mix Instant Ocean. I rarely clean it out. The solid is most likely calcium carbonate.

 

[costaricareef]

I mix 40-42gal batches with Red Sea Coral Pro. I leave the pump on for about two hours, measure salinity at 35 and then shut off the pump and close the lid. It lasts me more than two months worth of automatic water changes, no issues. I don't use a heater. The previous salt mixing tank which I replaced (was just 14 gallons), looks just like Randy's. Hope this helps.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

I might have to switch salts if this ends up being the case for me too.

I think I might end up getting Tropic Marines Pro Reef Salt. From everything I've heard it seems pretty good.

I read that salt is hard to find or in high demand. When BrS made a video showing how well it stores and how clean it is after running it through a sediment filter, the demand went sky high.

 

[Tbg299]

Hey guys,

So I just started making my own RODI and saltwater. I use Red Sea's Coral Pro Reef Mix at 34 ppt.

My question is that the instructions on the bucket say that I shouldn't mix the salt for more then 4 hours because it might precipitate. I've also watched the BRS video and they said it should be mixed 8 hours or at least over night. I'm just left a little confused and don't know which advice to follow.

I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with this salt and how long they mix it for.

Thanks!

I have spoken to a rep from Red Sea, and they actually told me not to mix it for any longer than 2 hours and strictly only below 76 F (24.44C).