Red Sea salt blue bucket parameters?

[DanyL]

I mix 50 gallon of saltwater at a time. So 149 grams of salt to make 1 gallon of saltwater, that's 7450 grams of salt to make 50 gallons of saltwater. Convert that to pounds, that's 16.4 pounds of salt. ESV salt is made this way. What scale do you use for this?

Get a 2kg kitchen scale and split the salt into 5 batches of 1490. It will be accurate enough for this purpose.

That said, I wouldn’t blindly trust the salinity of the water in your tank, it can change, so a properly calibrated refractometer or a hydrometer is still needed.

I also never test freshly made water, only water I take from my tank and only then adjust it accordingly. It keeps the temps always in range of the tool you use to measure it. Makes things easier for me.

 

[rtparty]

I mix 50 gallon of saltwater at a time. So 149 grams of salt to make 1 gallon of saltwater, that's 7450 grams of salt to make 50 gallons of saltwater. Convert that to pounds, that's 16.4 pounds of salt. ESV salt is made this way. What scale do you use for this?

I think mine is the OXO brand but there are lots of them out there now.

Mine has a 2000g limit so anytime I have to go over that, I just split up the measurements.

 

[Pod_01]

That said, I wouldn’t blindly trust the salinity of the water in your tank, it can change, so a properly calibrated refractometer or a hydrometer is still needed.

Can you elaborate on this point?

Evaporation or extra top off can impact salinity but it doesn’t change it. It is not permanent…

2/3 part systems will increase salinity, known behaviour and needs to be corrected over time.

What other factors can permanently shift salinity up or down?

Genuinely curious, my understanding is that to permanently shift salinity you need to add something or remove something from the water…

 

[DanyL]

Can you elaborate on this point?

Evaporation or extra top off can impact salinity but it doesn’t change it. It is not permanent…

2/3 part systems will increase salinity, known behaviour and needs to be corrected over time.

What other factors can permanently shift salinity up or down?

Genuinely curious, my understanding is that to permanently shift salinity you need to add something or remove something from the water…

You already listed one of the reasons why salinity can change - 2/3 part.

Other reasons are equipment like skimmers and automated testing which remove saltwater from the tank.

It can also be caused due to live food dosing, for example for people who dose large amounts of phyto daily.

And than there’s also just plain salt creep, that can accumulate over time.

 

[dieselkeeper]

You need to check that device against a reliable calibration solution such as Randys DIY recipe.

Mine reads 1.028 when the water is really 1.026. (i.e. mine reads 0.002 LOW).

The Red Sea salt is very reliable and I expect that your salinity is incorrect.

Would you happen to have the link to Randy's DIY recipe handy. I can't seem to find it.

 

[DanyL]

Would you happen to have the link to Randy's DIY recipe handy. I can't seem to find it.

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/reef-aquarium-salinity-diy-calibration-standards.956/

 

[dieselkeeper]

Learned alot. Good read. Tks