Saltwater mixing issue

[Nicolemcd777]

Hey everyone having some issues with mixing my saltwater and could use some insight. I am mixing pro coral salt in my 30 gallon brut. I just cleaned my container as of Saturday and began mixing as of Sunday. I added 15 cups of salt which is what I normally add to get 30 gallons of saltwater to 1.026. After testing my salinity was at 1.019 I added another cup and waited about 45 min and tested again at the same gravity. I added another cup and waited another 45 min and retested and tested at 1.021. Thought this was strange and never had to add additional 2 cups of salt to get my salinity to 1.026. 15 cups usually does it. I don’t usually use a thermometer when mixing and I live in California and keep my saltwater mixing station in my garage. At this point I began doing some research and as I started to wonder if the salt have gone bad. I read not having your salt mix sealed can cause issues with the salt. I normally do by the bucket but when ordering the salt they were out so I went with the bag. The bag may not have been completely sealed and some moisture may have got in but was somewhat clumpy when I received it. I tested the salt water in my brut and alk was at 8.4 w Cal at 350. Did not test magnesium. I read that the salt may not have fully dissolved. So I added a heater and set it to 90 last night along with a power head. Woke up and Now its super cloudy and cannot see the bottom of the barrell. I am assuming this is precipitation from heating above what the instructions advised. I added some frozen bottles of rodi to get the temp back down. Rested the salinity again and still sitting at 1.021. I added another cup of salt and rested again an hour later. Same result. Added another cup of salt and retested an hour later and still sitting at 1.021. Checked my refractometer to see if it’s was possibly broken so I tested with my tank and tested at 1.026. I have been reefing since 2017 and have never had come across this issue. Any thoughts? At this point I am just curious what may have went wrong. Most likely won’t use this batch of salt anymore as I don’t trust putting it in my tank at this point.

 

[00W]

Yeah looks terrible.
So I used this salt for years.
Here's how I did it so just give this a try once.
5 gallon bucket of rodi.
Use colder water say 68 to 70.
3 cups of salt per 5 gallons. Add salt to water with powerhead.
Salt will be clear in 10 minutes don't mix longer than an hour or it will dissipate, meaning calcium will start to precipitate and water will become cloudy. You can still use it but might be a bit flaky.
I loved this salt due to the fact it mixed so fast but have been using IO for the past few years because I have found it to be more consistent batch to batch.
Hope that helps.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I don't know if it matters, but the instructions on coral pro salt bucket say to mix for no more than 4 hours, and up to a temp of 77.

 

[exnisstech]

been using IO for the past few years because I have found it to be more consistent batch to batch.

IO is very forgiving. I use IO & RC mixed 50/50. I mix in the basement and sometimes I'll forget about it and it will mix for a few days and looks and test no different than if I just mixed it over night.

I'm not into chemistry. Not that it isn't interesting I'm just not smart enough. But I don't understand how mixing salt too long can be a problem. In a high flow tank it's basically being mixed 24/7.

 

[jda]

I always let salt mix overnight and test again in the morning.

Salt with moisture not only gets heavier, but can expand too. You might need more than 1/2 cup per gallon.

 

[exnisstech]

I always let salt mix overnight and test again in the morning.

Salt with moisture not only gets heavier, but can expand too. You might need more than 1/2 cup per gallon.

I don't think I have ever only used 1/2 cup per gallon since I started. I mix 28g at a time and always have to add an extra cup sometimes 2 to get to 1.025. Now I now why. Thanks

 

[00W]

I mix 15 gallons at a time in 3 5 gallon buckets, 5 gallons of water and 3 cups of salt in each bucket.
Mixes to 1.026 except when I used red Sea it was 1.025 BUT I only mixed it for an hour not overnight or 2-3 days so definitely food for thought.