Saltwater Storage Question

[HardyG]

I am trying to work out a more permanent solution for mixing saltwater than lugging buckets around. I currently fill buckets outside from the spigot and mix then bring inside. Under my sinks and bathtubs are all off limits, so this just works. However, it doesn’t work well…

My question is can saltwater storage be okay at higher temps? I have a storage room attached to my house where my hot water heater is where I could easily fit a big trash can and make larger batches of saltwater. However, this room is not air conditioned so it does get warmer than the rest of the house. Is saltwater going to be significantly different at that temp? I always check the salinity before it goes in the tank. Just wondering how much of a difference if any it would make. Would make my life a heck of a lot easier!!

 

[UncommonSense]

It shouldn’t matter; it’s just salt and water… maybe stick a lid on it to keep dust/grime from getting in!

Just mix it up before you use it!

 

[HardyG]

I was thinking of just leaving an old return pump or power head in there 24/7 and a heater wouldn’t be needed except for a few months of the year down here in the south. Is evaporation that much of an issue in a trash can with a lid on it?

 

[mmorrison55]

So you are NOT using RODI water to mix up your saltwater?

Curious of what your process is as I didn’t think anyone was still making salt water from the tap.

 

[UncommonSense]

I was thinking of just leaving an old return pump or power head in there 24/7 and a heater wouldn’t be needed except for a few months of the year down here in the south. Is evaporation that much of an issue in a trash can with a lid on it?

You can continuously agitate, but it isn’t strictly necessary for new saltwater storage! (Depends on how much you care about power consumption…)

Saltwater also freezes at a lower temperature than freshwater by nature! Keep this in mind during the winter months!

Evaporation will occur, unless you have an airtight seal on the container! — I usually just top off with RODI water to correct salinity before use…

you can minimize evaporative losses with a tight fitting lid, ideally one which bows in towards the water! — some evaporated water condenses on the lid, try to get it to run to the center of the lid so it drips back into the storage container consistently!

 

[HardyG]

So you are NOT using RODI water to mix up your saltwater?

Curious of what your process is as I didn’t think anyone was still making salt water from the tap.

I do use RODI water, just attached to the spigot outside instead a sink or tapped into a water line. My storage unit is on the inside of the wall that the spigot is on, so it would be super easy to just fill a trash can in there and dump the salt in there to mix instead of doing 1 bucket at a time!

 

[UncommonSense]

So you are NOT using RODI water to mix up your saltwater?

Curious of what your process is as I didn’t think anyone was still making salt water from the tap.

Haha my LFS still is; with a decade and a half of success!

Using tap water successfully is extremely location specific… it seems to be that people get lucky when this works in the long-term…

 

[HardyG]

You can continuously agitate, but it isn’t strictly necessary for new saltwater storage! (Depends on how much you care about power consumption…)

Saltwater also freezes at a lower temperature than freshwater by nature! Keep this in mind during the winter months!

Evaporation will occur, unless you have an airtight seal on the container! — I usually just top off with RODI water to correct salinity before use…

you can minimize evaporative losses with a tight fitting lid, ideally one which bows in towards the water! — some evaporated water condenses on the lid, try to get it to run to the center of the lid so it drips back into the storage container consistently!

Follow up to your first statement.. So are you saying it would be okay to just dump the salt in, mix it the original time and then it can just sit, but before I go pull from it, maybe circulate the water with a pump or something before use instead of leaving it running 24/7?

 

[mmorrison55]

I do use RODI water, just attached to the spigot outside instead a sink or tapped into a water line. My storage unit is on the inside of the wall that the spigot is on, so it would be super easy to just fill a trash can in there and dump the salt in there to mix instead of doing 1 bucket at a time!

Gotcha! Sorry I misunderstood your post. When you said it was coming from the spigot, All i could picture was you filling up buckets from the garden hose and adding some salt.

That’s pretty much what I did 25 years ago, and just added some dechlorinator and tested. I just didn’t think anyone was doing that anymore so was curious.

 

[HardyG]

Gotcha! Sorry I misunderstood your post. When you said it was coming from the spigot, All i could picture was you filling up buckets from the garden hose and adding some salt.

That’s pretty much what I did 25 years ago, and just added some dechlorinator and tested. I just didn’t think anyone was doing that anymore so was curious.

No worries! I probably didn’t explain very well to begin with.

The good ole days… wouldn’t this be nice?? Water changes would take minutes with no prep haha these fish and corals are pampered!!

 

[UncommonSense]

Follow up to your first statement.. So are you saying it would be okay to just dump the salt in, mix it the original time and then it can just sit, but before I go pull from it, maybe circulate the water with a pump or something before use instead of leaving it running 24/7?

Yes, it’s fine to mix up fresh salt water, then let it sit (covered from debris intrusion)!

You want to mix stored stagnant saltwater up thoroughly before using it primarily because stagnant salt water will actually have the salt itself settle to the bottom! — saltwater is denser than fresh, thus the salinity will be lower near the water’s surface, than at the bottom of the container! (After an extended period of sitting stagnant, that is!)

This simply saves you a pump to use for other purposes, equipment wear and tear, and a bit of power consumption!

 

[mmorrison55]

What would your temp difference be between where you will store it and in your display?

You may want to do a test and make up a batch and store one bucket in your storage room and one near your display tank.

I think if it’s 10 degrees or warmer in your storage room, that you will notice your salinity would be higher once in your tank and cooled down

How does temp affect salinity reading ?

Hi. Did my first real ocean water change. Been using Red Sea coral pro first 12 months. Went to beach collected 150liters and took home to heat. Collection Water temp 18.5 sal 1.032. After heating. Temp 25.5. Salinity 1.029. Each if these readings were done with a calibrated refractometer. Why/...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[HardyG]

Yes, it’s fine to mix up fresh salt water, then let it sit (covered from debris intrusion)!

You want to mix stored stagnant saltwater up thoroughly before using it primarily because stagnant salt water will actually have the salt itself settle to the bottom! — saltwater is denser than fresh, thus the salinity will be lower near the water’s surface, than at the bottom of the container! (After an extended period of sitting stagnant, that is!)

This simply saves you a pump to use for other purposes, equipment wear and tear, and a bit of power consumption!

This is excellent information! So basically I can just keep some fresh RODI water on hand and when I go to pull from the stagnant saltwater just get it to temp and bring the salinity back to 1.026 with that RODI water since likely some of that water has evaporated?

Any tips to bring temperature of water down when prepping for a water change lol?

 

[HardyG]

What would your temp difference be between where you will store it and in your display?

You may want to do a test and make up a batch and store one bucket in your storage room and one near your display tank.

I think if it’s 10 degrees or warmer in your storage room, that you will notice your salinity would be higher once in your tank and cooled down

How does temp affect salinity reading ?

Hi. Did my first real ocean water change. Been using Red Sea coral pro first 12 months. Went to beach collected 150liters and took home to heat. Collection Water temp 18.5 sal 1.032. After heating. Temp 25.5. Salinity 1.029. Each if these readings were done with a calibrated refractometer. Why/...

www.reef2reef.com

I will check on this. Today is overcast here after some thunderstorms and the temp in there was 3 degrees higher than the house. The storage room shares 2 insulated walls with the house, so I may be exaggerating how hot it gets, but it may be around that 10 degree range or more. I will check again on a hot sunny day around 2 or 3 pm to see what it says!

 

[UncommonSense]

This is excellent information! So basically I can just keep some fresh RODI water on hand and when I go to pull from the stagnant saltwater just get it to temp and bring the salinity back to 1.026 with that RODI water since likely some of that water has evaporated?

Any tips to bring temperature of water down when prepping for a water change lol?

Yup! You’ve got it!

I recommend trying floating ice packs, frozen jugs of water, sealed bags of ice, etc in your water to cool it down! — a fan blowing across the waters surface for evaporative cooling is also beneficial! (Just double check that salinity after evaporative loss!)

It may take several hours or more

 

[HardyG]

Thank you so much for all of the advice! What a great community