Walk me through dosing and salt mixing

[BristleWormHater]

The day has finally come :disappointed-face:
I'm planning to switch to mixing my own water instead of relying on the lfs. I also would like to know how and what to start dosing once I add more corals. Any help is helpful lol. Also anything that can save me money helps a ton, because I have none :(

 

[Sumbub]

Congrats on taking the next step to reefing! :grinning-squinting-face:


Making your own water will have most of what you need for your tank inhabitants already. Knowing where your parameters will help immensely. Depending on the salt you use, you may need to adjust alkalinity or magnesium or even calcium. But most salts should be pretty close to what most tanks run at. Knowing your parameters and picking the salt closest to your parameters makes things a whole lot easier!

 

[Pistondog]

Get a rodi water filter to make pure water to add your salt to.

 

[Red_Beard]

I like to use instant ocean purple bucket, watch chewy, they sometimes have them crazy discounted, and when they do i usually get like 4 buckets. Or whatever salt you use, watch for deals and stock up, it will keep for a good long time. You got a mixing station set up or planning one? If not you can fill a 5 gal bucket or more with ro and just mix in the bucket. I did that for a year or so before i built my station. I like to let it mix overnight, if you are in a bucket any small power head or maxijet will work fine to mix it. Dont fill the bucket all the way in case you overshoot with salt and have to dilute it a bit(and it is easier to carry wothout spilling), or get it close but just under, let it mix overnight and adjust from there.

 

[timmyrules]

I just get the “Instant ocean reef salt” from Amazon…it’s wayyyyyyy less expensive on Amazon vs my lfs. And I change the water in all my tanks once a week, so I don’t have to does anything, but just to be sure, I do monitor the levels by testing every few days….But to mix the salt, I just use a 5 gallon bucket and slowly add in salt till the salinity is ideal….then let it sit overnight, then re-measure salinity in the morning! :)

 

[BristleWormHater]

I just get the “Instant ocean reef salt” from Amazon…it’s wayyyyyyy less expensive on Amazon vs my lfs. And I change the water in all my tanks once a week, so I don’t have to does anything, but just to be sure, I do monitor the levels by testing every few days….But to mix the salt, I just use a 5 gallon bucket and slowly add in salt till the salinity is ideal….then let it sit overnight, then re-measure salinity in the morning! :)

Do you just check with a refractometer as you add salt?

 

[timmyrules]

Do you just check with a refractometer as you add salt?

Oops, sorry, forgot to add that in there…yes, when you are mixing it, add a little, mix, then check salinity. Then repeat until the salinity is where you want it to be.

 

[timmyrules]

I’m sure someone has it down to exact measurements…but that’s just what I do. :)

 

[B&CinB.C.]

I use a 32 gallon brute garbage can with an rodi filter hooked up to a float valve. Filled right up until the float valve shuts the water off , a cup of salt raises the specific gravity .002. I get it close like that and fine tune from there. I use Red Sea blue bucket salt

 

[Red_Beard]

Definitely way easier to make a huge batch like B&C said. I have a snap top 55 gallon drum set up just like this. Mix it up and use it for a few months (i change 5 gallons every 3 weeks or so). Than you always have some salt water on hand too to replace what you pull out of the tank for dipping or acclimating or whatever.
Also of note, you cant reliably check the salinity right after adding salt, it has to mix a while or you will end up waaaay over saturated once it all actually dissolves.

 

[Dave-T]

I do it by weight, using this:
https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/DirectSaltCalculator.php

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I do it by weight, using this:
https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/DirectSaltCalculator.php

FWIW, the amount needed can vary by salt mix depending on how much moisture is in it.

 

[BristleWormHater]

FWIW, the amount needed can vary by salt mix depending on how much moisture is in it.

So how do I tell? Does the salt mix have instructions for reaching a certain salinity?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

So how do I tell? Does the salt mix have instructions for reaching a certain salinity?

Depends on the mix, but you can get in the ballpark with a number of cups per gallon, and then finalize it by measurement of salinity and tweaks. After you’ve done it once, you will know about how much is needed for your mixing container, and you can add it all or mostly all in one shot. Exact salinity values are not critical.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Depends on the mix, but you can get in the ballpark with a number of cups per gallon, and then finalize it by measurement of salinity and tweaks. After you’ve done it once, you will know about how much is needed for your mixing container, and you can add it all or mostly all in one shot. Exact salinity values are not critical.

Got it, thanks!

 

[Dave-T]

So how do I tell? Does the salt mix have instructions for reaching a certain salinity?

Check out the link. It has instructions for how to measure the moisture content in your salt.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Check out the link. It has instructions for how to measure the moisture content in your salt.

Sounds like unnecessary steps to determine the moisture content by salinity, then use the moisture content to attain a particular salinity in the future. :)

 

[Dave-T]

Sounds like unnecessary steps to determine the moisture content by salinity, then use the moisture content to attain a particular salinity in the future. :)

Well you only do that once, then use that moisture content going forward. It's a much easier way for me. I use a 100 gallon mixing bin, and fill it with RODI when it gets low. So I'm adding salt to water that already has a starting salinity value. I think a lot of people are in this situation. I plug the numbers into that spreadsheet and it tells me how much salt to add, by weight. The alternative would be to add salt, let it mix for a while, check salinity, add more, and repeat until the desired salinity is reached.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Well you only do that once, then use that moisture content going forward. It's a much easier way for me. I use a 100 gallon mixing bin, and fill it with RODI when it gets low. So I'm adding salt to water that already has a starting salinity value. I think a lot of people are in this situation. I plug the numbers into that spreadsheet and it tells me how much salt to add, by weight. The alternative would be to add salt, let it mix for a while, check salinity, add more, and repeat until the desired salinity is reached.

Ok, I can see how that might have uses. I would not have found it useful and think most folks just add about the same amount of cups every time, followed by final tweaking.