What to do with left over water change water

[revenant]

So when you have a few gallons left in the mixing barrel do you dump it and wipe the insides down and then start over or just start putting RODI in and mix up a new batch?? I notice I have a little slime in my barrel after a bit... I have great flow in it and air stones.. still it gets a little slimy.. I hate wasting the water ... I guess I could bottle it? Does it store well? Using instant ocean reef crystals.

 

[WIReefer]

After a while you will end of being almost spot on every time, just give it some time keep up the water changes. I’ve never used that salt but have heard it leaves a slime. I run a different salt and have never seen an issue in my mixing bucket. Brs has a great video on storing saltwater check it out.

 

[amazongb]

If that happens to me, I use the rest during the same water change using two 5 gallon buckets, one for the tank water and the other to match the tank water so I have no excess..

 

[josephxsxn]

When I built my salt water mixing station I made a few mistakes but the main one was non-Conical (full draining) barrels. As such each of my barrels ends up with probably 15 gallons that can't be taken out via normal use. Because I sized my barrels exactly to my salt bucket mix this means now every salt mix after the first comes out little stronger SG. I end up taking some of that stronger water into another barrel and add more RO to the mix until it's right. After some time I end up with half a full barrel of high SG water that I mix back down with more RO.

So I have reused that "left over" water with no issues that I am aware of. I do clean my barrels from time to time. The total mixing station I have is 3 150 gallon barrels, 1 for RO and the rest for Salt mix.

*Edit* - I do end up with white perception on the bottom of the barrels, this remains over multiple mixes. Because it settles so well at the bottom it's never taken out until I clean the barrel. I use neoMarine.

 

[mike550]

@revenant I try to target 3-5G of extra saltwater that I keep in a 5G jug, and then clean out my Brute. It’s nice to have spare saltwater “just in case”. I will also use the excess when I’m doing a water change in my QT or thawing frozen food.

When I make my next batch of water I just add any excess back into the Brute.

 

[revenant]

@revenant I try to target 3-5G of extra saltwater that I keep in a 5G jug, and then clean out my Brute. It’s nice to have spare saltwater “just in case”. I will also use the excess when I’m doing a water change in my QT or thawing frozen food.

When I make my next batch of water I just add any excess back into the Brute.

Roger that. I need 5g jugs.. lol.

 

[revenant]

When I built my salt water mixing station I made a few mistakes but the main one was non-Conical (full draining) barrels. As such each of my barrels ends up with probably 15 gallons that can't be taken out via normal use. Because I sized my barrels exactly to my salt bucket mix this means now every salt mix after the first comes out little stronger SG. I end up taking some of that stronger water into another barrel and add more RO to the mix until it's right. After some time I end up with half a full barrel of high SG water that I mix back down with more RO.

So I have reused that "left over" water with no issues that I am aware of. I do clean my barrels from time to time. The total mixing station I have is 3 150 gallon barrels, 1 for RO and the rest for Salt mix.

*Edit* - I do end up with white perception on the bottom of the barrels, this remains over multiple mixes. Because it settles so well at the bottom it's never taken out until I clean the barrel. I use neoMarine.

Thanks for this information... I am starting fresh after 15 years.. I have one 32g mixing barrel now.. expanding soon. I think cleaning the barrel between batches is a good idea.. and sorting the 5g excess .... I’m thinking about making my pantry the mixing area.. right behind the tank wall too.

 

[revenant]

If that happens to me, I use the rest during the same water change using two 5 gallon buckets, one for the tank water and the other to match the tank water so I have no excess..

Good to know.. yeah I don’t want to waste it.. going to store it and wipe down the mixing barrel..

 

[revenant]

After a while you will end of being almost spot on every time, just give it some time keep up the water changes. I’ve never used that salt but have heard it leaves a slime. I run a different salt and have never seen an issue in my mixing bucket. Brs has a great video on storing saltwater check it out.

Yeah I’m thinking about Red Sea salt next.. reef crystals def leaves some slime... and smells like cat pee if you don’t aireate it..

 

[Pistondog]

Yeah I’m thinking about Red Sea salt next.. reef crystals def leaves some slime... and smells like cat pee if you don’t aireate it..

Always good to have some saltwater on hand, to adjust salinity or rinse something before going in tank.

 

[ge4rhead]

Lol. If my water smelled like cat pee I’d definitely change. I use Red Sea coral pro and have never had any issues. It’s the only salt I’ve ever used. Just sucks salt has to be as expensive as it is. Salt should be cheap. Like $30 per 5 gallon bucket. That would be awesome

 

[revenant]

Always good to have some saltwater on hand, to adjust salinity or rinse something before going in tank.

The rinse factor is huge.. keep it for that alone.

 

[JCTReefer]

I don’t ever have any left over. I made a removable measuring stick out of pvc that I hang on the side of my 20 gallon brute. I just move that stick to my empty brute, start vacuuming, and when it gets to the my mark I stop. You can always tape off marks on the side of the tank for a reference also. Here is my measuring device. Lol. Bottom of pvc is 5 gallons. Next Mark up is ten. Then the next is 15. Then the last at the very top is 20 gallons. I drilled small holes through the pvc and ran black zip ties through it at each mark. never move and is reef safe. Kind of red neck, but it works. I clean out my trash can every time I do a water change. Spray out with hot water, and wipe dry with a paper towel. There’s sometimes a tiny bit of Brown residue in the mixing bin. Just enough to see a slight tinge on a paper towel. No slime though. Back in the day there was a salt I used that smelled like cat pee. Can’t remember if it was seachem, IO, or oceanic. I just remember the smell. No issues with RS blue bucket though.

 

[Anthrax15]

@JCTReefer That is an awesome idea! I will absolutely be stealing that lol

@revenant I was having the same issues as you. Only I only had a gallon or so left over. I usually just add it to the tank until I get it dialed in perfectly so I don't waste any water. I'd rather be precise each time then add one more thing to the list of possible culprits when I run into issues. Same with wiping down the container. I just use an "aquarium" towel and wipe it out so it's dry for the next batch. I found leaving saltwater in the barrel causes it to develop a slime around the water level. Wasn't comfortable using that water.

 

[Fishko]

If that happens to me, I use the rest during the same water change using two 5 gallon buckets, one for the tank water and the other to match the tank water so I have no excess..

I scratched a line exactly in both 5g buckets by so i dont have any excess left over by filling one with water, marking. Then pouring that water into bucket 2 and marking. I just mix the salt in that bucket

 

[footgal]

lol I just pour new RODI and mix it right in there. I’ve always got about 20 gallons on hand and only do a 2-5 g water change every 2 weeks or so. I pour in more RODI, dump in the salt, mix it with my arm, check by taste, add more water or salt to fix it, check with refractometer, fine tune if necessary, then use it whenever I do a water change next. Works fine, been doing it for a year now and everything’s lookin hunky dory.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Fwiw, here's what I do. I have two 65 gallon norwesco tanks. One for RO one for mixed salt water. I use tropic Marin pro. It mixes clean and fast. I can leave it mixed in the storage container for over a month and there's no slime, residue or oder. Once I drain a sufficient amount I refill from my RO container and add more salt, whatever I need to make up the difference. If I have a planned water change coming up I turn on the closed loop pump the night before to aerate the water some.

 

[revenant]

Thanks for everyone’s replies.. with the slime left over from reef crystals I feel I need to wipe the barrel down once in a while at the very least.. i might switch salt brands after this bucket runs out.

 

[Hilltopreef]

Pick up a few 5 gallon jugs from Walmart. I like the clear plastic ones from the plumbing dept. They come with screw on lids and handles. Then just store it to add to the barrel next water change day. You should be rinsing the brute each time anyway so a little slime doesn’t matter. I’ve used reef crystals and or regular instant ocean for over 30 years. You can buy much more expensive salt but why would you when they work fine.

 

[Memisis]

Lol. If my water smelled like cat pee I’d definitely change. I use Red Sea coral pro and have never had any issues. It’s the only salt I’ve ever used. Just sucks salt has to be as expensive as it is. Salt should be cheap. Like $30 per 5 gallon bucket. That would be awesome

Yeah its pricy but I get almost no precipitate. I used instant ocean in a pinch and it was like a white Christmas in the barrel. Recently bought the red sea coral pro 175 gallon bucket (unmixed look close to 5 gal) and my only regret was watching the UPS guy have to carry from the back of the truck to the door