salt not fully disolving?

[dorian965]

im using some old salt that ive had for awhile and after 2 days of mixing at 78% there is still a layer of what apears to be salt in the bottom.
im not sure of the brand but it was lumpy. i crumbled it back into dust and mixed it before adding to the water.

it doesnt feel as grity as salt but not sure what else it could be.

do you guys think its safe to use? ever had this happen?

 

[revhtree]

Have you used something to try and stir it up?

Sounds like what happens when IO gets old.

 

[dorian965]

sorry, to clarify, the stuff that isnt mixing, thats left in the bottom, doesnt feel as grity as salt.
but, then again, it has been in water for 2 days.

ive had a power head on it and every few hours i go and stir the bottom layer of stuff that has settled.

 

[ntswift]

I don't know, if you dont know if it's salt or not I wouldnt use it. However if you do know that it IS salt then maybe heat up the water a little bit and see if that will help it disolve. Usually I'll mix the salt with hot water to help it disolve. Then I'll just let it cool over night and keep mixing it. HTH

 

[dorian965]

thanks, maybe that will help. i just played mad scientist and started mixing back and forth between 2 five gallon buckets and it is undisolved salt in the bottom.

i wonder how hot a heater can get a 5-gallon bucket full of water? :'/

 

[Devilishturtles]

Before you use the water, make sure it tests out fine. I've been warned before that undissolved salt can sometimes mean a bad batch, water got into it, or it's old. pH and calcium can sometimes be affected.

 

[roka64]

I agree, test the water, just don't add that stuff to the tank. I sometimes get a little junk in the bottom, I just don't add it into my main.

 

[dorian965]

i got the water up to around 92% and let it circulate all day. ahen i got home---same thing.
im pretty bummed cause i have about 10-15 # of this stuff but i guess , better safe than sorry. off to the store i go and down the drain goes about 20 bucks.

thanks for the advice guys.

 

[ntswift]

Sorry it didnt work out for you but you're right, its better to be safe than sorry.

 

[ellisz]

You could not get the salinity up to where you wanted it(1.023-1.025)?

 

[dorian965]

the salinity was fine,(1.025) but there was salt and suff still floating in the water and resting on the bottom of the bucket. ive now had the water at 94% and circulating with a pump for 4 days and there is still crap floating in there,
im not going to use it anyway, i just havent gotten to the store to buy new and this was kind of an experiment to see if anything would make it dissolve. guess not short of boiling and i dont know the effects of that.

anyway, lesson learned------------"dont waste time with old salt" dorian