Hardened Salt

[redsea]

Hi everyone!

So I opened up an older salt bucket tonight to find that the top layer was as hard as rock. I guess it was not sealed up very well. I was able to break through the tough layer, and there is soft salt beneath it. I was wondering, is it acceptable to use the soft salt under the hard?

Question 2: Should the hard stuff be discarded, or can that still be used also? Thanks! I have never really run into this situation before.

 

[Ingy]

Use it all. Not a lot of contaminants in the water that is in our air. Salt is a desiccant that is great at sucking water out of the air.
Crunch it up and make sure you mix it well before you use it.



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[Macscale]

No, don't use it. Clumped and aired out salt will not mix to the correct salinity. You can still use the salt that's not clumped underneath.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Sure you can use it. Break it up again and remix it. I mix to a refractometer, so clumping means zero to me.


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[Mebbid]

No, don't use it. Clumped and aired out salt will not mix to the correct salinity. You can still use the salt that's not clumped underneath.

Im curious as to why you think it wouldnt mix to the right salinity. Salt is salt and it being hard isnt going to change that at all.

Now on the other hand, it might mix a little cloudy which could be problematic.

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[Gregcoyote]

Why would it mix cloudy?


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[Mebbid]

I would imagine potential precipitation of the other elements in the salt mix. The calcium and alkalinity crystalizing would be my first thought.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Hum...I thought it was crystallized already. If you look at calcium and sodium bicarbonate under magnification, they already have a crystalline structure, just very small.


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[Mebbid]

Im thinking more about how they react together when magnesium isnt around to prevent it.

 

[PB_Smith]

No, don't use it. Clumped and aired out salt will not mix to the correct salinity. You can still use the salt that's not clumped underneath.

That makes no rational sense at all. It may take longer to go into solution, but that is really all.


Why not just add water to the remainder of the bucket and make a slurry and then just use what you need. That would be the easiest and surest way to get it all mixed again.
If sealed I doubt it would become an issue and you would most likely use it all long before any issue could develop.

 

[PB_Smith]

I would imagine potential precipitation of the other elements in the salt mix. The calcium and alkalinity crystalizing would be my first thought.

But isn't salt mix essentially precipitated minerals and stuff?
Why do you think that it clumping would have that much of an impact on it's composition?
In actuality being dry would most likely preclude any type chemical changes occurring as most changes that could/would occur in the salt mix do so when it's in solution.
As long as the entire contents of the bucket are completely stirred back together in case of any separation, it's chemical composition should be exactly the same as when new.

 

[Gregcoyote]

I think there was a question as to what reaction some of the minerals would have getting damp. IMO it is not a significant risk and I would use the salt.


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[PB_Smith]

I think there was a question as to what reaction some of the minerals would have getting damp. IMO it is not a significant risk and I would use the salt.


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Yeah, but the salt mix is already damp when packaged.
What the OP encountered, as have most of us, is simply the migration of the moisture due to gravity down into the lower level of the mix which leaves the top layer dried out and hardened. There may be some small migration of elements as well, but a good mixing prior to use will resolve that.

Any concerns about what moisture in the bucket would do are unfounded because the salt mix is packaged "wet" already.

 

[Macscale]

That makes no rational sense at all. It may take longer to go into solution, but that is really all.


Why not just add water to the remainder of the bucket and make a slurry and then just use what you need. That would be the easiest and surest way to get it all mixed again.
If sealed I doubt it would become an issue and you would most likely use it all long before any issue could develop.

Im curious as to why you think it wouldnt mix to the right salinity. Salt is salt and it being hard isnt going to change that at all.

Now on the other hand, it might mix a little cloudy which could be problematic.

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Sorry, PB but it does make rational sense, and your comment was a little rude .

Here's why: the moisture had already reacted with the sodium carbonate and calcium chloride. This makes calcium carbonate so it won't dissolve

Or- the moisture can cause a decline in the elements of the salt like calcium.
I tested this a few times on reef crystals it seems to be the most drastic. It was 530ish to like 495.. Which was disturbing.


Then there is the situation referenced earlier, where pollutants in your air mixed into the water can create extremely harmful chemicals, which you can't use. Not likely at all though.


As a side note, the first question was to as the soft salt could be used, which is YES. The clumped salt, which everyone is arguing about, has its I'll affects IMO.

 

[Mebbid]

Thank you mac scale. Thats exactly what I was getting at

 

[Macscale]

Thank you mac scale. Thats exactly what I was getting at

I think it just varies within the salt sometimes, but I've found this to be true. .

 

[54seaweed]

just pop it in the blender till its all broke down again no chunks

 

[PB_Smith]

Sorry, PB but it does make rational sense, and your comment was a little rude .

Here's why: the moisture had already reacted with the sodium carbonate and calcium chloride. This makes calcium carbonate so it won't dissolve

Or- the moisture can cause a decline in the elements of the salt like calcium.
I tested this a few times on reef crystals it seems to be the most drastic. It was 530ish to like 495.. Which was disturbing.


Then there is the situation referenced earlier, where pollutants in your air mixed into the water can create extremely harmful chemicals, which you can't use. Not likely at all though.


As a side note, the first question was to as the soft salt could be used, which is YES. The clumped salt, which everyone is arguing about, has its I'll affects IMO.

Are talking about the salt being left out exposed for a length of time and it absorbed a lot of moisture or are you talking about it clumping because of the moisture already present in the salt mix when packaged?

I was talking about the normal moisture in the package before it is ever opened will often migrate if the bucket/bag/box has been sitting for a long time, especially with temperature fluctuations. In that case the salt perfectly fine and only needs to be dry mixed prior to using.

If you are talking about excess moisture being introduced into the storage container, which is what it sounds like, well that is a completely different scenario and I don't believe the OP actually made it clear what the situation actually was.

I made the assumption upon reading the OP that it was a sealed container that had not been compromised by outside moisture.
It sounds like you made the assumption that outside moisture had been introduced to the container.


I guess my point is that salt can separate and clump simply from the moisture content already present in the mix from the factory.

 

[Gregcoyote]

I have never encountered moisture already in sealed bags. My salt for decades has poured like sugar and had zero if any moisture content. I wouldn't use a salt that arrived wet.

In general, this is a mined product with some additives. The salt doesn't change, but moisture might have an effect over certain additives. I would still use it.


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[Macscale]

Are talking about the salt being left out exposed for a length of time and it absorbed a lot of moisture or are you talking about it clumping because of the moisture already present in the salt mix when packaged?

I was talking about the normal moisture in the package before it is ever opened will often migrate if the bucket/bag/box has been sitting for a long time, especially with temperature fluctuations. In that case the salt perfectly fine and only needs to be dry mixed prior to using.

If you are talking about excess moisture being introduced into the storage container, which is what it sounds like, well that is a completely different scenario and I don't believe the OP actually made it clear what the situation actually was.

I made the assumption upon reading the OP that it was a sealed container that had not been compromised by outside moisture.
It sounds like you made the assumption that outside moisture had been introduced to the container.


I guess my point is that salt can separate and clump simply from the moisture content already present in the mix from the factory.

I was... Knew there had to be something behind that ..
Thanks PB.