minimum time for freshly made saltwater

[vsnsofadrgn]

hello, what is the minimum time for allowing freshly made sw to aerate. i know its supposed to be 24 hrs, but what about emergencies??

 

[Brenden]

I think around 12 hrs would not be a issue as long as the salt has mixed good. Throwing a extra pump or PH in it will help a lot in shorting the time. Other than that you have to weight the necessary of a "evil". You could mix a lot less and use if the situation was severe enough.

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

thanks, im an idiot and didnt cover the newly made fresh water during the 24 hour period, and am now having nitrite and ammonia problems. i didnt check my new water and did 2 water changes with ro/di water that needed the filters changed, so i changed them, nitrites 0 but the ammonia is between .5 and 1 (ouch), i i figure it needs to be covered.. i tested the ro/di water and its 0 across the line (ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates) ....... not in the tank the ammonia is .25, nitrites 2, ph 7.9, i didnt even check the nitrates, i know they have to be bad... im in the process of making new water (that i will cover) so that i can do the appropriate water changes..... too bad i can only do about 25 gallons in 24 hours, thats why i was asking.

 

[Brenden]

You do not want to cover the water. The main reason for mixing 24 hrs is to oxygenate the water. If it is covered it will not allow gas exchange. If you have NH3 and NO2 it is not because it was not covered. Am I understanding this correctly? The RO water was all "0" and then you added salt and it had NH3 and NO2? What brand salt? You sure the test was correct?

 

[mnestroy]

So your saying when you do your 20% water changes your supposd to let the new salt water stir in a bucket for 24hrs before it goes into your tank?

Whats wrong with just letting it mix for a half hr or so?

 

[melosu58]

freshly made salt water is too caustic to add straight to the tank. Better to let sit for a while to aerate and mix properly.

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

well to make a long story short, it turns out that my ro/di water has ammonia in it, which is causing all these problems, as you can imagine. this ammonia is goin into my tank and then turning into nitrites, etc,etc.... im glad i dont have any fish. i feel bad for my peppermint shrimp though. i tested the ro/di water for nitrite and nitrate because my tanks perameters were messing up, which i couldnt figure out becuase i had done major water changes after i lost my six line and a shrimp to a crab. i had done 4 water changes and it was getting worse, not better, so i tested the ro/di water and it had nitrites, so i changed the filters and it went to 0 (3 days ago). last night, i tested for ammonia because the fresh sw was showing nitrites again and its NOOOO good. i think it was between 2-4. how is this possible?? i added some water conditioner to it, but ive heard that screws with the ammonia readings because of the chloramines or something..... what do i do???

 

[melosu58]

Do the filters or resin or membrane need to be replaced on your RO/DI ? Cant understand the ammonia part.

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

they were all changed (6 stage) 3 days ago. i cant figure it out either, i dont know what to do. is better just to use tap and use water conditioner?? or use the conditioner with the ro/di? i live in an apt, maybe the water is bad in the first place, but i thought the ro/di would take care of it....... i remember testing it and all it had was 10 of nitrate.......

 

[malkore]

How old is you ammonia test kit, and what brand?

I would get a second ammonia test done, like at your LFS, cuz RO water should not have ammonia or nitrite. New tank water might because of the cycling process, but newly mixed SW should not.

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

ive had it about a year and its aquarium pharicuticals. i guess im not sure about ammonia test, ill stop buy the store and get some bottled water to test it against. i know the other ones are working well though. i dont get it either, but if it is the test, then i cant explain where this stuff is coming from in the tank then, or the freshly made sw......... ill test it against bottled and see tho....

 

[Brenden]

I would be concerned if my tap had NH3 or NO2. In short if that is correct something is rotting in the water supply. I would def check it with a second test.

 

[mnestroy]

So how long do u let it stand? forutunatley I honly have a 40gallons tank so 20% would only 8 gallons, still thats everal buckets...

Your saying I should mix the water in several buckets and put a powerhead ineach bucket for 24hrs? I assume i need to put a heater in each bucket too??

Please let me know if this is being over safe, or if this is what is 'required'

 

[Brenden]

It would be cheaper and easier to buy a tote or trash can and mix the water together with one pump and one heater. They have 32 gallon trash cans at lowes/walmart for under $10 I think I saw 10 gallon totes for less than $5. Yes letting the water mix and absorb O2 is necessary.

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

ok, so i tested the ammonia in bottled water and got 0. the water out of the faucets (kitchen with ro/di and bathroom) are testing between 1-2.... yuck. what do i do? arent ro/di units supposed to get rid of ammonia in tap water? is it the cholamines showing up as ammonia?

 

[Maurice2]

well to make a long story short, it turns out that my ro/di water has ammonia in it

If this is really the case you have very unpleasant tapwater, but I find it hard to believe - tapwater with measurable ammoniac is, erm, bordering on the impossible unless you live in a 3rd-world country. Furthermore, (heavy) ammonia molecules won't pass an RO filter. Maybe you should check your NH3 tests?

 

[Brenden]

is it the cholamines showing up as ammonia

I sure hope so. I can not imagine tap water having NH3 in it like that. I am not sure which brand of NH3 test is not affected by cholamines.

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

the test kit is working, i checked it....... i dont know what to do........ other than buying bottled water again..........is there a water conditioner that will take it out so i can make the sw??

 

[tecwzrd]

is there a water conditioner that will take it out so i can make the sw??

The nh3 is probably showing up do to the chloramines in the tap but as stated by others the ro/di should remove all traces of it.

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

so in other words, my ro/di is a peice of poo.. lol. ill have to have someone look at it...... thanks, i will get some prime for now, until i have the ro/di looked at......