Quick question: How long does saltwater last in a container?

[hyosafi]

Hi I've got a quick, rather dumb question. I've had 10 gallons of saltwater sitting in two 5 gallon containers in my garage. Its been there for almost 2 weeks as i havn't gotten a chance to do a water change on my 100 gallon yet. I want to do the water change today -- can I use the water? It hasn't, gone bad or anything has it?

How long can saltwater be kept before its used for a water change. Remember, this isn't some big barrel with a powerhead and stuff inside. Just a couple 5 gallon containers.

Thanks!

 

[melosu58]

I had some water that I kept about a week and a half and it was cloudy and no good. Just check it out but my guess is it might be too stale. I usually try to make sure I use mine within 3 or 4 days.

 

[Sadielynn]

You should be fine to use it just drop a power head or an air pump into it for 24 hours before use . I mix up ours 10 gallons at a time but always store it in a dark , cool and dry area ... it takes a bit of time to use it since we only have nanos I have not seen any advers effects by doing it this way ... I have stored it up to 2 months with no problems HTH

 

[ellisz]

I had some water that I kept about a week and a half and it was cloudy and no good. Just check it out but my guess is it might be too stale. I usually try to make sure I use mine within 3 or 4 days.

Do you notice a white powder film on the top of the water or on the sides of the container? My oceanic started doing this. I have kept water for a few weeks though. I keep and PH and a heater in it.

 

[Sadielynn]

I had some water that I kept about a week and a half and it was cloudy and no good. Just check it out but my guess is it might be too stale. I usually try to make sure I use mine within 3 or 4 days.

Do you notice a white powder film on the top of the water or on the sides of the container? My oceanic started doing this. I have kept water for a few weeks though. I keep and PH and a heater in it.

The white is common it is the salt and the trace elements settling , a good shake and rairation should fix it . As for the allowing of the PH and heater in please remember to check your salinity so that you dont add water that has a higher spg that could effect your inhibatants adversly .

 

[MT79]

As long as I keep the lid on my SW trash can, the water is alright. W/ no lid, it gets some funk on the bottom of the can after a few days. HTH

 

[tecwzrd]

I agree two weeks should be fine as long are you remix it for a couple of hours (preferably with a ph) and match the ph/sg/temp to the main.

10 gal in a 100 gal tank isn't going to affect it much either way if it's not "fresh".

 

[roka64]

I have that same white gritty stuff. I had just assumed it is calcium/lime and some other stuff. I just pump the water into the tank and rinse out the bucket.

 

[tangster]

the power head is the key here.
I mix 30 gal of r/o water up at a time and keep the salinity at .015. two days before a water change I put the heater on and then recheck the salinity level when the temp is 78 degrees. At this point I bring the salt level up to .024 and make the water change.
--and I use a refractometer for measuring the salinity level--not a hydrometer--too many errors.
Tangster

 

[Sadielynn]

the power head is the key here.
I mix 30 gal of r/o water up at a time and keep the salinity at .015. two days before a water change I put the heater on and then recheck the salinity level when the temp is 78 degrees. At this point I bring the salt level up to .024 and make the water change.
--and I use a refractometer for measuring the salinity level--not a hydrometer--too many errors.
Tangster

What is the point of mixing low and adding more later wouldnt it just be easier to mix it properly the first time ?

 

[ellisz]

The white is common it is the salt and the trace elements settling , a good shake and rairation should fix it . As for the allowing of the PH and heater in please remember to check your salinity so that you dont add water that has a higher spg that could effect your inhibatants adversly .

What I am talking about cannot be remixed. I have been mixing SW for almost 10 yrs and and this is the first I have had a left over residue once the water is used. I have even wiped the container out and after it dries, I can still see some of it. My previous buckets of Oceanic never did this.

I have been adding a little of the Red Sea to my 75 system and I have a mixture in my 180 system. I hope to start transitioning everything soon.

 

[Ziggy953]

I agree about the PH and heater. The container that I mix my SW in has a PH (235pgh) and a 660GHP pump I keep the little PH running all the time and use the larger to actually mix the Salt into the water. I also agree with Sadielynn, why would you mix to .015 and then increase it to .024 right before you did your PWC...that doesn't make a lot of sense to me...

 

[roka64]

I agree about the PH and heater. The container that I mix my SW in has a PH (235pgh) and a 660GHP pump I keep the little PH running all the time and use the larger to actually mix the Salt into the water. I also agree with Sadielynn, why would you mix to .015 and then increase it to .024 right before you did your PWC...that doesn't make a lot of sense to me...

I also agree, you want to get all the caustic stuff out and make sure the pH, salinity and temp is the same as your main. We are not trying to belittle you but can you give us an explanation, tangster?

 

[tecwzrd]

I always mix my SW in a 30 gal trash can with a Mag 9.5 pump which also heats the water to 78-79 degrees and makes it easy to hook up a hose to pump it into the tank.

I get very little if any residue with Red Sea. I also mix it slightly higher than my main and adjust lower before pwc by taking out SW and adding fresh. IME it's much easier to lower a sg with fresh then raise it. This way I don't have to worry about salt not being properly mixed before adding to the main tank.