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Post by ReefJunkie on Nov 8, 2013 7:30:03 GMT -5
I've been reading a lot about people's opions on salt that has absorbed moisture, i.e. Clumping or getting hard. Some people seem to have little to no noticible affect on their reefs, where others adamantly refuse and reccomend that no one use it as well. Just curious what the experiences of the veteran reefers might be?
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Post by Tucker on Nov 8, 2013 9:08:22 GMT -5
I do not consider myself a veteran by any means but Mr Saltwater Tank had a great tip to keep moisture out of your salt bucket, using silica packets that come in lots of packaging to take it all out. When you get a couple more in throw out a couple. I also use it for my seaweed to keep it dry in a ziplock.
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Post by gotareef on Nov 8, 2013 9:33:51 GMT -5
the problem when it clumps is it creates inconsistency in the mix so you might get more of one thing in the salt than the other. also you never know what is in the moisture that made the salt clump....
I have had 1/2 a bag of salt clump I just mixed the rest of the bag. never had a problem... but I make sure my salt dosnt clump
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Post by jasonandsarah on Nov 8, 2013 9:41:48 GMT -5
+1 to Rob. Best solution is mix the rest of the salt in large container.so you don't get inconsistencies in cal, kh,etc And don't allow moisture in your salt bucket if at all possible
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Post by Lance on Nov 8, 2013 9:50:14 GMT -5
the problem when it clumps is it creates inconsistency in the mix so you might get more of one thing in the salt than the other. also you never know what is in the moisture that made the salt clump.... I have had 1/2 a bag of salt clump I just mixed the rest of the bag. never had a problem... but I make sure my salt dosnt clump That would only seem to be possible with a salt mix that is poorly blended. And to have problems you'd have to mix salt from just the lumps as opposed to mixing the whole bag (as you say). And it seems like you'd have to have the problem repeatedly... repeated water changes using water mixed from just the salt clumps... for it to reach the level of a problem. Sounds like a made-up, or at best, highly esoteric, issue to me.  Next up... is your water wet enough? |
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Post by jasonandsarah on Nov 8, 2013 10:23:25 GMT -5
Why is that bad? My water does seem a little dry! Is there a supplement for that? |
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Post by gotareef on Nov 8, 2013 16:01:40 GMT -5
when the rep for tropic marin came to speak he said different elements in the salt absorb moisture faster than others so clumping can cause concentrates of different elements in the salt......
he also said when mixing salt add salt to water instead of adding water to the salt..... always mix your water at a cooler temp than the tank, then match tank temp before you do waterchange... it had something to do with the calcium and........... it as a wile ago and I dont remember, I wish we had access to the videos from the old meetings!!!!
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stephen
Full Member
"Slow is Pro"
Posts: 292
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Post by stephen on Nov 8, 2013 16:42:24 GMT -5
I do not thinks it's a big issue.
I would add that u should store the salt it a way that it does not get too much moisture. If u r buying bulk amount of salt to save money, not using it in a timely manner and then it is getting moisture maybe u should buy small quantities. I would much rather spend an extra few $$ than stress my corals.
Also I have found that certain brands of salt clump up or go hard quicker. I have had brand new salt hard. If u every buy salt and it is clumpy or hard take it back. Its up to the retailer/manufacture to supply a quality product that's not years old.
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Post by Lance on Nov 8, 2013 17:29:38 GMT -5
Why is that bad? My water does seem a little dry! Is there a supplement for that? Use this...  |
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Post by jasonandsarah on Nov 8, 2013 17:31:19 GMT -5
that's messed up! Lol your a life saver!
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Post by Matt in Lewiston on Nov 8, 2013 17:37:08 GMT -5
that's messed up! Lol your a life saver! Check the date on the can, that stuff goes bad fairly quick. Also for a reef aquarium, try to find an organic variety. |
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Post by Lance on Nov 8, 2013 17:44:07 GMT -5
when the rep for tropic marin came to speak he said different elements in the salt absorb moisture faster than others so clumping can cause concentrates of different elements in the salt...... I don't doubt that... however, if you're mixing the whole bag at a time (which you should) this is a moot issue, right? he also said when mixing salt add salt to water instead of adding water to the salt..... always mix your water at a cooler temp than the tank, then match tank temp before you do waterchange... it had something to do with the calcium and........... it as a wile ago and I dont remember, I wish we had access to the videos from the old meetings!!!! I agree with that. I've noticed you get more precipitation when you add water to the salt. I assume there are chemical reactions that occur at above seawater-level salt concentrations. The precipitates are probably all your lovely trace elements... Which, I'm guessing, could happen in the moist salt scenario... In any case I think we can all agree that you should try and keep your salt dry both to make mixing easy as well as to prevent any bad joo joo (<--technical term) that may occur with moisture exposure. I do think that any problems that arise from moist salt would only occur over the long term, with repeated use of moist salt. In other words if I had half a bag of salt that was clumpy, I'd still use it. I would just make sure it doesn't happen again. Here's my key takeaway though - Keep It Simple Stupid. If your tank is having problems its pretty unlikely that it's your salt. It's more likely one of the usual suspects like temp, pH, Alk, Ca+, Mg+, salinity, bad water source, bug poison that you didn't wash off your hands, etc. Figure that sh!t out first, then worry about your clumpy salt. |
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Post by ReefJunkie on Nov 8, 2013 20:32:57 GMT -5
Thanks for the input. I keep my salt dry but I was given some for free that had been clumped up.
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Post by jasonandsarah on Nov 10, 2013 9:28:31 GMT -5
classic case of calcium precipitating out. This will happen for a number of reasons, and the O2/CO2 ratio is one possible cause. Not aerating with a pump and temperature, can lead to this.
above is part of an email I got back from reef crystals and mixing salt awhile back, when I first started my reef tank. theres actually a long list of things they recommend you do when mixing salt for a water change. our allot of your calcium can just precip into calcium deposits I believe is what happens?
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Post by ReefJunkie on Nov 10, 2013 11:54:53 GMT -5
Yeah, I don't have issues mixing my water change water and salt. Aeration and temp are always take care of first. Then add the salt to water. Just trying to figure out what to do with the clumped stuff. Maybe I'll mix in a small amount with my stuff to get rid of it without wasting it
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