Calculating Salt Needed

[callum_parsons]

i am starting up my first marine tank this weekened the tank is 180l (english) which is 40gallons.
i am going to have my temperature at 24oc and would like my salt level to be 1.023. is this salt level ok or to low.
but can someone tell me how much salt i will need to put into my tank to got the desired salt level.

 

[Pheonix]

callum,

it depends on the salt product you get, i use instant ocean and they recomend 33g of their product per gallon of water so im sure you can do the math there but if you by a different product the values my be different!!

get a good hydrometer or refractometer if your not sure build the salt level up slowly wait 20mins to allow the salt to mix in then test it, repeat this process until you get your desired level

Remember less salt is easier to cure then too much so dont go mad with the salt

HTH
Andy

 

[callum_parsons]

sorry i didnt relise that different companys had different amounts needed mine is red sea.
i have read the instruction and it says 1kg for every 30l (not sure if that is american) and at 24oc it will be 1.021 but i think that is to low but i am a newbie with marines.

 

[Pheonix]

im not too sure on that product specifically but it should give you a guide on the box or bucket as to how much to put in per litre or gallon of water you need

if its not which i really cant believe check out red sea's website and im sure ull find it on there

 

[SkiFletch]

well if 1kg makes 30L 1.021sg then you'd need 6kg's to get your whole 180L up to 1.021. If you want a more reef type setup, I'd aim for probably 7kg's with that salt. If your mixed water ends up higher or lower than the sg you want, only fill the tank 3/4 with it and then go ahead and fill the rest with supersaturated water or ro water to bring the sg up or down respectively

 

[callum_parsons]

i am going to try 6.5kg of salt and see what the levels are then .
cheers for the help.
i am really really excited, dont think i will be able to sleep on friday night. just the thought of filling it up is awesome enough

 

[k100 trike]

are u using RO water from LFS or are u using RO filter

 

[andywg]

I seem to recall that nmonks has written a program that calculates roughly how much salt is needed to get water to different SGs. Remember that just measuring the weight of salt will not work as after the pack is opened the salt will gradually absorb moisture from the air. It can give you a rough guide, but always use a hydrometer (or better yet: a refractometer) to make sure you have the right SG.