Saltwater Mixing And Storage

[ponkbunny]

im planning on storing saltwater in some of the big plastic dustbins i have seen but i was wondering if you can store saltwater?

i was going to heat up the whole bin load of water, add salt and then store it.

could the water then be added straight to the tank when its needed or would it need to be heated before each use?

 

[Matthew5664]

I do the same ATM with a 30l container. I add the salt in first the have the RO run in until the fill line. The tub has a Power head in to mix and a heater, however the heater is only on for the last 3 hours before the water change. The SG however you measure it will depend on the temp. Therefore if you measure all the salt added on the first make up and the water volume @ said temperature, then from then on you just add that amount for each water change. This can be kept at any temp then once heated it should be at the right SG.

Hope this makes sense??

 

[ponkbunny]

so wpould i need to heat the water for every water change or just the first? im thinking just the first to get the salt correct. what temp should i be heating the bucket to?

 

[AK77]

Well you should heat the water to 20c before mixing the salt. This will give you an accurate reading on your refractometer for determining the SG of the water. It is also recommended that you leave your water mixing and aerating (airpump/stone) for at least 24 hour to ensure full salt mixing and to oxygenate the water. You will need to perform this every time you do a water change.

You will also need to top up your tank every day or so, depending on the amount of evapouration from the aquarium. To do this, simply add RO water to the tank. Do not add more salt water, as only water evapourates from the maintank, the salt is left behind. Adding more salt water would increase the SG and other water parameters too.