dissolving kent salt

[fishface]

does anyone else have problems with residules while trying to mix kent salt?? i mix it to 1.024 using RO/DI water, in a bucket with a heater and powerhead with venturi for airation. after 24 hrs+ it still seems somewhat cloudy with a layer of white on the bottom. am i being impatient??

[seashells]

I haven't had any problem. I wonder what the TDS of your RO/DI water is. Maybe too much solids passing through.

Doug

[fishface]

last time i checked TDS was 12 and it only seems to accumulate after mixing...

[Willow]

never had a problem with cloudness. i usually mix in a pail for a few days with a heater and a powerhead.

[Chad]

I noticed this when I was trying to heat the water too quickly and the heat left the precipitate *sp* . I know heat can cause calcification on heaters. So it is my guess, that it was the hot water that caused this. So, now I get the water to tank temp first then throw in the salt and mix with a drill paint stirer. Seems to have solved my precip probs.

Oh, and for clarification I was trying to rush the temp to tank temp by taking RO/DI water and heating it on the stove, then pouring it into a bucket that contained salt mix.

[fishface]

hmmmm, interesting that idea. now that you mention it, i do notice alot of that powdery white coating on the heater as well. but on the bottom of the bucket? i'm just using a heater and not at that high of a temperature either--no more than 82f...no where near boiling...

[deacon hemp]

Try mixing it with just a pump overnight.If it helps then heat it to spec.
Try to mix it by hand first with a spoon too.

[Chad]

I see no reason to mix by hand, I just throw in my cups of salt and throw the drill stirer at it and voila, mixed and airate in under a min :)

Also, I had the preciptate when I just had a heater in a bucket and let it sit overnight or sometimes longer, but I was using a broken heater that would take the temp to about 84.

Anyways... :) give it a try and see, try mixing when it is cold and then throw the heater in and heat it to tank temp.

Also, you do not want to make a super concentrated mix, in other words, you take a bucket and fill it up with 5 gals of water and then proceed to dump say 5 cups of salt, then you try to mix it and add more water till your up to the correct S.G. . If you do it this way you are asking to have percipitate problems :)

[Willow]

any idea what the price of kent will be at j&l boxing day sale?

[Beverly]

Details on how I make NSW are near the top of the page here....

http://www.lostmymarblz.com/reeftips-maintainbarebottomtanks.htm

It is possible that the venturi is adding bubbles to your water making it appear cloudy. Also, you can't just dump in salt and expect it all to mix. Some salt will fall to the bottom of the mixing container and stay there unless you go to the trouble of getting the powerhead into all the nooks and crannies of the container.

[fishface]

i'll check out that link Beverly (you always have helpful ones). it's not bubbles either cause i've turned off th PH over night.

[Psyire]

I mix 16-18g of saltwater at a time and I've never had problems with Kent dissolving. I make my water one day, and near the end of the day once it's made I throw in a Mag 3.5 and my Salt. By the next morning it's ready to go and looks good. Cloudiness only lasts for 1/2hr tops.

[Beverly]

it's not bubbles either cause i've turned off th PH over night.

Oh, don't turn off the powerhead, which may be your problem. Just remove the venturi. Powerhead and heater should be on until you use the water the next day.

[Murminator]

Is this a new pail of salt? Do you clean out your mixing bucket after each use? I use Red Sea salt and I make it and dump it right in with no cloudiness, but if I sit it a few days I do notice that there is an offwhite scum on the inside of the bucket that wipes of easily. Maybe you have a build up of scum in your bucket? maybe try another bucket :cool:
HTH

[Bob I]

I have never had a problem mixing Kent salt. I just throw it in a bucket, and stir it by hand. Then I throw it into the tank.