How to Mix Synthetic Seawater in Under Five Minutes

[Buccaneer]

Interesting read ...

http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/1997/sep/bio/default.asp

Cheers

[Delphinus]

Doesn't everybody mix their salt that way? That article is a mandatory read IMO!! :mrgreen:

[Aquattro]

Doesn't everybody mix their salt that way? That article is a mandatory read IMO!! :mrgreen:

You're right Tony. Craig wrote that article many years ago, yet we cling to the notion that we need to "stew" our water for days before using. If I need SW, I dump salt in water, mix it for 5 minutes, and dump it in. No problem.

[Delphinus]

I generally let mine stew overnight anyways with a powerhead and a heater, that way when it goes into the tank it is more or less the same temperature as the water in the tank. Don't know if it's a big deal or not but I like to do it that way.

Also, I wasn't sure about finding a propellered shaft thing as Craig mentions but I use a paint stirrer attachment for my drill and it is almost the same idea (it's just chrome instead of plastic). Since I mix salt in a 30g rubbermaid the larger size mixer seems to be perfect (I can get submerge the end right to the bottom of the can). The only issue for me was that these larger mixers use a 1/2" shaft and usually only the really expensive drills (i.e., the >$180 drills not the $50-$80 drills) have a 1/2" shaft. But you can get a 3/8" to 1/2" converter chuck though. I think I paid $18 at House of Tools for one, and now I can use a 1/2" shaft on my 14-year old drill. If I burn out my drill ... well .. I guess it's a 14-year old drill and it doesn't owe me anything anymore, but for now this works like a breeze.

If you mix in a 5g or 8g pail the smaller sized mixers (with a 3/8" shaft) are an ideal size for those.

[Son Of Skyline]

5 minutes!?

All I need is a big 3/4" PVC "stir stick" and I've got it down to 3 minutes. With the bucket on the floor I don't even have to bend down :lol:

[Beverly]

Whether using tap or RO water, there is a benefit to aerating the water at least over night, even if there is no salt in it. Water coming out of the tap or from an RO reservoir has a different pH than water aerated for a period of time. Did a study on this subject a few years back when I had waaaaaay more time on my hands :wink: :

http://www.lostmymarblz.com/marineresearch-phchange-storagecontainers.htm

I always have lots of RO water aerating in various pails or tanks for my reefs/seahorse tank. The night before a water change, I plug in the heater, add the salt and away I go.

Would never just use water out of the tap or from a non-aerated RO storage container knowing the difference in pH in our local water :eek:

[Aquattro]

Bev, I'm sure if you heavily "whipped" your water for 5 minutes with a drill mixer, you'd see the pH go up. I have done this test on a smaller scale, and 3 minutes sees a significant gas exchange, resulting in a pH shift.

[mark]

Yesterday had been looking on wetwebmedia.com daily FAQ, there were some questions about mixing water. I can't talk for Bob Fenner and crew but the letting the water sit for a week has be more for getting rid of chlorine or chloramine for they support using tap water and not using dechlorinators etc.

Wondering if the week wait started with the idea above?

[Jack]

I use a Mag 18 to mix my water :lol:

[Quinn]

Granted, I haven't been doing this very long, but I just run my water, stick a heater in it overnight, throw the salt in the next morning with a Minijet, put it into the tank an hour later... if there is a concentration gradient in the bucket I use, it's gone by the time the water hits my return pump.

[AJ_77]

... throw the salt in the next morning with a Minijet, put it into the tank an hour later...
A Mini-jet?? That's a drink mixer, if I remember the quote correctly...

I recommend an MJ1200 in a 5-7 gal bucket. Almost as good as a paint mixer.
:biggrin:

[Beverly]

[quote="mark"]but the letting the water sit for a week has be more for getting rid of chlorine or chloramine for they support using tap water and not using dechlorinators etc.[quote]

Chlorine will dissapate from tapwater if left long enough. Chloramine, which is a compound made of chlorine and ammonia, will not. Chloramine treated water defintitely needs a dechlorinator designed for use with its particular chemistry, such as Amquel and Prime.

Chloramine has replaced chlorine in many municipal water supplies because chlorine does dissapate making it a less useful guard against the pathogens found in untreated drinking water. Boiling water for 30 minutes, or so, also gets rid of these pathogens. Walkerton is a good example of pathogens not being killed.

[Beverly]

Bev, I'm sure if you heavily "whipped" your water for 5 minutes with a drill mixer, you'd see the pH go up. I have done this test on a smaller scale, and 3 minutes sees a significant gas exchange, resulting in a pH shift.

Brad, if you have tested short term rapid mixing pH change compared to longer term (overnight, for example) mixing pH change and the results are pretty much the same, I'd say stick with your current practice.

But others out there are quite possibly assuming rapid pH changes are happening during their own particular mixing process when it is not. Testing pH change in short term mixing vs. longer term mixing is the only way to know for sure what pH is actually doing.

I'm not really into this rapid mixing thing. Too much work. Easier to put in the powerhead and heater and leave this equipment work while I have a good night's sleep :mrgreen:

As a point of interest, here is Epcor's On-Line Tour of a Water Treatment Plant. It details all the processes untreated water (in our case, water from the N. Saskatchewan River) goes through to get to our taps:

http://www.epcor.ca/EPCOR+Companies/EPCOR+Water+Services/Treatment+Plants/E+L+Smith/On-Line+Tour.htm