Preparing Saltwater for Your Reef Aquarium

Saltwater Preparation
When I prepare a mixture of saltwater for a water change I will fill a dark container with RO/DI water, and then I will place a heater and a powerhead into the water to thoroughly mix the salt. Maybe you do something similar. But what if you don't use all the saltwater that you have prepared? Can you keep the extra mixed saltwater for your next water change?

I have done enough water changes now to know how much to make. Usually if I have any left over it's only a small amount and so I pour it down the drain. However, sometimes I know that if am going to have a tight schedule, I probably won't have enough time to mix some new saltwater. So I'll mix enough to have ready for my next weekly water change. But I've often wondered, ‘do I risk contaminating the water doing it this way?’

I did a search on a few of the more popular reef aquarium forums and I found that this is a common question, often asked by newbie’s and beginners. Here are some of the suggestions I found:

1. Keep a heater in the water. This will keep the water at or near the temperature of your aquarium so you will not have to worry about giving your sea creatures a cold shock. Plus, you won't have to wait for the water to heat up. The water temperature will be ready when you are.

2. Place a powerhead into the water to keep it moving and aerated. This will keep the water balanced, oxygenated, and it will allow the temperature to be even throughout the entire volume of water.

3. Check your salinity. Your salt level will go up due to water evaporation, so you may need to add some salt. Keep the powerhead running and this will help mix the salt much more quickly.

4. Put a lid on the container. This is one that I didn't know in the beginning. I mixed a bucket once and left it near a window and the water turned burn from algae and I had to dump the water out. So keep your saltwater covered and away from the sun, and try and use a dark container that is made for storing food. You don’t want any chemicals leaking into your saltwater from your container.

These are some great suggestions and thankfully I've been following them all along. So the answer to the question I posed about the risk of contamination is: NO, you will not contaminate your saltwater. So, go ahead and make up some extra saltwater and give the above advice a try and you'll have continued success with your reef aquarium.
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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting. I have always been throwing away the excess saltwater.

Anonymous said...

Nice work man..keep it up.

Anonymous said...

Thanks - I just got some fish a few weeks ago!

Patrice said...

Nice post! I might start keeping my extra water.