Should i age new salt mix?

[kevindub]

I have always let my new saltwater mix circulate for 2-3 days before i added it for water changes. This is what my LFS recommended. The water is made from RO water and tropicmarin. My friend adds salt, mixes it, and then does the water change a hour after it mixes. Is there any reason I should age my water? Should I just make my life easier like my friend?

 

[leftovers]

Aeration for more than an hour is usually a good thing and ensures that the water is at proper ph as well as ensuring that all salt is fully dissolved...that said ive done it both ways and suffered no ill effects either way...

 

[Anonymous]

When I had a tank I would add the salt at night and do the water change in the morning. So about 12 hours of airation.

 

[Anonymous]

I think the new formulations are much faster to dissolve than the old stuff we used years ago. That hard to dissolve mix really needed 24 hours to stabilize. I just got in the habit of doing it that way, but in an emergency I've used water after an hour of hard aeration with no problems.

 

[bfessler]

I generally just throw a power head in a bucket of RODI water with the output pointed to the surface, add my salt and go do something else for an hour or two. As long as its completely dissolved and the salinity is where I want it I go ahead and use it.

 

[Anonymous]

I use it as soon as it is clear and totally disolved.

 

[Len]

Hehe. I'm mixing salt right now in the tank. It dissolved fast to the right salinity, but it's still cloudy. I think Ca probably precipitated. I may have added the salt too fast (200 gallon mixed at the same time). I'm hoping it clears fast.

 

[Minh Nguyen]

IME, if you change up to about 25% of the water, age the water is likely not essential. However, if you chage 50% or more of the water then age the water for 24 hr is essential to keep from killing your fish and other animals.