Can I still use IO salt that has turned clumpy?

xdestry · 10/16/2014, 03:57 PM

I bought a 200 lb box of IO salt and the bag on the very bottom is hard/clumpy. I can still break it apart pretty easily by hand most of it is in one solid mass. I was wondering whether I can still use the salt if I break it up before throwing it in the mixing bucket. Thanks!

Mark Bianco · 10/16/2014, 04:13 PM

As long as its only moisture that turned it clumpy. And nothing else was spelled into it.

Don't laugh it happens...

Viethuenese · 10/16/2014, 04:57 PM

They're usually just clump up , stir it

disc1 · 10/16/2014, 05:31 PM

If it will break up easily then it is probably OK. The bad thing that can happen is that the calcium and carbonate salts get together to make calcium carbonate and the salt gets hard like concrete. That calcium and alkalinity will not dissolve after it gets together like that so the salt comes up short on both those parameters.

The safe thing would be to check the alkalinity of the fresh mix. If thats ok then you are in good shape. If it is way low then chunk the batch and get new salt.

One more caveat while I'm at it. When you have chunky salt, you should break up all the chunks before you use any of it. It is tempting to take what is left of the loose salt around the chunks and leave the chunks. That can be bad if the salt has separated a little when it made the chunks. You may find that the salt mixes extra clear and all the calcium is gone. Doesn't always happen, but if you break up the chunks and mix things up a bit you won't have to worry at all.

xdestry · 10/17/2014, 06:43 PM

Thank you guys for the information. So i ended up mixing up the salt for 24 hours and it seems like there are a bunch of small crystals of what I am assuming is alk precipitate inside the water. I tested the water and these are the parameters

Alk 7.224 (Hanna)
Calcium 400 (salifert)
Magnesium 1320 (salifert.

According to this thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1714505

The alkalinity of the mixture should be 11, calcium at 400, and magnesium at 1350.

That being said I think some of the alkalinity has precipitated out. My question now is can I add more 2 part alkalinity and magnesium to the water to get the levels where I want them and still use the water? The precipitate crystals are floating around since the pumps are still going. I am sure if I let the water sit for a while with no flowmost of the crystals if not all will sink to the bottom and I can just take water from the top that will have no precipitate in it. Is this safe or should I just dump the whole batch? I really would rather keep it since its 55 gallons of water but if you guys dont think itll be safe I will just dump it and go back to using red sea coral pro lol. Thanks for any help you can provide.

xdestry · 10/18/2014, 04:28 PM

bump

Aquarist007 · 10/18/2014, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xdestry

bump

Use two part according to the chemistry calculator

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chem_calc3.html

10/16/2014, 03:57 PM	#1
xdestry SPS Addict Join Date: May 2014 Location: Pasadena, CA Posts: 662	Can I still use IO salt that has turned clumpy? I bought a 200 lb box of IO salt and the bag on the very bottom is hard/clumpy. I can still break it apart pretty easily by hand most of it is in one solid mass. I was wondering whether I can still use the salt if I break it up before throwing it in the mixing bucket. Thanks! __________________ 100 gallon MIXED / SPS frag dominant Current Tank Info: 100 Gallon + 40G Sump, ATI Sunpower Dimmable 8x39 (B+,C+,B+.Act.B+.P+.Gieseman Super Act, B+), 2x MP40QD, Aquamaxx Q2 + ConeS CO1 Skimmers

10/16/2014, 05:31 PM	#4
disc1 -RT * ln(k) Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Little Rock Posts: 9,705	If it will break up easily then it is probably OK. The bad thing that can happen is that the calcium and carbonate salts get together to make calcium carbonate and the salt gets hard like concrete. That calcium and alkalinity will not dissolve after it gets together like that so the salt comes up short on both those parameters. The safe thing would be to check the alkalinity of the fresh mix. If thats ok then you are in good shape. If it is way low then chunk the batch and get new salt. One more caveat while I'm at it. When you have chunky salt, you should break up all the chunks before you use any of it. It is tempting to take what is left of the loose salt around the chunks and leave the chunks. That can be bad if the salt has separated a little when it made the chunks. You may find that the salt mixes extra clear and all the calcium is gone. Doesn't always happen, but if you break up the chunks and mix things up a bit you won't have to worry at all. __________________ David Current Tank: Undergoing reconstruction...

10/17/2014, 06:43 PM	#5
xdestry SPS Addict Join Date: May 2014 Location: Pasadena, CA Posts: 662	Thank you guys for the information. So i ended up mixing up the salt for 24 hours and it seems like there are a bunch of small crystals of what I am assuming is alk precipitate inside the water. I tested the water and these are the parameters Alk 7.224 (Hanna) Calcium 400 (salifert) Magnesium 1320 (salifert. According to this thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1714505 The alkalinity of the mixture should be 11, calcium at 400, and magnesium at 1350. That being said I think some of the alkalinity has precipitated out. My question now is can I add more 2 part alkalinity and magnesium to the water to get the levels where I want them and still use the water? The precipitate crystals are floating around since the pumps are still going. I am sure if I let the water sit for a while with no flowmost of the crystals if not all will sink to the bottom and I can just take water from the top that will have no precipitate in it. Is this safe or should I just dump the whole batch? I really would rather keep it since its 55 gallons of water but if you guys dont think itll be safe I will just dump it and go back to using red sea coral pro lol. Thanks for any help you can provide. __________________ 100 gallon MIXED / SPS frag dominant Current Tank Info: 100 Gallon + 40G Sump, ATI Sunpower Dimmable 8x39 (B+,C+,B+.Act.B+.P+.Gieseman Super Act, B+), 2x MP40QD, Aquamaxx Q2 + ConeS CO1 Skimmers

10/18/2014, 04:28 PM	#6
xdestry SPS Addict Join Date: May 2014 Location: Pasadena, CA Posts: 662	bump __________________ 100 gallon MIXED / SPS frag dominant Current Tank Info: 100 Gallon + 40G Sump, ATI Sunpower Dimmable 8x39 (B+,C+,B+.Act.B+.P+.Gieseman Super Act, B+), 2x MP40QD, Aquamaxx Q2 + ConeS CO1 Skimmers

10/16/2014, 04:13 PM	#2
Mark Bianco In Memoriam Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Infinity and Beyond Posts: 2,445	As long as its only moisture that turned it clumpy. And nothing else was spelled into it. Don't laugh it happens...

10/16/2014, 04:57 PM	#3
Viethuenese Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Tpa Posts: 63	They're usually just clump up , stir it