salt buliding up into clumps?

sdreefer69 · 10/08/2010, 01:36 PM

Hello everyone, I am relatively new to this hobby and just have a quick question about mixing my own salt water. thanks a bunch in advance if you can help me out.

I have just started mixing my own water at home thanks to my new water purifier. First I picked up some instant ocean, I liked well but had no trace elements I was told. So my local fish store suggested i pick up a bag of oceanic brand salt. He spoke highly of it, so i went with his word and bought it.

When I opened and measured out the salt for the first time with the oceanic, it mixed up very well just like the instant ocean.

But, I went into the salt bag today to mix some new salt water and found most of the top layer of salt got hard and clumped together.

I broke the large chunks into reasonable, measurable pieces and put it in the barrel of water to mix.

But for some reason today the new salt water isn't coming out super clear like before.

Any suggestions, did my bag of salt get wet and now its not good or something. please help. thank you
-Bryan

Palting · 10/08/2010, 02:32 PM

Ouch. The crystalized salt, the clumps in the bag, have lost their "potency", or now has different chemical characteristics. I would junk it. Next time, keep all unused salt in an airtight container, and make sure your scoop or measuring tool remains bone dry when you stick it in the salt.

Dwyer · 10/08/2010, 02:38 PM

I notice that mine does that if I don't seal the lid good enough on my 5 gallon buckets.
I think it sucks the moisture out of the air and clumps the salt. I took a baseball bat and just hammered it down with the end to loosen up all the clumps again. I had a really thick crust one day. This works like a charm.

reefergeorge · 10/08/2010, 02:47 PM

Paltin is probably right, but I use mine clumped up all the time.

Dustin1300 · 10/08/2010, 02:50 PM

I would guess the crystalized salt is only clumpy because it got moisture from the humidity of where you have stored. I always close buckets as soon as I dip out the salt as I've ran into the same problem. I've not ran into a problem with it being clear or having a different composition.

Where did you store the salt? Is it in a dirty environment such as shop/garage with lots of sawdust/dust/etc???

webos · 10/08/2010, 03:20 PM

I only get a 10 gallon box for my water changes what i don't use I put in a zip lock bag.

10/08/2010, 01:36 PM	#1
sdreefer69 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: San Diego Ca Posts: 9	salt buliding up into clumps? Hello everyone, I am relatively new to this hobby and just have a quick question about mixing my own salt water. thanks a bunch in advance if you can help me out. I have just started mixing my own water at home thanks to my new water purifier. First I picked up some instant ocean, I liked well but had no trace elements I was told. So my local fish store suggested i pick up a bag of oceanic brand salt. He spoke highly of it, so i went with his word and bought it. When I opened and measured out the salt for the first time with the oceanic, it mixed up very well just like the instant ocean. But, I went into the salt bag today to mix some new salt water and found most of the top layer of salt got hard and clumped together. I broke the large chunks into reasonable, measurable pieces and put it in the barrel of water to mix. But for some reason today the new salt water isn't coming out super clear like before. Any suggestions, did my bag of salt get wet and now its not good or something. please help. thank you -Bryan

10/08/2010, 02:32 PM	#2
Palting Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 6,912	Ouch. The crystalized salt, the clumps in the bag, have lost their "potency", or now has different chemical characteristics. I would junk it. Next time, keep all unused salt in an airtight container, and make sure your scoop or measuring tool remains bone dry when you stick it in the salt. __________________ Anything I post is just an opinion. One of many in this hobby. Believe and follow at your own risk of rapid and complete annihilation of all life in your tank :) Current Tank Info: Incept 3/2010, 150 RR, 50g sump, 20g fuge, 150w 15K MH x3, T5 actinics x8, moonlight LED x6, 1400gph return, Koralia 1400 x4, 300 g skimmer, 4 tangs, 2 mandarins, 2 perc, 6 line, 3 cardinals, 2 firefish, SPS, LPS, zoas, palys, shrooms, clam

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10/08/2010, 02:38 PM	#3
Dwyer Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Utah Posts: 59	I notice that mine does that if I don't seal the lid good enough on my 5 gallon buckets. I think it sucks the moisture out of the air and clumps the salt. I took a baseball bat and just hammered it down with the end to loosen up all the clumps again. I had a really thick crust one day. This works like a charm.

10/08/2010, 02:47 PM	#4
reefergeorge Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: St Louis MO Posts: 4,222	Paltin is probably right, but I use mine clumped up all the time.

10/08/2010, 02:50 PM	#5
Dustin1300 Reefaholic Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Carmel, IN Posts: 5,135	I would guess the crystalized salt is only clumpy because it got moisture from the humidity of where you have stored. I always close buckets as soon as I dip out the salt as I've ran into the same problem. I've not ran into a problem with it being clear or having a different composition. Where did you store the salt? Is it in a dirty environment such as shop/garage with lots of sawdust/dust/etc???

10/08/2010, 03:20 PM	#6
webos Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Benton City Posts: 41	I only get a 10 gallon box for my water changes what i don't use I put in a zip lock bag.