Do I need to mix my saltwater for 8-24 hours if I'm just doing initial setup?

[boomshockpow]

Hi all,

I'm getting into saltwater, and I plan to let my tank get cycled and ready over the next 1.5-2 months (I'm going away in early January for a bit).

I have a wavemaker on order and I have extra heaters and stuff to mix saltwater appropriately. But I'm curious, do I really need that for the initial tank fill-up? I know for water changes I definitely do.

Since there is no critters or livestock of any kind, is it enough to hand mix until visibly dissolved (and at the right salinity) and then let the tank do the homogenous mixing with the filter (and powerhead) and whatnot since it won't be touched for a while?

Nice to meet you all. Looking forward to getting into the saltwater side of things.

Thanks in advance!

 

[KrisReef]

Tap water and salt can work fine but long term you will want RODI water to mix replacement water and for evaporation water.

If you are using live rock then I would suggest mixing the water properly before adding rocks.

Dead rocks and fresh water and bags of salt should be fine, but adding the heater and filter circulation to cycle is a minimal starter.

No lights to grow algae.

 

[BryanM]

I mixed mine in tank. RODI is IMO a requirement.

 

[boomshockpow]

Tap water and salt can work fine but long term you will want RODI water to mix replacement water and for evaporation water.

If you are using live rock then I would suggest mixing the water properly before adding rocks.

Dead rocks and fresh water and bags of salt should be fine, but adding the heater and filter circulation to cycle is a minimal starter.

No lights to grow algae.

Sorry, I have a RODI setup, I didn't mean to suggest i wasn't.

I'm running a dark cycle and I have a RODI setup, live sand and rock. Just wasn't sure about the need for many hours of homogenous saltwater mixing for a new tank.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Why would you think it would take 8-24 hours to mix saltwater? Sometimes I mix it only 20-30 minutes then use it.

 

[boomshockpow]

Why would you think it would take 8-24 hours to mix saltwater? Sometimes I mix it only 20-30 minutes then use it.

I have seen a few BRS videos that said that for saltwater to be fully mixed it can sometimes take as long as 24 hours (or more)

Here's one of the videos I watched:

 

[KrisReef]

Sorry, I have a RODI setup, I didn't mean to suggest i wasn't.

I'm running a dark cycle and I have a RODI setup, live sand and rock. Just wasn't sure about the need for many hours of homogenous saltwater mixing for a new tank.

For established reefs with delicate specimens some folks will set up a large container to premix water where they can adjust temperature and many water parameters so that it doesn’t shock the livestock when they change the water.

Your situation is not critical for matching parameters and some people cycle with tap and then do a large (even 100%) water change before adding fish or coral.

 

[boomshockpow]

For established reefs with delicate specimens some folks will set up a large container to premix water where they can adjust temperature and many water parameters so that it doesn’t shock the livestock when they change the water.

Your situation is not critical for matching parameters and some people cycle with tap and then do a large (even 100%) water change before adding fish or coral.

Oh fascinating! I didn't realize that was even in the cards. I'll stick to my filtered water, but thanks for this explanation!

 

[Aaron75]

To simply answer the question, no, I wouldn't mix it for that long. I'd personally mix until clear, usually 20ish minutes and add. For what it's worth, you could just fill the tank with water and add salt directly to the tank since there is no life.