| New seawater is going to be mixed many times | | | | a good stir to initially mix it in, a wooden |
| in the future. Why not take a little extra | | | | stick (clean) will do. Set off the heater and |
| trouble in the initial mix and save a lot of | | | | air pump. Remember that the temperature of |
| time later? | | | | the mix needs to be at or very close to the |
| | | | temperature of the seawater in the aquarium. |
| When purchasing the sea salt, obtain salt | | | | (Also, temperature has an effect on an SG |
| that is specifically designed for use with R | | | | reading.) Leave for about 8 to 12 hours, more |
| O water, as this should be used rather than | | | | does no harm, this will allow the salt to |
| tap water. | | | | fully mix and the temperature to stabilise. |
| | | | |
| The net gallonage of the aquarium is known. | | | | After the suggested time, measure the SG with |
| Having purchased the dry sea salt, it is | | | | the hydrometer:a. If the SG reading is too |
| fairly easy to guess the amount that is | | | | low, measure out a little more salt and take |
| needed to meet the intended SG of the | | | | a note of the weight. Add the salt to the |
| aquarium seawater, by looking at the | | | | bucket and allow more time for the salt to be |
| suggestions of the manufacturer. Measure out | | | | fully dissolved. Then test again, if more |
| a little less than it appears may be needed. | | | | salt is needed then proceed as above. If the |
| Once the salt has been measured out, weigh it | | | | mix is correct then add the salt weights |
| and take a note. It is recommended that grams | | | | together and put the total in the notebook.b. |
| are used when weighing the salt. | | | | If the SG reading is too high, add a little |
| | | | reverse osmosis water (note the amount) to |
| Before we consider mixing saltwater, fresh | | | | the mix and give time for the temperature to |
| water is needed. It has already been decided | | | | stabilise. Test again. If still too high, add |
| that Reverse Osmosis (R/O) water will be | | | | a little more RO water (again note the |
| used. R/O water takes a considerable while to | | | | amount). If correct, note the total amount of |
| produce in any quantity, so the collection | | | | additional RO water used. By fraction, the |
| must be set in motion in good time so as to | | | | salt can be reduced for the next mix. |
| be available for the mix. The R/O unit | | | | |
| instructions will give a reasonable estimate | | | | Often, the correct amount of salt to be used |
| of how many gallons can be produced in a | | | | in the mix is arrived at by the methods of |
| given time, but add a little more time to | | | | both a. and b. above. Once the amount of salt |
| cover variables. | | | | by weight is known and noted, new seawater |
| | | | mixing is straightforward. However, for the |
| So the mixing bucket is ready, plus the | | | | first few new seawater mixes it is |
| seawater heater and air pump. Place the | | | | recommended that the SG is measured for each |
| weighed salt in the bucket and pour | | | | mix, until confident that the SG is |
| sufficient R/O water in to bring the level to | | | | consistently correct. |
| the required number of gallons. Give the salt | | | | |