mdlewis11
New Member
I read a thread somewhere about ammonia appearing in freshly mixed salt water. I decided to test this out myself just to see how long one should allow freshly mixed salt water to stand before adding it to the DT. The theory was that chemical reactions caused the mix to spike slightly in ammonia at first and then dissipate in time, usually being 0 ammonia after 24 hours.
Sidebar: I don't have a RO/DI unit yet but it's on my list of things to get.
I draw my tap water in a five gallon bucket and allow it to stand at least 48 hours before I use it for anything. It's not as good as RO/DI water but is better than right out of the tap.
For this test, I have ~5 gallons of tap water that has sat at room temp for 3 or 4 days. I use my "Aquarium Pharm." test kit to test the water and my DT for ammonia. Both read 0 ammonia.
I add enough "Oceanic Natural Sea Salt Mix" to bring the salinity close to 35ppt and swish it around for a few minutes by hand. At this point I didn't have a mixing pump. I gave it a few minutes to totally dissolve and then tested it with my refractometer. The mix was a bit light so I added a bit more salt mix until I got 35ppt.
Once the proper salinity was reached I tested for ammonia and sure enough, it was 1 ppm. No big deal I thought as I had read about this effect and had expected the result. Just for fun I tested again right before bed time, 3 or 4 hour later, and again read a 1 ppm. Keep in mind that the bucket has only been hand agitated for a few minutes as I did not yet own an additional pump.
The next morning, 1 ppm.
24 hours after being mixed, 1 ppm.
48 hours after being mixed, 1 ppm.
72 hours after being mixed, 1 ppm. By now I think it has to be the lack agitation because I remember reading that chemical process that allows the ammonia to dissipate is a reaction between the salt, water and oxygen. So I made a trip to the LFS and pick up a mini pump to place in the bucket. It does a great job at turning over the water in the bucket. Any more flow and there would be spillage.
96 hours after being mixed, and 24 hours of being mixed by strong current, 1 ppm ammonia.
I'm not gonna add this to my DT. And I'm about to go buy another bucket of Instant Ocean, which is what I used before I ran out. But before I did, I wanted to see if you guys have any advice.
Could the water being kept at room temp be a factor? I normally only heat the water right before adding it to the DT.
I wish I had ran this experiment with my Instant Ocean before I ran out.
Any thoughts?
Sidebar: I don't have a RO/DI unit yet but it's on my list of things to get.
I draw my tap water in a five gallon bucket and allow it to stand at least 48 hours before I use it for anything. It's not as good as RO/DI water but is better than right out of the tap.
For this test, I have ~5 gallons of tap water that has sat at room temp for 3 or 4 days. I use my "Aquarium Pharm." test kit to test the water and my DT for ammonia. Both read 0 ammonia.
I add enough "Oceanic Natural Sea Salt Mix" to bring the salinity close to 35ppt and swish it around for a few minutes by hand. At this point I didn't have a mixing pump. I gave it a few minutes to totally dissolve and then tested it with my refractometer. The mix was a bit light so I added a bit more salt mix until I got 35ppt.
Once the proper salinity was reached I tested for ammonia and sure enough, it was 1 ppm. No big deal I thought as I had read about this effect and had expected the result. Just for fun I tested again right before bed time, 3 or 4 hour later, and again read a 1 ppm. Keep in mind that the bucket has only been hand agitated for a few minutes as I did not yet own an additional pump.
The next morning, 1 ppm.
24 hours after being mixed, 1 ppm.
48 hours after being mixed, 1 ppm.
72 hours after being mixed, 1 ppm. By now I think it has to be the lack agitation because I remember reading that chemical process that allows the ammonia to dissipate is a reaction between the salt, water and oxygen. So I made a trip to the LFS and pick up a mini pump to place in the bucket. It does a great job at turning over the water in the bucket. Any more flow and there would be spillage.
96 hours after being mixed, and 24 hours of being mixed by strong current, 1 ppm ammonia.
I'm not gonna add this to my DT. And I'm about to go buy another bucket of Instant Ocean, which is what I used before I ran out. But before I did, I wanted to see if you guys have any advice.
Could the water being kept at room temp be a factor? I normally only heat the water right before adding it to the DT.
I wish I had ran this experiment with my Instant Ocean before I ran out.
Any thoughts?
