Is there a risk to adding desiccant packets (silica gel) to salt, dry additives, foods, etc?

[yanetterer]

My system is only about 40 gallons, so it can take a long time to go through some of my consumables. A bucket of salt will last me 4 to 6 months, it took over two years to get through a bag of calcium hydroxide, a small container of dry All For Reef will likely last me over a year. Salt is probably the only one that I can visibly tell has been affected by moisture, perhaps others have lost some efficacy that may not be easily observable.

Would adding desiccant packets help to maintain quality/efficacy of additives? Is there a risk that common dry additives could have a negative reaction to the silica, or absorb some of the silica which could then end up in the tank? Would they be effective if say a drop of ro/di water splashes into the container or is it mainly effective against moisture in the air?

My assumption is that if they are safe to be added in some food packages, they are likely safe for most reef related foods or additives, but I wanted to check first.

 

[elysics]

If you want you can fix them to the inside of the lid of containers rather than just dumping them into the powders. That way you also don't get chemicals on the packets and vice versa and can reuse them.

They don't work forever though, if you've got old ones lying around you can bake them to refresh them.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The packet is not a concern if it stays intact, but a tight fitting lid is fine for most of these, and water may not be the main culprit when it is not (as opposed to CO2 for calcium hydroxide or oxide and O2 for organic materials.