Mixing Station - Can you speed up the process with an external heater?

[reefsaver]

I usually sit a 25W heater, an air pump with air-stone and a 1000Lph pump in a 5 gallon bucket, I put in around 700g of salt with 18Liters + or - and usually come back around the same time the next day to do a water change. Would there be anything wrong with using an external heater to heat the water to the correct temp, I would still test the salinity and add more salt or water and wait again for temperature but how soon is too soon would you say to add newly mixed salt?

 

[NowGlazeIT]

I would give the extra added salt at least an hour to dissipate before adding to your reef. Some salt brands like Red Sea recommend using within 4 hours and other brands like reef crystals ask for you to mix the salt overnight. So a bit of the caution can be mitigated depending on your salt brand. Why do you want to switch heaters? I don’t see the problem in it but fwiw I don’t use a heater with my water changes because 10-20% water change doesn’t effect my temp much.

 

[WVNed]

I am not sure what you are asking. What do you mean by external heater?
The source of heat for the water doesn't matter as long as you don't melt the bucket.

The salt I use allows me to prepare 300 liters of mixed saltwater in 4 hours. But all brands are different.

 

[MikeTheNewbie]

Doesn't heat promote precipitation?
I used my heater during mixing once and it got some crust. Not completely sure if it was related to temperature but just in case I mix at room temperature and heat up next morning or the night before a large water change. I make 45 gal batches and it takes a while
I

 

[mikedgrok]

Doesn't heat promote precipitation?
I used my heater during mixing once and it got some crust. Not completely sure if it was related to temperature but just in case I mix at room temperature and heat up next morning or the night before a large water change. I make 45 gal batches and it takes a while
I

For me this isn't related to using a heater or not (which I do but didn't always). Think maybe it's just how this salt (IO reef crystals) mixes?

I have a smaller tank so try to keep fresh mix around same temp as tank so I can add quickly without worrying too much

I use a 50w in a 5g bucket with 110gph pump

I add few hours after mixing and same as you make minor adjustments with some extra salt or extra water to get me to 1.026

 

[reefsaver]

I am not sure what you are asking. What do you mean by external heater?
The source of heat for the water doesn't matter as long as you don't melt the bucket.

The salt I use allows me to prepare 300 liters of mixed saltwater in 4 hours. But all brands are different.

Like a fan heater just blowing on the bucket, just to heat it then I take it off once the 25w heater light comes off and let it cool to room temp. 18 liters is a 20% water change for me I have a 25G or 90 liter.

 

[WVNed]

Like a fan heater just blowing on the bucket, just to heat it then I take it off once the 25w heater light comes off and let it cool to room temp. 18 liters is a 20% water change for me I have a 25G or 90 liter.

A heater in the water will work faster than anything else. Get a bigger heater for the bucket.

 

[lefkonj]

I wouldn't use an external heater like a fan because it will cause evaporation as well.

I use a 65 gallon drum for new salt water and I have a heater in it because the water is no where near the right temp and temp impacts salinity and proper mixing. You want the water to be at a proper temp or at least close to get the right mix.

 

[Joe31415]

Like a fan heater just blowing on the bucket,

There's nothing inherently wrong with that so long as you don't (as someone else mentioned) melt the bucket or otherwise heat it enough to risk chemicals in the plastic leeching into the water. The real problem, IMO, is the wasted of electricity and possibly overheating the water. Any heat you can feel in the room, is heat not absorbed by the water. And, since, the external heater isn't regulated (at least not by the water temp), it has the ability to drive the water temp far above what you're aiming for. However, that would take *hours*. In reality, blowing hot air on the outside of a bucket sitting in the middle of a room is going to take a really, really long time to have any real effect on the water. If you want to speed up the process, get a bigger submersible heater or even just toss two of them in there.

Personally, I keep water ready to go in my basement. If I think ahead, I'll move a 5g bucket of it upstairs the day before so it's room temp by the morning, call it 70ish degrees. Going from 70 to 78 takes, what, an hour or so with a submersible heater. A lot of times I just plug it in before I run a few errands or leave it heating while I'm at work for the day. Doesn't matter how cold the water starts, it'll be ready when I get home.

I wouldn't use an external heater like a fan because it will cause evaporation as well.

Put a lid on the bucket. All the water that evaporates will condense on the lid and drip back in. That's what I do even with a submersible heater, the only water that gets out is what makes it through the crack where the cord for the heater goes in.

 

[mikedgrok]

There's nothing inherently wrong with that so long as you don't (as someone else mentioned) melt the bucket or otherwise heat it enough to risk chemicals in the plastic leeching into the water. The real problem, IMO, is the wasted of electricity and possibly overheating the water. Any heat you can feel in the room, is heat not absorbed by the water. And, since, the external heater isn't regulated (at least not by the water temp), it has the ability to drive the water temp far above what you're aiming for. However, that would take *hours*. In reality, blowing hot air on the outside of a bucket sitting in the middle of a room is going to take a really, really long time to have any real effect on the water. If you want to speed up the process, get a bigger submersible heater or even just toss two of them in there.

Personally, I keep water ready to go in my basement. If I think ahead, I'll move a 5g bucket of it upstairs the day before so it's room temp by the morning, call it 70ish degrees. Going from 70 to 78 takes, what, an hour or so with a submersible heater. A lot of times I just plug it in before I run a few errands or leave it heating while I'm at work for the day. Doesn't matter how cold the water starts, it'll be ready when I get home.


Put a lid on the bucket. All the water that evaporates will condense on the lid and drip back in. That's what I do even with a submersible heater, the only water that gets out is what makes it through the crack where the cord for the heater goes in.

Do you ever have concerns over mixed water that is stored "too long" before you use it (in the basement) ?

I'd like to mix a few buckets ahead of time and be able to bring them out a few hours before using to toss a powerhead and heater into...

Any thoughts? (Sorry, I know this is a separate question from this thread!!)

 

[WVNed]

I keep mixed water in a 100 gallon tank always. Use some, make more. Sometimes I don't use any for a month if I am not doing water changes. It has never been a problem. Once it is made I turn off the mixing pump and heater and just let it sit at room temperature. If I am going to do a large water change I turn them back on for a while to get the temp up again.

 

[homer1475]

You can store mixed salt water, pretty much indefinitely depending on the salt mix used.

Some salts have organics in them that must be used within hours or it "sours". Some salts like IO, I have mixed up and used several months later without issue.

I never heat my water beyond room temp as 10G in a 90G system only lowers my temps by 1 or 2 degrees. Even if I do larger changes, room temp(70 degrees) doesn't lower temps that much.

Even in my recent tank teardown and setup, I did not heat my water. Left it room temp, filled the tank, and let the heater do it's thing for 2 hours and added my fish and corals back in.

People tend to way overthink things in this hobby. KISS applies to most things in reefing. Its the human element that really tends to screw things up with our overthinking.

 

[CMMorgan]

An external heater is a waste of money and energy. As the wise people before me have said, internal heater, put a lid on it. I personally do not use a heater to mix. Room temp is fine.

 

[blasterman]

I try to mix my water hot or at least warm by adding a few gallons that have been heated up to near boiling on my stove. This always speeds up dissolving time due to basic chemistry. Not necessary, but faster and leaves less in the bucket.

I use a power head with a venturi to aerate the mix as much as possible and when it hits room temp its ready.

 

[Joe31415]

Do you ever have concerns over mixed water that is stored "too long" before you use it (in the basement) ?

No. Perhaps I should, but I've never heard any compelling reason not to do so.
The only thing I've heard is that the powerhead shouldn't be left running continuously after the first 24 hours or so. People have stated that the salt (or other additives) can come back out of solution. IIRC, the reason it doesn't happen in the tank had something to do with ammonia (or nitrate and nitrites), which isn't present in your mixing bucket, keep that from happening. No idea if it's true, but I've started unplugging the powerhead about a day after it's done being mixed and haven't seen any ill effects. There may actually be less crud accumulating on the bottom of the bucket, but I haven't really paid close enough attention.

In any case, I don't do a lot of water changes so I don't go through that much water, however, I've been known to randomly decide to pick up a new fish so it's nice to be able to have a QT up and running in 5 minutes.