Storing saltwater

[Melissa]

Hi all,
I usually mix about 5gal of ASW using IO for my water changes once a week. I would like to make a drum of ASW - like a large brute trash can full so that I won't have to haul water around all the time. I have an airstone on a small pump to keep the water circulated. Would this be an ok situation for storing ASW? How long would it be ok to keep stored water as long as it's circulated?

Melissa

[yardboy]

I'd be interested in hearing others thoughts on this also, as I have a 55 gallon tank I store ASW in and have gone as long as 3-4 weeks with it. I've rarely emptied it out also, just refilled when I used some. Is this a bad thing? I do recirculate it, with the water blowing into the tank from above and entraining some air.

[Rick O]

I use a powerhead and keep the water for weeks. Every few months I will use all the SW and clean the container but I usually only do this when I get a buildup of deposits on the bottom of the container.

[Reefdude5]

i have a 64g trashcan on wheels and i dump the last inch or so after every Water Change. There's been studies that have shown that saturating the ASW with air is extremely beneficial, makes more of the mag and Ca available, and the ph correct(ok, don't directly quote any of that, i can't remember exactly, i just remember its really beneficial). Also, some people have trouble storing ASW in their houses because of elevated CO2 levels that can leach into the water.

[Deuce24]

so how long can water be stored in a 5 gallon jug with no circulation? Is it safe for a week, or two? Of course it is no good having to get my water from a LFS every week to do water changes on my 12g nano, so I'm wondering how long I can store it in a cool closet under my stairway.

[jennmac415]

sorry to be so dumb... but what is the A stand for??? I am assuming SW is saltwater...also, how does CO 2 leach into the water?

Thanks!

[ShirleyM]

What Rick said...we make a 33-gal trashcan (Rubbermaid) and set one by each tank...with every good intention of doing the water change on the weekend....sometimes they sit there through three weekends...we also keep a strong powerhead running in each, and the lid sort of on the tubs, but not sealed. Sometimes I get tired of making excuses to people coming over that "Oh, we're doing a water change tonight"...

[ShirleyM]

Originally Posted by jennmac415

sorry to be so dumb... but what is the A stand for???
Thanks!

I have no clue...Artificial salt water??? I just call it...s/w.

[yardboy]

Jenn, the CO2 obey's Graham's Law (I think that's his name) in which a gas diffuses from a region of high concentration (The air contains around 290ppm CO2 outside, potentially much hiogher in your house) to a region of low concentration (the concentration of CO2 in water from the ground or RO/DI would be lower, nearly zero mostly) so the CO2 diffuses into the container of freshly mixed Artificial Salt Water from the air. Covering it up to lessen the surface of the water's exposure to air lowers the diffusion rate.

[jennmac415]

Thanks, so its better to cover it if you want to store it and have a powerhead going?

[Melissa]

Originally Posted by ShirleyM

I have no clue...Artificial salt water??? I just call it...s/w.

ASW=Artificial Salt Water
NSW=Natural Salt(or sea) Water

Sorry for the confusion.

[Melissa]

Originally Posted by yardboy

Jenn, the CO2 obey's Graham's Law (I think that's his name) in which a gas diffuses from a region of high concentration (The air contains around 290ppm CO2 outside, potentially much hiogher in your house) to a region of low concentration (the concentration of CO2 in water from the ground or RO/DI would be lower, nearly zero mostly) so the CO2 diffuses into the container of freshly mixed Artificial Salt Water from the air. Covering it up to lessen the surface of the water's exposure to air lowers the diffusion rate.

Hmmm...so I wonder if I should change my air stone to a powerhead for circulation to avoid this. In my house, I have lots of plants. I'm guessing this would lower the CO2 in my house quite a bit. I do cover my bucket of water, mainly to keep out dust or to avoid dropping something in it. (My bucket is in the pantry. I can see myself going for a can of chef boyardee and - thunk! Right in the water.)

Melissa

[Dingo]

Water sitting in a can will not accumulate CO2. The water will reach the exact same equilibrium point as the water in your tank, or anywhere else in your house, for that matter. And if you put in an airstone, or pump, it will reach that equilibrium point that much faster.

[kwjones]

I thought CO2 build up was somewhat worse in the winter, i.e. all the windows are closed, not much air circulation in the house, people using fireplaces/furnaces. Since CO2 affects water chemistry, some have advocated that if CO2 levels are high in the house, to pump air in from outside...if it does any good or not...I have no idea.

[yardboy]

Another side of the coin, there's the potential of having ammonia in freshly mixed saltwater so using an airstone to sparge it out is a good thing. As Dingo says, the CO2 is nothing to worry about. Now for kalk it's a different story.....
kw - there have been cases of people complaining aobut problems with low pH in the winter with not much other explanation than that their indoor CO2 was higher, and opening a window near their tank for a while caused a pH rise, (with a potential lowering of temp.!)