It's actually pretty interesting that you're noticing heat production when you dissolve your salt. Whether the dissolution of ionic compounds (salts) is endothermic (uses energy) or exothermic (releases energy) is dependent on the compound. There are two different reactions involving energy here, the breaking of the ionic bond (lattice energy) which costs energy, and the bond made when water gathers around those ions (hydration energy), which releases energy. When the lattice energy is greater than the hydration energy, heat is absorbed, when it's less, heat is released. I say it's interesting in this case, because we think of 'salt' as being mostly NaCl, but dissolving NaCl is a net endothermic reaction, and it would be getting colder in that case, not hotter.
Huh, that is super interesting. I must say, I only noticed this reaction when using certain types of salt, maybe from brightwell? But maybe I am mis-remembering.
Little tip if you're from the UK you can get 0.00ppt Water from little tanks (look like mini cargo ship containers with a fuel pump on them) scattered all over he UK from SpotlessWater. It cost around 3p per litre. super simple, dab your card, pick up the nozzle, fill up your container. It's just like filling up your car with petrol. I managed to fill up my 250 litre tank for a little over £7. the most expensive part was the salt £22 on amazon for 10kg Hope this Helps any UK people looking for Water cheaper than their local fish store
I believe the reason why the temperature increases is because most salts are anhydrous (void of water) and somehow the chemical mix increases the temp..sometimes you can mix your salt by simply rolling the bucket on its side to prevent any stratification. Nicely done video my friend.. 😁
@@MyFirstFishTank @My First Fish Tank Tank collection in T - minus 5 hours 🎉🎉🎉 Thanks again for all the help, i like the pacing too as it works for buying used slowly which you suggest as a route into hobby. Thanks to Max for written blog too, as hand to reference that after 🍻🐠
Thanks for the videos and website - all entertaining (and useful too). Using any heater is OK but buying either the same heater as your display tank has is better because you never know when you need a replacement heater when the LFS are closed. Simon
Very informative video as always. One thing that might be worth calling out if you ever revisit this topic, I find the heater and pump used for mixing salt is a great chance to buy a back up for your main tank. It’s not always a one to one, but if you can do this, it’ll save you some money and you know in a pinch your back up heater or pump actually works.
Great content! Had my first reef in 1993 and premixed seawater wasn’t an option! As I get back into this with my daughter, it amazes me that it’s available now. Things have gotten so much easier from what we used the , but with the wider range of corals available, it seems it’s gotten complicated again!
Usually it's okay, but studied were done where the salt doesnt fully get "dissolved" into the water as quickly as we may think. 24 hours usually ensures best results but it's not like you're hurting anything by waiting only an hour.
hey teach. it’s called an endothermic reaction. because salt on its own attracts heat & water from its surroundings. i picture it when they pour salt on iced roads. notice how when they pour it, the ice immediately melts? great vid. i’m currently working on a mobile RODI system. due to space constraints.
Just a minor niggle with cost. A lot of people actually have to pay for water so that needs to be taken into account, especially as a lot of the water going to an RODI filter is "wasted". Wasted doesn't mean simply throw it away however. I am sure people can think of things to do with it even it's it is watering the plants. Another thing to prepare people, RODI filters are slow. Most RODI filters actually state how much is created by day, not how much per hour which is telling. If filling something like a trashcan I use a timer on my phone to alert me after X time so I do not forget it, wasting water and potentially flooding where I am making it.
That's true. I was actually being super conservative. For me, my total water bill is $20/month, and I get a box of salt on sale for around $60, so really, I save close to $140 per box!
Measure the weight of the salt with a Kitchen scale in grams. Figure out by how much you need and weigh out bags of pre measured salt. Way faster and easier then counting scoops
@@MyFirstFishTank one of those things, the day you get the bucket in the mail it's a bit of work but for the next 6 months you just dump a bag in a bucket of water
That's a great question, and I don't have an answer for you. It would seem that if you let seawater evaporate and then use the salt, that it would be okay, but I honestly have no idea. Check out a reef2reef forum, somebody probably has the answer!
I have 2 65 gallon tanks from tractor supply in the garage 1 for fresh rodi and 1 for mixed saltwater . I live in Florida. In the summer it gets really hot how do you recommend cooling the water back down to 78-79 without a chiller? I plan to do 10% water changes weekly on a waterbox 130.4 so roughly 13 gallons thanks for the help!
You can keep to extra saltwater hot while it is stored, and just leave a few gallons of room when making/storing it. Then have ice available that you can use to cool it down, then raise the salt level back up before you use it. Not super efficient, but I don't see another easy way without a chiller or using Air Conditioning
I used to have this problem too because I stored my saltwater outside in the desert heat. The only way I got around it was to transfer the amount I need 24 hours early into a large trash can and move the trash can inside with the lid off. That seemed to cool it down enough by the time the water change rolled around.
@@MyFirstFishTank thanks for the reply. Same with sand? And do you have a video on how to setup the sump and connect it to the tank etc? I’m trying to get a custom tank built with specific dimensions but don’t know what to tell the guy regarding drilling holes for sump and filtration etc. Do you perhaps have videos on that? I don’t see it on the beginners playlist. Thanks again for your help and feedback.
It's actually pretty interesting that you're noticing heat production when you dissolve your salt. Whether the dissolution of ionic compounds (salts) is endothermic (uses energy) or exothermic (releases energy) is dependent on the compound. There are two different reactions involving energy here, the breaking of the ionic bond (lattice energy) which costs energy, and the bond made when water gathers around those ions (hydration energy), which releases energy. When the lattice energy is greater than the hydration energy, heat is absorbed, when it's less, heat is released. I say it's interesting in this case, because we think of 'salt' as being mostly NaCl, but dissolving NaCl is a net endothermic reaction, and it would be getting colder in that case, not hotter.
Yeah it's interesting. I personally never noticed any extra heat, but was wondering what could cause it!
Huh, that is super interesting. I must say, I only noticed this reaction when using certain types of salt, maybe from brightwell? But maybe I am mis-remembering.
I did this..I added a bucket and a half of tropic marin salt to my beast
Nice, with no livestock in right? :-)
Yea no live stock, just started the cycle with dry rock and dry sand
Top vid reefer yet again 🙌🏻 tanks looking great bud
Thanks 👍
Little tip if you're from the UK
you can get 0.00ppt Water from little tanks (look like mini cargo ship containers with a fuel pump on them) scattered all over he UK from SpotlessWater. It cost around 3p per litre. super simple, dab your card, pick up the nozzle, fill up your container. It's just like filling up your car with petrol.
I managed to fill up my 250 litre tank for a little over £7. the most expensive part was the salt £22 on amazon for 10kg
Hope this Helps any UK people looking for Water cheaper than their local fish store
I believe the reason why the temperature increases is because most salts are anhydrous (void of water) and somehow the chemical mix increases the temp..sometimes you can mix your salt by simply rolling the bucket on its side to prevent any stratification. Nicely done video my friend.. 😁
Thanks Darren!
Such a good series, RODI filter and pressure boosting pump are on setup list 👌
Dang right! Just get that Puratek deluxe and it comes with both!
@@MyFirstFishTank @My First Fish Tank Tank collection in T - minus 5 hours 🎉🎉🎉
Thanks again for all the help, i like the pacing too as it works for buying used slowly which you suggest as a route into hobby.
Thanks to Max for written blog too, as hand to reference that after 🍻🐠
Thanks for the videos and website - all entertaining (and useful too). Using any heater is OK but buying either the same heater as your display tank has is better because you never know when you need a replacement heater when the LFS are closed. Simon
Very informative video as always. One thing that might be worth calling out if you ever revisit this topic, I find the heater and pump used for mixing salt is a great chance to buy a back up for your main tank. It’s not always a one to one, but if you can do this, it’ll save you some money and you know in a pinch your back up heater or pump actually works.
That's a great money saving tip! Thanks David!
I do the same thing. I count my scoops out loud 👍
Seriously? I thought I was alone because I feel so stupid every time I do it!
Great content! Had my first reef in 1993 and premixed seawater wasn’t an option! As I get back into this with my daughter, it amazes me that it’s available now. Things have gotten so much easier from what we used the , but with the wider range of corals available, it seems it’s gotten complicated again!
It's crazy how far this hobby has come in a few decades right?!?!
Lol I usually leave the saltwater mixing for about an hour not 24hrs😅
Usually it's okay, but studied were done where the salt doesnt fully get "dissolved" into the water as quickly as we may think. 24 hours usually ensures best results but it's not like you're hurting anything by waiting only an hour.
I must admit that I don’t think you have to wait. If mixed well, you can use it within 30 minutes or so right?!?!
hey teach. it’s called an endothermic reaction. because salt on its own attracts heat & water from its surroundings. i picture it when they pour salt on iced roads. notice how when they pour it, the ice immediately melts? great vid. i’m currently working on a mobile RODI system. due to space constraints.
That makes total sense. So salt somehow draws energy from the chemical reaction which results in heat?
@@MyFirstFishTank you got it teach!
Just a minor niggle with cost. A lot of people actually have to pay for water so that needs to be taken into account, especially as a lot of the water going to an RODI filter is "wasted". Wasted doesn't mean simply throw it away however. I am sure people can think of things to do with it even it's it is watering the plants. Another thing to prepare people, RODI filters are slow. Most RODI filters actually state how much is created by day, not how much per hour which is telling. If filling something like a trashcan I use a timer on my phone to alert me after X time so I do not forget it, wasting water and potentially flooding where I am making it.
That's true. I was actually being super conservative. For me, my total water bill is $20/month, and I get a box of salt on sale for around $60, so really, I save close to $140 per box!
I have a Aquasana H2O RO under sink filter. Is this ok to use? Why I ask is it has a remineralizer on it.
Measure the weight of the salt with a Kitchen scale in grams. Figure out by how much you need and weigh out bags of pre measured salt. Way faster and easier then counting scoops
That's interesting, because that sounds so much more difficult to me!!! But whatever works, go with it right?
@@MyFirstFishTank one of those things, the day you get the bucket in the mail it's a bit of work but for the next 6 months you just dump a bag in a bucket of water
Hello brother, i have a question can i use dry sea Christel Salt (row sea salt) for making marine water??
I don't think it's a good idea. If you mean the salt you use for food, then definitely not, but if it's something else, I can't say for sure
@@Max-kd2gh I am talking about the salt that is found to dry the sea water, without iodine.
That's a great question, and I don't have an answer for you. It would seem that if you let seawater evaporate and then use the salt, that it would be okay, but I honestly have no idea. Check out a reef2reef forum, somebody probably has the answer!
I have 2 65 gallon tanks from tractor supply in the garage 1 for fresh rodi and 1 for mixed saltwater . I live in Florida. In the summer it gets really hot how do you recommend cooling the water back down to 78-79 without a chiller? I plan to do 10% water changes weekly on a waterbox 130.4 so roughly 13 gallons thanks for the help!
You can keep to extra saltwater hot while it is stored, and just leave a few gallons of room when making/storing it. Then have ice available that you can use to cool it down, then raise the salt level back up before you use it. Not super efficient, but I don't see another easy way without a chiller or using Air Conditioning
I used to have this problem too because I stored my saltwater outside in the desert heat. The only way I got around it was to transfer the amount I need 24 hours early into a large trash can and move the trash can inside with the lid off. That seemed to cool it down enough by the time the water change rolled around.
What is the correct salinity level we are looking for?
1.025ish
Can you use saltwater direct from the ocean? Or is it too risky due to contaminants etc?
Absolutely. Just make sure it is legal and clean.
@@MyFirstFishTank thanks for the reply. Same with sand? And do you have a video on how to setup the sump and connect it to the tank etc? I’m trying to get a custom tank built with specific dimensions but don’t know what to tell the guy regarding drilling holes for sump and filtration etc. Do you perhaps have videos on that? I don’t see it on the beginners playlist. Thanks again for your help and feedback.