size of mix tank matter?

[jread002]

hi all love the site
its been very helpful over the past few months

heres some background before my question
I have 1 GSP in a 60gal heavily decorated with all fake plants
and mangrove roots. Ive had Gizmo for about 6 months now in FW
hes about 2in + and looks very healthy and happy.
I figured it was time to start adding salt (instant ocean)

OK heres my question/s
i live in a small apt and dont have room for a 30+ gal mix tank for W/C
is it possiable to use 1 or 2 5gal bucktes as mix tanks or do i need something alot bigger
and if the buckets are ok to use how would i go about doing it ie. should i use my python to remove 20+ gal
mix 5gal of salt water and add the other 15gal to the tank through the python

Thankx in advanced for the help
if more info is needed let me know

[drj1259]

what i would do is use the 2 5 gal buckets n mix it the night before and the next day siphon out ten gallons....or however many 5 gal buckets you have mixed

[jread002]

so i shuld only do 10gal water changes? should i still do the WC only once aweek with so little water taken out? i usually do 20gal WC once aweek when it was FW
i have 2 HOB aquaclear 50 filters in the tank. not sure if that would make it more
ok to only do 10gal WC

just want to make sure 10gl isnt to little for the tank

[drj1259]

just all depends if 10 gal a week keeps your parameters good then its fine if you notice it isnt then start doin 15 gal or 20 gal a week but that would require more buckets

[drj1259]

just all depends if 10 gal a week keeps your parameters good then its fine if you notice it isnt then start doin 15 gal or 20 gal a week but that would require more buckets

[bertie 83]

or do them more often? ie 2 x weekly

[jread002]

will a airstone a heater and 12-24hrs of aging mix the salt well enough with 5 gal buckets
also do i test the SG soon after i add the salt to the buckets or wait till next day

thankx for all the quick answers

[drj1259]

yes that will work ad no i normally wait to test SG dont know if it makes a differece or not i do to make sure i get accurate test

[jread002]

ok thankx
sorry for all the questions
but i got one more question
if my tank is 60 gal and im gunna remove/replace 10gal
i know its alittle trial and error but how much salt what would you recomend as a starrting point
for 10gal to get 1.002 sg (that is about what i should aim for every WC correct)
dont know if this being the fist time putting salt in the tank if that would change the amount put in

[drj1259]

ya i i dont remember how much i added to strt out with so start small and test it...if its over you can add some more fresh water to get it where its needed...i think i added like a half cup to 5 gal to start out maybe less i dunno somebody else might have to chime in on that