Salt Mixing Question

[taureandragon76]

Now that I have my brackish setup in a bigger tank I came to the realization that I need to make more water for wc's. I only have one spare powerhead so I can only really do 1 5g bucket of salt. What I am wondering is to keep an SG 1.005 would it be ok just to say make the bucket up at 1.015 then when I take out 4 buckets from the tank add the bucket with 1.015 and 3 buckets of freshwater that should still give me an overall of 1.005?

[yunachin]

You want to mix your water out of the tank at 1.005 before you put it into your tank. Trying to mix water in the tank can make the gravity very unstable. You can always pick up another 5 gallon bucket at a hardware store.

[taureandragon76]

I have lotsa buckets just not enough powerheads.

[yunachin]

I use the plastic part of my python to stir up my salt water.

[spoot]

Aaron, make some high SG water. Mix with freshwater in a separate bucket to bring up the temp. Then add to the tank. That's what I usually do.

[taureandragon76]

^This is what I shall do Newt, just may the higher sg bucket and mix with fresh in other buckets before adding to the tank

[yunachin]

That is what I do too.

[Agnate]

If you have some extra cash, go to a retail store and pick up one of those Rubbermaid-type bins that you use for storage. They easily hold 30 gallons of water, which is perfect for those type of water changes. Just fill 'er up with the Python and pump it in with your powerhead!

I'm considering making a T-valve and switch for one of my powerheads in my 55 gallon so I can just hook it up, flip the switch, and instead of pumping tank water, it will pump in water from one of those bins. We'll see, though, because it's probably almost the same price to just pick up a pump for $20, haha.

[Troender]

I mix water with salt in a bucket, but a bit higher sg than needed. I use a little pump to mix the water with the salt, as I'm a bit lazy Then I heat the water. When the water is warm enough, I pour the bucket into the tank, while filling up with FW at the same time. Then I can use the same powerhead to fill the FW as I always use, and use my hands to fill the SW, as it's only a bucket. No extra powerheads needed. But my BW tanks are pretty small, so a bucket is enough to fill up 20-25 % of the tank, so it's enough for a 50 % WC.