Clumping salt. Will it ever fully disolve?

**jim t** · 01-01-2009, 08:33 PM

I allways purchase salt in the 5 gallon buckets, well this time during shipping(fedex)
the bucket was cracked but no salt leaked out.The top of the bag has a twistie tie on it.
The salt is mostly clumps and can be broken up but does this affect the salt? It does
not seen to disolve fully when mixed with water. Dr. Fosters is sending me a new one
with out a problem but I would hate to through away all of that salt. Any ideas??
Thank You

**CarmieJo** · 01-01-2009, 08:46 PM

I've had salt get clumped when I forgot to put the twistie back on it and I've found that it dissolves if I dump it in the water and mix it with a powerhead.

**Carty** · 01-01-2009, 08:50 PM

its just clumping because of the humidity in the air.. you could throw rice in the bucket and then just strain the rice out when you mix it.. but it won't affect the salt at all just leaving it alone

**jim t** · 01-01-2009, 09:06 PM

I'm using a maxijet 900 in a 5 gal. bucket. Do you think
I could strain with a filter sock to remove the snow??
Or maybe it just takes longer. I have let it sit for a couple of hours
and it still has some snow.

**CarmieJo** · 01-01-2009, 09:35 PM

I'd probably let it mix overnight.

**rayme07** · 01-01-2009, 09:44 PM

Iv heard putting a heater in the bucket and heating up the water will make the salt dissolve quicker.

**Carty** · 01-01-2009, 11:04 PM

that's because the heat in the water raises the saturation level and therefore dissolves faster

**ryandlf** · 01-02-2009, 01:09 AM

I've had the exact same problem...the day before my water change, I mix everything together and just let a heater and powerhead mix all night long. Sometimes there is some residue left on the bottom of the bucket but I just pour the water into another bucket and rinse the residue out of the first one. Its never caused a problem for me.

**Carty** · 01-02-2009, 02:16 AM

I have a feeling that when we buy salt we arent getting 100% salt, im sure dust and such from the factory gets mixed in and that might be the residue that is left over.. or maybe your tank has reached saturation on certain supplements like iodine for example and therefore the rest of it just sits.. im not saying its iodine, just using it as an example

**dillan** · 01-02-2009, 02:44 AM

I just got a busted bucket of red sea coral pro with the exact same problem. when i mix it up it doesn't dissolve all the way and the water stays very cloudy but after sitting for a day it turns nice and clear and there is no residue left.

**jim t** · 01-02-2009, 08:39 AM

I use the same salt Dillan. I think Red Sea should buy better buckets

**dillan** · 01-02-2009, 12:10 PM

I agree but it's a good thing they use a good strong bag inside it.

**Skurvey Dog** · 01-02-2009, 12:33 PM

I keep my salt water in a 32 gallon holding tank, with heater, with a mag pump to circulate. If you have a large pump, you can use a filter sock on the intake to filter the water before pumping into your DT. Heat and filter it for 24 hours before use and it should be fine.