Saltwater shelf life?

[Piratefish]

If I mixed up a batch of saltwater how long is it good for if kept in a clean sealed container??

 

[Bifferwine]

I've left mine for several weeks. It's better if you have a powerhead to keep it moving.

 

[yote]

+1 Biff
If you can keep the water moving,it'll keep a whole lot longer.

 

[Piratefish]

Thanks

 

[dcantucson]

I keep mine no more than a month. I have noticed that without movement, sometimes slime develops. Yuk!

 

[koda_dad]

how long with movement? or pretty much as long as you need?

 

[daugherty]

i have had mine for over a month with a pump in it i mix almost 70 gal at a time

 

[dcantucson]

how long with movement? or pretty much as long as you need?

I think regarding chemistry that many of the additives in the saltwater would gradually lose their effectiveness over a long period of time with premixed saltwater. That's a good question though. I'll have to look and see if there's a expiration date on the premixed stuff at Petco.

Not sure of the correct answer here. Maybe Tanked could chime in. She probably would know.

 

[tankedchemist]

as far as I know, none of the stuff in the salt mixes really expires. it's mostly ions, and once those get wet, they don't tend to change much. The main reason saltwater would expire is due to lack of aeration, which you can fix by mixing it, or growth of nasties which might consume things in there. I'd also keep a lid on it to prevent evaporation, and use an opague container so light doesn't get in.

You'd only expect aqueous solutions to expire if they have something with antioxidant properties, or something that's colorful. Saltwater doesn't have either of these things, really, so I'm guessing it's good to use as long as it's kept mixing and doesn't grow anything in it.

 

[wontonflip]

It's nice to have a resident chemist here :D Thanks for the explanation, tanked!