how long is salt good for?

[Platehead]

ran out of red sea pro today.

I have a several year bucket of reef crystals that I stored in the furnace room. It is 1/2 full. It isn't caked up. It was kept pretty dry. Is it safe to use?

thx

 

[Jim Tansey]

I would think it's OK.

Jim

 

[mpsteve]

Of course it is

 

[Flame Angel]

I believe the correct answer to this is that the salt is fine. The only issue is breaking it up and remixing it as certain elements will settle based upon their density. If you want consistency in your mixture.

 

[Paul B]

I still use salt that I got out of the bilge of Noah's Ark.

 

[dz6t]

If you mix the salt and get a clear solution after an hour or so, it is ok to use


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Platehead]

Thanks everyone. Mixed clear within a few minutes. IO tech support also said there is no experiation date.

 

[Greg Hiller]

The only issue generally with old salt is that in time the calcium and the carbonate in the mix can combine to form insoluble calcium carbonate, particularly if there is some moisture in the mix (it can harden into a brick in this case). This means the final mix may be a little cloudy or might even have some larger particulates in it. It is STILL okay to use, but you must understand what has happend. The water you add to your tank will then be slightly low in calcium, and slightly low in alkalinity. You can easily correct for this by just adding some calcium chloride to your tank to boost the calcium, and some sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to boost the alkalinity. If you use a two part solution you could just add a bit more of each than you normally do. You also need to understand the 'cloudyness' factor. Doing a 10-15% water change with some cloudy mix is not a bit deal. Doing a 40-50% water change with a cloudy mix in a tank with sensitive corals might be a slightly bigger risk, but still IMO not a big deal. If you have a normal healthy reef system with live rock, etc. you are not likely to have any issues.

And for anyone with some old salt mix out there...I'll be happy to take it off your hands. I'll even dispose of it for free!