# Undissolved salt on the bottom of my aquarium



## jethro279 (Feb 8, 2010)

Hi there i have a 6ftx2ftx2ft tank run by one 2400litre cannister filter and one powerhead to give movement to the water, just over 24 hours ago i added around 17 kilos of crystal sea salt to the tank with the powerhead and the cannister filter running, the water cleaned up pretty quick but there is still a small amount of salt lying on the bottom of the tank that i cant seem to dissolve, will this dissolve and have i done the right thing? thanks for any help jeff


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## n1zjd (Jan 25, 2010)

Im a beginnger myself but I can say a few things here accurately,

1) You should ALWAYS mix your salt outside of the aquarium and ensure it is completely dissolved. Let it circulate in a bucket or some other container for 24 hours allowing the temperate to come up to room temp and then test it (preferably with a refractometer) and adjust as needed before putting it into the aquarium.

2) Unless you are running that canister filter empty just for water circulation then it would be of no benefit to the marine aquarium, actually quite the opposite. There are only two forms of filtration in a marine aquarium, your live rock/sand bed and a protein skimmer. So if there is media in the canister filter, remove it now, its doing more harm than good.

Also, your going to want at least a couple more powerheads with a tank of this size. I have 3 in my 29 gallon. As to will it dissolve, Im not sure with I would suspect yes. Good luck.


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

n1zjd said:


> 2) Unless you are running that canister filter empty just for water circulation then it would be of no benefit to the marine aquarium, actually quite the opposite. There are only two forms of filtration in a marine aquarium, your live rock/sand bed and a protein skimmer. So if there is media in the canister filter, remove it now, its doing more harm than good.


I agree. In principle, the design of a canister filter does 3 things very well. 1) They break down ammonia and nitrite, resulting in Nitrate. 2) They trap particulate matter, resulting in the breakdown of organic molecules, depleting carbonates and increase nitrates. 3) They allow for a place to utilize chemical media, such as activated carbon or phos guard.

In the marine aquarium, principle #1 and #2 above are degrading to the environment. The only concept we utilize is #3, and even then in very specific situations which do not apply to newly set up aquariums.

You and I have the same size aquarium, a 180 gallon tank. My tank, pictured below, and almost every other marine aquarium you will find on this forum in the Pictures & Videos area http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/saltwater-fish-pictures-videos/, all utilize the same filtration principles. These are live rock, aragonite sand, and protein skimming. These are the principles that lead to success in the marine aquarium. 

You may already be using this technique and simply use the canister as an auxiliary carbon filter. If so, wonderful! We'd love to see some pictures of your setup. 

Here is a link to my 180 FOWLR, using a protein skimmer, live rock, and aragonite sand as the only filtration system:  Here is the build thread http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/saltwater-fish-pictures-videos/pasfurs-180-fowlr-build-21979/. Hopefully this gives you some help.

On the subject of salt, at this point just continue to utilize water flow to fully dissolve the salt. It may take 48 hours or more.


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## jethro279 (Feb 8, 2010)

hey there thank you very much for this advice i am obviously not even a beginner, i am looking to keep a mangrove jack anything from 300mm to 450mm does the same pricipal still apply? thanks jeff.


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## n1zjd (Jan 25, 2010)

Yes. Its still going to require a sand bed and live rock. As well as a protein skimmer.


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

jethro279 said:


> hey there thank you very much for this advice i am obviously not even a beginner, i am looking to keep a mangrove jack anything from 300mm to 450mm does the same pricipal still apply? thanks jeff.


Hey Jeff, just for clarification to make this conversation easier and more applicable. Are you new to saltwater tanks, or an experienced marine aquarist? I'm not sure I read this correct.

If you are experienced, sorry to be long winded above. This section of the forum is generally where total newbies post. If you have some experience under your belt, let me know and I can move this thread to here: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/saltwater-aquariums/. You may get a higher level conversation.


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