Salt shelf life?

Oldude · 02/18/2020, 09:43 AM

Any idea if salt has a shelf life? I am assuming so as I recently bought some Reefers Best salt from a friend who used to be in the hobby but packed it in about a year ago and had a couple of boxes left over. I believe the salt is now 2-3 years old but it was still sealed in its original packaging inside sealed boxes. That said he is a heavy smoker and I can actually smell the smoke that permeated through the plastic into the salt when I do a water change. (yuck) Anyway I have to use about 25% more salt from this batch than I used to when I used that brand to get it to the proper salinity value on my refractometer and it also turns cloudy instead of dissolving clear the way it should. Thoughts?

mcgyvr · 02/18/2020, 09:48 AM

For the most part no it really doesn't... Some salt mixes may contain organics that will degrade overtime though..
The salt may separate a bit too so its best to stir/roll the bucket,etc.. to try to remix the salt

bertoni · 02/18/2020, 06:25 PM

It's probably fine if the smoke doesn't cause problems and the calcium and carbonate haven't combined. If there's not much reside and the calcium and alkalinity levels are fine, the age isn't a problem.

Oldude · 02/18/2020, 08:30 PM

Okay thanks. So far the corals don't seem to mind so I will keep using it.

bertoni · 02/18/2020, 09:24 PM

I suspect the tank will be fine.

five.five-six · 02/26/2020, 06:51 AM

As long as the bags have been sealed and the salt hasn’t gotten hard I would say it’s fine.

02/18/2020, 09:43 AM	#1
Oldude Premium Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Calgary, Canada Posts: 4,479	Salt shelf life? Any idea if salt has a shelf life? I am assuming so as I recently bought some Reefers Best salt from a friend who used to be in the hobby but packed it in about a year ago and had a couple of boxes left over. I believe the salt is now 2-3 years old but it was still sealed in its original packaging inside sealed boxes. That said he is a heavy smoker and I can actually smell the smoke that permeated through the plastic into the salt when I do a water change. (yuck) Anyway I have to use about 25% more salt from this batch than I used to when I used that brand to get it to the proper salinity value on my refractometer and it also turns cloudy instead of dissolving clear the way it should. Thoughts? __________________ ______________________ Greg ~ June 2015 TOTM ~ ~ April 2010 TOTM ~

02/18/2020, 09:48 AM	#2
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	For the most part no it really doesn't... Some salt mixes may contain organics that will degrade overtime though.. The salt may separate a bit too so its best to stir/roll the bucket,etc.. to try to remix the salt __________________ Who me?

02/18/2020, 06:25 PM	#3
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	It's probably fine if the smoke doesn't cause problems and the calcium and carbonate haven't combined. If there's not much reside and the calcium and alkalinity levels are fine, the age isn't a problem. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

02/18/2020, 08:30 PM	#4
Oldude Premium Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Calgary, Canada Posts: 4,479	Okay thanks. So far the corals don't seem to mind so I will keep using it. __________________ ______________________ Greg ~ June 2015 TOTM ~ ~ April 2010 TOTM ~

02/18/2020, 09:24 PM	#5
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I suspect the tank will be fine. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

02/26/2020, 06:51 AM	#6
five.five-six Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Corona Posts: 7,827 Blog Entries: 6	As long as the bags have been sealed and the salt hasn’t gotten hard I would say it’s fine. __________________ Originally posted by yellowslayer13: "I hate that hole" Current Tank Info: SCMAS Member 225 peninsula euroreef RS180 Apex 400W X 3 20k radiums / Spectra mixed SPS