RO DI WATER / and Saltwater Mix

[ztoom]

How long can you store RO DI water in Rubbermaid trash cans? Also how long can you store saltwater that is made up?

[dakar]

If the containers are dark and covered months isn't out of the question at all. I like to age new SW mix for at least a week, and always have 60-70 gallons of RO made up. I just keep a heater and a powerhead running in each container (trashcans).

[ztoom]

Does running a nitrate test on just RO DI water work? Or does it need to be mixed with salt, since the nitrate test is a saltwater test kit?

[ramoth41]

We have a 55gallon plastic drum in the utillity room with a auto shut off that our RO/DI drips into and we use it for pretty much everything. Water changes, coffee, koolaid, Ice tea... As far as storing mixed water you really need to have a power head moving the water till you use it. But it shouldn't sit too long
RO/DI should be "0" on everything unless your filter inserts are bad then you would have nitrates. If they are there your test should work on fresh or salt. There is an artical in the newest Aquarium Fish mag this month that touches on this.
sarah

[dakar]

If you are just testing for the presense of nitrates you can use your SW kit, it may not be quite as accurate as far as the actual readings. I test mine every now and again.