Saltwater mixing question

[polarbear]

So I looked at the water that I mixed 2 days ago and I noticed that some stuff has precipitated out. I had this happen before on 25 gallons of water and I had to throw it all out because it was real bad. I don't want to throw this 25 gallons out because I need to do the water change tomorrow. Can I still use this water? I was thinking of just using a filter sock when filling up the tank so that it catches any stuff that's floating in the water.

I tested the salinity and it's sitting at 1.026.

[tylermonster]

did you have it circulating while sitting? just wondering.

[polarbear]

Ya I leave a pump in there all the time.

[tylermonster]

weird now i'm worried :at_wits_end:

[tebstan]

It happens to me all the time. I've tried different salts, temperatures, aeration, pumps... it still happens. I hate it, its gross, but I can't keep wasting salt mix, so I use it. I don't stir up the chunks on the bottom, and clean the whole trash can with vinegar every few months.

It's not desirable, but nothing in my tank has suffered from it that I can tell. Some times its bad, some times it barely noticeable. I've resigned myself to it. It's worse near the bottom of a bucket, or if any moisture gets into the bucket. I do test my alk, ph, and salinity before using it.

[zerreissen]

Interesting. I mix Reef Crystals in a 5 gallon bucket with an MJ1200 with an air attachment to aerate. I turn on the pump for a bit and let it run, then slowly pour in the salt. Every once in a while I will have a few small crystals left at the bottom, but most of the time it is clear. I never use the bottom half inch or so of water anyway because the tubing does not hit the bottom. I do usually have calcium deposits build up on the side of the bucket though.

[FireWater]

I have a batch of water that has been mixing for about 3 days now because I have not had the chance to finish a water change. After reading your post I had to go check to see if I had any floating stuff. I don't.

Like Tebstan, I have had some chunks before that have settled to the bottom and I don't add those. You could use a filter sock like you said to try to catch particulates. I say just check the water quality prior to putting it in the tank.

Not sure how you mix your saltwater but one thing I do that helps me is I always add the salt slowly over the course of a day. If I'm doing a 20 gallon change then I will add about a cup and a half of salt every couple of hours. That seems to help to keep the precipitate down.

[alton]

I had an issue with Redsea Pro but have since went with a larger pump to mix with and only add 1/2 the amount to start and after it clears come back and add the remainder.

[tebstan]

I mix 25 gallons at a time, and let it sit running with a pump - constantly. I know others do this too, so I doubt that is the problem. I use a huge pond pump to mix it, so it's not settling.

I've tried adding the salt super slow. That probably helps some, but I try to never just dump in 20g of salt and walk away.

I think it comes down to the salt. This last batch I made, the salt was in clumps. It was fresh out of a bag, but the bag was from a box stored in the garage. As much as a pinhole in the bag could have caused it to clump after being stored out there for months.

I pour each bag into an old salinity bucket, which seals pretty well. But if the bag got moisture in it, it's too late. It would be interesting to see what would happen if I switch back to buying buckets instead of the 200g box. But what do you do with all those buckets?

[Sherita]

I keep 80g of saltwater mixed up pretty much all the time. I have some calcium deposits that will form in my holding tanks, but I've never had "chunks" of anything floating around in there. I once forgot to reseal the bucket all the way and moisture got in, I broke up the salt chunks and used them. They dissolved completely. I buy the 200g boxes as well. I wonder if there might be something in your water that triggers it?

[rrasco]

I get small particles that settle at the bottom that won't ever dissolve, but they are minimal and I don't worry about them.

[polarbear]

Im using the red sea coral pro salt. I never had this problem when I was using the instant ocean. Im not getting clumps of stuff in the water. Im getting a flim that looks kind of whitish brown that forms on the side of the trash can and on the bottom. When I took water out to test the salinity I could see some white stuff floating in it which I believe is the calcium that has precipitated out.

Ill check the calcium and alk tonight before I add the water to the tank. If anything is low I have the BRS 2 part dosing that I can add to the tank later.

[klwheat]

I use the brightwell salt, and i've never had this problem. Not sure what that's all about.

[rrasco]

I know you're using RS, but I've heard a lot of the same stories (brown buildup) about RC. While I've never experienced it myself, I suppose it does happen.

[polarbear]

Maybe its just this salt becuase its made from real ocean salt. Ill test everything tonight and post my results so that other can now. Thanks to everyone who responded.

[Dominican]

If it's white specs, it happens to me every once in a while with IO. Not sure what causes it, but I suspect it's caused when moisture gets into the IO bucket because it only happens to me with older salt. I've always just filtered them out with a sock when adding the mixed water to the sump, and have never noticed any adverse effects to parameters..

[FireWater]

I use red sea pro as well. Yes, I get the brown build up. I usually clean the mixing container (30g brute) with RO and vinegar every other month to get rid of it.

2 things that helped me the most. Add salt slowly like Alton and I mentioned earlier and use a bigger mixing pump.

[350gt]

It's the SALT.....

I had to throw my mixing container away as I could never clean it... Even a trip to the car wash wouldn't get the stuff off 100%...

There is a thread about this somewhere....

[tebstan]

Vinegar cleans it. Lots of vinegar. Every few months I use 3/4 to 1 gallon of the extra strength to get the brown film off. I use instant ocean now, but the same happened with reef crystals and oceanic

[Sherita]

Tap water and a small amount of muriatic acid will take it off in a hurry. I clean all of my holding containers once a month. I also will use it on skimmers, grody powerheads or anything else that gets tank crud encrusted on it.

[350gt]

Vinegar cleans it. Lots of vinegar. Every few months I use 3/4 to 1 gallon of the extra strength to get the brown film off. I use instant ocean now, but the same happened with reef crystals and oceanic



Been using RC since I tried one bucket of red sea and it's never gave me a brown film...

I just rinse with tap and wipe down and the bucket is like new again...