so my water looks really cloudy and there is a fine dust all over the power head and heater.
i use ro/di o ppm.
let the water heat up befor i added the salt
does this happen to anyone else? can i still use the water? ill test it to see if it has anything wrong (nitrates amm.) but i wouldnt immagin since its fresh and where would it come from.
im sorry if this dosent sound clear been doing yard work since 7.
Are you saying your tank is cloudy or your makeup water is cloudy?
If the tank looks cloudy:
Have you dosed calcium, mag or added any buffer to the tank or done a water change in the last 2 days?
If its the makeup water:
Was your salt bucket mixed before using? was it new?
Hard to say without more info.
Best guess calcium precipitating out of solution. Could be caused by (tank) improper dosing (mag calcium), buffer or if you mean water change water, unmixed salt bucket (they settle during transit).
Cloudy water could also be a bacteria bloom but usually there is not a fine powder on everything
this is make up water.
I tend to lean towards a chemical imbalance too. If the tank goes cloudy with a dusty precip after a water change with clear, fully disolved new salt water. something is saturated and prepitating out. if its that kind of cloudy. or like Al says, it might also be bacterial bloom. if so, it should eat itself out of existance.
Ahhh i had this problem 2… what happens is if your salt bucket gets at all damp or wet … i wanna be a chem phd so heres my analysis… When they create this reef salt, or any marine salt there is a lot that goes into it. Different trace elements. One thing they add is calcium carbonate. It is umm somwhat unstable and if wet will completely dissolve out. Thus the reason its in our salt. so if you salt got damp at all then it is precipitated calcium carbonate you are seeing. This can also happen if you dump all the salt in and not stir it up/have enough flow. heres how i get around it. Either A: fill bucket with water turn on all power heads and heaters and slowly… over 1 min… sprinkle salt in right where a power head breaks the surface. or B: dump salt in the pour water in letting it splash around. Then stir it and turn on power heads. making sure that there is enough flow. The calcium can also precipitate if it is not dissolved fast enough with the salt. There is a big molecular thing about how it is attached to the salt molecules, jon might know some about it. Just try what i said and see if it works… i had same problem… ALSO mix up your bucket of salt and try to keep it dry…
forgot to mention that this batch is really salty, off the swing arm chart,lol. im just going to make some more ro and mix it up and just do a water change tommrow.
ya thats find… saltyness wont really matter with the precip… or it shouldnt it can sometimes but ya… Its find to use the water just dont get any of the white stufff… but make a new batch see if my tips helped
Chemistry is really not my strength for sure, but Mr. Marchingbandjs seems to have it right.
If you mix too much of the salt mix in the bucket and your salinity is way off the charts the calcium precipitates to a different forum which it can not switch back from and even when you add fresh water and bring the salinity lower then normal you still have cloudy white water.(dispose of this water) The same thing happens if you add the salt too fast, as the salinity locally in the area where you added the salt is way to high and it precipitates.
It is a good idea to dump this water down the drain as it will slightly alter the chemistry of your reef tank. Wouldn’t be a disaster if you added it I don’t think however some sensitive animals may get stressed and if you are trying to maintain the proper Ca, Alk, and Mg levels then your not helping.
I let my water sit for 24 hours after mixing it up so the chemical processes can stablize and the water can be brought up to the temp of the tank water.
[quote=“bz350, post:6, topic:2145”]
forgot to mention that this batch is really salty, off the swing arm chart,lol. im just going to make some more ro and mix it up and just do a water change tommrow.[/quote]
what do you mean off the swing arm chart?? all the way up on a hydrometer?
i dont have a hydrometer i still use the old swing arm.
a hydrometer IS the swing arm, i think you are thinking a refractometer.
in any case if the salt level is “off the charts on the swing arm” than you are simply putting too much salt in your water, it should never be “off the charts” if it is you need to add less salt mix or more ro/di.
edit, curious why would you add water that is “off the chart?”
i did’t. i made more water mixed it over night and everthing was fine.
i know i added to much salt and realised it the night i tested for salt.
i usually make 2.5 gallons but sometimes i make 5 gallons and i got confused and added way to much.
are you using a plastic swing arm hydrometer? if that’s the case i’ve had plenty a problem with them. I would mix up NSW as well with the hydrometer registering off the chart. You can soak it in a vinegar solution to remove the accumulated salts, in my opinion they are worthless. I use a glass float hydrometer, i know the majority of people will push refractometers, but the glass hydrometers have always worked for me.
hey andrew, i urge you to try a refractometer, you’d be surprised how far your hydrometer is off, i’ll even bring mine over.
again, if you even put a P.O.S. hydrometer into a bucket and its “off the charts” why would you add that to your tank? i would dump that in the drain and go again…
[quote=“TimH07, post:15, topic:2145”]
hey andrew, i urge you to try a refractometer, you’d be surprised how far your hydrometer is off, i’ll even bring mine over.[/quote]
haha alright, gotta convince me although i’m still a firm believer in my glass hydrometers
I don’t have patients for the little floating glass hydrometers. Stop mixing water, kill the pumps, let things settle down, get down to eye level or when you are mixing things in a brute when you can’t see through try to put your hands on it roughly where the water level is and don’t let it slip…. Blah. Refract= couple of drips, look at the light, clean off. Three quick steps
Matter of opinion I suppose.
sorry bz350 i missed the part where you said you didnt add it. bad reading on my end! :BEER
ya but refractometer is wat 40 bucks hydrometer 8… mine says 1.021 when a refract says its at 1.025… so as long as im consistant im fine i guess…
you realize these animals see less than a half of a % per month of salinity difference and only 1 degree temp swing in a 3 month period?
common reefers think, oh its ok, they are hardy… hell no, would you taze a dog daily and say " oh its ok, they can survive it"?
they are animals in the end, and that means you should demand their respect.
NSW (natural sea water) is 35 ppt specific gravity, 1.026 on a hydrometer) and your tank should read non the less, hydrometers are like licking your thumb and sticking it in the air to measure wind direction.
please ensure your livestocks safety and use a refractometer
ps, consistant fail is still fail