(Bio)³ Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 There was an old thread where someone mentioned cloudy water and one thing mentioned was it could be from the salt they added. I just setup a system and put my salt into the sump to mix, choosing an area with high turnover but low speed flow to get anything unable to enter the water through osmosis, sieved out. After 2 bags my once clear glass floor looks like this. The only thing added was 2 bags of coralife salt from a bucket I bought. Im curious how much will build up in my mixing stations and what types of effects these particles will do to my water chemistry and pump impeller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 iPhone autocorrected title, can't adjust it as a standard member Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woods Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Yes, my mixing barrel looks like that with residue on the sides and bottom from mixing saltwater. It gets on the power cord for the internal mixing pump as well. The only thing that has been in it, so it is definitely the salt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 Next time I bring a system online I'm going to put salt into the filter socks and let it sieve out that way. For now I'll just let that residue become part of my mud filter that will be forming. I Imagine when people put fresh mixed salt into their tanks, this hasnt settled out leading to a cloud effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sifuentes31 Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 It's happend to me with the exact same salt. If the salt is old it will percipitate out and won't dissolve. Just leaves a crappy mess everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Maybe it has to do with how much is added in the time frame? I have a brute salt mixing station and I slowly sift the salt into the water with a power head on it. When I dumped 10 cups at once I got that all on the bottom and on the top of the water line edges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 Maybe it has to do with how much is added in the time frame? I have a brute salt mixing station and I slowly sift the salt into the water with a power head on it. When I dumped 10 cups at once I got that all on the bottom and on the top of the water line edges. Not sure, I figured with osmosis the solvent would dissolve regardless since it was just a giant bath of RO. I'm still only at 1.000 SG so I know more should dissolve in and will when I dump in another bag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaggedfire Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I had read about Red Sea Coral Pro salt doing something similar after a fellow reefer was having issues. I haven't had an issue, but have seen it happen. The official reply from the vendor was along the lines of 'mix the bucket first'. Seems the high calcium carbonate and other compounds weren't dissolving fast enough or at the same rate, thus precipitation out of solution. This would happen too if Mg levels were lower too, right? As a data point, I would test Alk, Cal, Mg at this stage to see what is happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I had a bag once that made several tanks cloudy for a couple of days but didn't hurt anything. I always mix saltwater up immediately before I use it and some of my older buckets have developed that calcium deposit on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Could be way off the mark here but someone once suggested that the precipitate could be reduced by making sure to add salt to water, not the other way around. Also, mixing temperature. I used to mix my salt outside in the garage in the summer, water temperatures upwards of 90 degrees, and I would pour the water onto the salt I portioned out. Horrible slimy precipitate. Started doing the opposite. Adding salt to the water, mixed inside at room temperature. No more slimy residue on the bucket or powerhead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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