Fritz Salt Issues?

[mich2599]

So now I am stuck at home with the roads all frozen up, empty ATO, bleaching SPS, shattered RODI....and on top of that I am studying for my Occupational Therapy board exam that is next Monday. Life is great....all that is left is for the energy company to cut the electricity d/t over use.

 

[MnFish1]

Every SPS is now showing signs signs of bleaching. Will do a water change with the RO I have. Will see if this helps or worsens the problem.

once one coral has problems/dies or is dying - it can release toxins, etc - that can hurt the rest of the coral. IMHO. That said - is it 'bleaching' or 'dying tissue'. Either way - I think the water changes are a good idea - as well as carbon. Additionally if its tissue loss/death - cutting off and fragging the good pieces may also help (and removing the dying pieces)

 

[tyryfin]

Been using Fritz for several years on a soft coral tank with no issues, rebuilt system to LPS/SPS and was changing 7 gallons a day. Last Oct started to notice corals bleaching and just not looking good. Sent my water out for testing and iodine level was 0.02, 3 times low should be 0.06. I added iodine to bring it up and corals that made it are looking better. As soon as my supply runs out I will be switching. Not sure if this is an isolated case but was told to watch iodine while using Fritz.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Been using Fritz for several years on a soft coral tank with no issues, rebuilt system to LPS/SPS and was changing 7 gallons a day. Last Oct started to notice corals bleaching and just not looking good. Sent my water out for testing and iodine level was 0.02, 3 times low should be 0.06. I added iodine to bring it up and corals that made it are looking better. As soon as my supply runs out I will be switching. Not sure if this is an isolated case but was told to watch iodine while using Fritz.

FWIW, I am not convinced that supplemental iodine is useful for most organisms we keep.

I dosed it for many years and then stopped as an experiment and saw no difference. Years after stopping and the tank running fine, ICP showed 0.022 ppm iodine.

 

[Dilan Patel]

Been using Fritz for several years on a soft coral tank with no issues, rebuilt system to LPS/SPS and was changing 7 gallons a day. Last Oct started to notice corals bleaching and just not looking good. Sent my water out for testing and iodine level was 0.02, 3 times low should be 0.06. I added iodine to bring it up and corals that made it are looking better. As soon as my supply runs out I will be switching. Not sure if this is an isolated case but was told to watch iodine while using Fritz.

I personally believe this may not be your issue. Iodine is used up extremely fast in our reef tanks so it may mix up at .06 but by the time you test it may be significantly lower. When I do iodine dips I make it pretty dark but by the next morning the water would have turned clear.

 

[PghReef]

I used liveaquaria salt years ago. Had nothing but problems. Same issue, montis bleached out first, then all other sps, then lps struggled. I attempted to rule out everything possible. Paramaters tested good, no bad equipment, etc. Hate to bldg the salt but the more WC I did to try and flush out any possible contamination the worse it got. I then then a wc on myself frag tank with the same salt. Surely enough everything qent downhill and died but the mushrooms.

 

[youcallmenny1]

Sorry for the necromancy but I've been using the blue box for the last 3.5 years and my tank has never been successful with it. Parameters are in check but things won't grow and slowly die. My last tank used Red Sea salt and never had those kinds of issues. I'm switching back to the blue bucket now and will update this post with my results but a couple of observations first.

I have ALWAYS had thick brown buildup in my salt barrel with this salt. I test every box 2-3 times throughout it's life as I mix new barrels and in the last several years have seen it swing around from 7.7 all the way to 9.0. Hate to differ from the common observations but this salt has been pretty problematic for me. I go through at least a box a month.

I know what some will say, that it's not the salt or that it's other things. We'll see shortly when the other salt gets here.

In the last 3.5 years I have gone from these results on the red sea salt:

To this with the Fritz:

I blamed everything else. Everything else has been fixed. I am very confident in my system and it's abilities but it just - WILL - NOT - GROW. Like I said, the results will speak for themselves.

 

[Uncle99]

Looks starved from nutrients to me.

 

[youcallmenny1]

It's not. NO3 stays between 5-10. PO4 stays between 0.03-0.08. I feed pellets daily and nori/frozen 2-3 times a week.

 

[Uncle99]

It's not. NO3 stays between 5-10. PO4 stays between 0.03-0.08. I feed pellets daily and nori/frozen 2-3 times a week.

Mine went that way.
I found later that my 0.04 Hanna reading was actually 0.00 per ICP.
So I bumped my phosphate to 0.07-.1ppm and extension and colour returned in about 2 weeks.
Now, ICP shows 0.09ppm, when my Hanna shows 0.05ppm.
I have to dose phosphate @5ml every day to maintain the higher level.
While I test weekly even after a year, I judge by “how they look” rather than exclusively by test kit.
When corals look drab or shrunken, I bump the phosphate.

 

[youcallmenny1]

@Uncle99

I just had an Oceamo test done that confirms my own readings, I appreciate the advice but I don't think that's it. I have a thread up for troubleshooting my tank though if you'd like to dig in further! Your tank looks amazing and I would welcome your support!

I've had my Peninsula 650 up for almost 4 years and had very little success. Care to help me get on track?

Good luck OP! 77F does not cause problems. I wish for the best! You are very resilient and this thread is an inspiration for me to always fight through! I’m proud of you!

www.reef2reef.com

edit:

Which phosphate checker were you using? I have the brand new one Hannah just put out that I think works really well.

 

[I.AM.MR.MIKE]

Bringing back from the dead- I just switched to the Fritz RPM blue box and mixed up 35 gallons in the trash can. Two days later I have this brown yucky stuff all over everything in the trash can like the float in the walls and the surface floating. It sorta looks like algae bits and oil. I dip the salinity tester in it and it came out with the white body all speckled.

 

[I.AM.MR.MIKE]

Bringing back from the dead- I just switched to the Fritz RPM blue box and mixed up 35 gallons in the trash can. Two days later I have this brown yucky stuff all over everything in the trash can like the float in the walls and the surface floating. It sorta looks like algae bits and oil. I dip the salinity tester in it and it came out with the white body all speckled.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Bringing back from the dead- I just switched to the Fritz RPM blue box and mixed up 35 gallons in the trash can. Two days later I have this brown yucky stuff all over everything in the trash can like the float in the walls and the surface floating. It sorta looks like algae bits and oil. I dip the salinity tester in it and it came out with the white body all speckled.

This is way back
Haven’t seen or heard of any issues moving forward

 

[EricR]

I've been using Fritz RPM regular/blue for about 2.5 years and am happy with it.

The only time I saw a kind of oily slick form, maybe similar to what you showed, was when I left it mixing for 5 days in a covered and heated bin that was over 80 degrees. (Used it anyway and didn't notice any problems)
*Fritz recommends mixing at 70-75 degrees

Not saying that's your issue but just noting that one experience.

 

[mrpontiac80]

I know this thread is old but since it’s been revived…. I’ve been using nothing but fritz rpm blue for 3 years and love it. It mixes fast and the parameters are what I want. I do get the brown gunk in my salt barrel but it’s not too bad and I’ve never had an issue.
I did start getting better consistency in parameters once I started mixing the salt prior to making water. I buy the 200 gallon box with four bags and pour one bag into an old fritz bucket with a lid. Give it a good shake and mix before using it.

 

[I.AM.MR.MIKE]

It has been mixing for 4 days in a new and precleaned grey trash can with the lid on loose and a preset 78 degree heater.

I was prepping for an AWC setup after thinking about it for years. I was using Red Sea blue and left it mixing in a 5 gallon bucket for two weeks before by mistake and never had this.

 

[MnFish1]

So - let's just get this out of the way - did you follow the directions? If not - this can happen with multiple salt brands (not brown stuff - but precipitates)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

If it is just calcium carbonate that often precipitates from salt mixes, it’s not a problem as long as the alk still meets your target.

 

[I.AM.MR.MIKE]

If it is just calcium carbonate that often precipitates from salt mixes, it’s not a problem as long as the alk still meets your target.

Randy, does calcium carbonate lead to this brown stuff seen on the tester in the photo? It wouldn't rinse off without a light finger rub.