Red Sea foundation B (Alk) and precipitation

[Patrick Norman]

Hi, new to the forum and couldn’t find another thred on th topic in search...

I have just moved over to Red Sea foundation and trace elements.

Foundation B is to raise dkh and when it goes into the tank it forms a precipitate (cloud and flake) which swirls around for about 2 to 3 mins before reabsorbing.

My Cal (480ppm) and Mg (1290ppm) is on the high side of normal But this didn’t happen with Kalkwasser which I was using before. Will it find a balance as it carbonates Mg and Ca or should I be concerned?

Thanks, P

 

[TheEngineer]

Welcome to R2R!

The temporary cloudiness is totally normal and nothing to worry about. Pour it in slowly and in front of a power head and it should dissipate almost immediately. If you pour too fast it may precipitate out.

 

[Reeferdood]

Hi, new to the forum and couldn’t find another thred on th topic in search...

I have just moved over to Red Sea foundation and trace elements.

Foundation B is to raise dkh and when it goes into the tank it forms a precipitate (cloud and flake) which swirls around for about 2 to 3 mins before reabsorbing.

My Cal (480ppm) and Mg (1290ppm) is on the high side of normal But this didn’t happen with Kalkwasser which I was using before. Will it find a balance as it carbonates Mg and Ca or should I be concerned?

Thanks, P

The cloud is normal, I would bring the magnesium up a little more though. What is your current alkalinity reading and what is your target?

 

[Patrick Norman]

Thanks for the reply. As of today before foundation b, dkh was 7.3 and I like to keep it at 8.5. I was doing the suggested 4 day no dose test to see how much needs to be added daily. Today was the first dose to bring it back up to 8.5. I did kind of dump it in so will add slowly by a power head next time. Many thanks. P

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Here's a picture of normal and explanation of the magnesium hydroxide precipitate that forms temporarily:

What is that Precipitate in My Reef Aquarium? by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-07/rhf/index.htm

Figure 3. The transient cloud of magnesium hydroxide that forms when high pH additives are added. In this case, the alkalinity portion of B-ionic was added to a fairly still portion of one of my reef aquaria.

 

[Patrick Norman]

Thanks for the pic of normal, this is what I saw. It looked almost like smoke but with what appeared to be a few tiny flecks in it.

 

[Tmmste]

Your Mg is relatively low compared to Ca (x3 would be around 1440ppm Mg) though.