Salt water holding can
- Thread starter StaceyinTx
- Start date
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Curious to see answer on thisOk so I made this water on Sunday and this stuff is floating inside the can. Anyone know what it is and what causes it? Is it harmful to use now? I do have a wavemaker in there and a heater set to 79.
Oh my bad it is on the wavemaker and cord.
Thank you! Glad to be here.
Thank you for welcoming me as well..
Even of it is a yellowish color?
rsumner
Active Member
It's really hard to tell from the pics, but this could simply be residue of ferric oxide/hydroxide from the salt combined with higher TDS water. It's nothing to be worried about in general terms, however, I suggest doing the following to minimize it:
* always add the salt to the water and not the water to the salt
* water should be less than 70 degrees when you mix in the salt -- heat it after you get it mixed
I also find that Instant Ocean salt produces this type of result more common than if I use Red Sea or other brands -- it's likely related to the chemicals they use to boost the Calcium in the mix.
* always add the salt to the water and not the water to the salt
* water should be less than 70 degrees when you mix in the salt -- heat it after you get it mixed
I also find that Instant Ocean salt produces this type of result more common than if I use Red Sea or other brands -- it's likely related to the chemicals they use to boost the Calcium in the mix.
This all makes sense except for the TDS levels as we use an RODI unit.
Is it still safe to do water changes with?
rsumner
Active Member
The research I've done in the past shows that it's perfectly fine and your skimmer should pull it right out. When I had the problem in the past, I dumped the mix. If you **had** to use the salt, I would recommend skimming the surface to get rid of the "nasties" and moved your pump a few inches off the bottom so you didn't suck-up any of the build-up.
If you have serious concerns, I would error on the side of caution and dump the mix and try again. I haven't seen any of this residue in my mixes in a long time until a few weeks ago when I was in a pinch and ordered some Instant Ocean Reef Crystals off Amazon for same day delivery. What do you know -- my last mix had a little slime on the surface. I'm contemplating throwing all of it out and using a fresh box of Fritz RPM mix that I picked up from my local LFS this past weekend.
In the end, trust your gut unless it's a financial issue and then you should find it totally fine to use it.
rsumner
Active Member
I have had good batches from Amazon, but I'm on the same boycott as you and won't be getting any more "discount stuff" (only a few bucks cheaper than the big box stores anyways). I would advise waiting for a few other opinions and see if you can provide some better pics. If you do decide to use it, measure your phosphates beforehand and start with a small amount and retest. Also, make sure you're skimmer is working well.
Thanks for the info. I tested for phosphates and they're at 0. All other levels are where they should be too. The salinity is at 35 which is what it was when I made it on Sunday.
rsumner
Active Member
Use away. On a side note, I noticed that I mixed my batch of Instant Ocean this past weekend, it never quite got got crystal clear like a mix normally does, so I'm starting to tie those things together. I do recall that one thing I did prior to mixing things up was shake the bucket (to give things a churn), which I usually never do. Call me superstitious, but this will also be another thing that I don't do immediately before making my saltwater in the future (regardless of the brand).
Parameters look good, so, I would likely go for it if I were in your shoes, but would start small.
Good luck and try to work on some better pics.
KrisReef
10K Club member
Looks like their seasonal Xmas blizzard simulation salt mixed up special for the holidays. Only available for a short time on Amazon?Ok so I made this water on Sunday and this stuff is floating inside the can. Anyone know what it is and what causes it? Is it harmful to use now? I do have a wavemaker in there and a heater set to 79.
That aside, I'd use it, but I would run it through a sock before I put it into the tank.
Hitman
Reefing One Day @ A Time!!!
Ok so I made this water on Sunday and this stuff is floating inside the can. Anyone know what it is and what causes it? Is it harmful to use now? I do have a wavemaker in there and a heater set to 79.
Typical Instant Ocean salt. It’s just percepitint from heating it. Over 20 years of using IO salts if you heat it while mixing it does that. Next time try to mix it without the heater. Once it’s mixed turn the heater without the pump and once it’s fully heated add to your tank. Works every time for me without the floating garbage.
Lamo!!!
