Storing water in the hot months

[ShaggyRS6]

During the winter I was able to store plain R/O and my salt mix for long periods of time. The salt mix maybe a couple of weeks, the fresh RO much longer. I store it in trash cans in the garage.

Since summer hit I seem to not be able to do this and get an ammonia smell if I leave it l.

Anyone else notice this ? Any solutions ? The only place I can keep those large bins is in the garage.

 

[ichthyogeek]

An ammonia smell coming from the salt mix when it's dry? That's certainly peculiar. Less so the RO water. What salt mix are you using?

When was the last time you bleached the trash cans? It can't hurt as long as you follow proper protocols, and I've found that it helps with getting rid of weird skins that form when I'm mixing saltwater.

Alternatively...maybe something died in your garage? I've definitely seen a few floating ants in my RO/DI water containers, it's not implausible that something may have up and died in the garage or in the bins itself.

 

[ShaggyRS6]

No I'm talking about mixed water. The garage gets to be I would say at least 80 deg some days. Nothing dies in the bins and only happening since the summer started. Now I have had a couple of folks say that the brute trash cans can give off that smell, but the fresh water certainly does not smell like that for a long while, the mixed RO, if I leave it more than a few days starts to smell.

Now point of note. I am not leaving a pump in either the fresh or the mixed. I am only using a pump on the mixed RO to mix it. Once I am done and I have done the water change I remove the pump.

I am using TropicMarin Pro Reef

 

[jaxteller007]

No I'm talking about mixed water. The garage gets to be I would say at least 80 deg some days. Nothing dies in the bins and only happening since the summer started. Now I have had a couple of folks say that the brute trash cans can give off that smell, but the fresh water certainly does not smell like that for a long while, the mixed RO, if I leave it more than a few days starts to smell.

Now point of note. I am not leaving a pump in either the fresh or the mixed. I am only using a pump on the mixed RO to mix it. Once I am done and I have done the water change I remove the pump.

I am using TropicMarin Pro Reef

I'm not far from you (Antioch) and I leave both my RO and salt water in the garage until needed. I have them in a couple 35 gallon Norwesco containers like these..

I haven't noticed any kind of smell in either of my containers yet this summer. I do keep a couple power heads in the saltwater one and turn them on now and then to stir it up and keep salt from settling. I don't know if that's correct or not but I haven't noticed anything really change in our tank.

Also, how in the world has your garage only gotten to 80 lol? I bet ours has been pushing 90 at least a couple times the last few weeks with this ungodly heat.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

I have some water stored in brutes that the lids stay sealed with no agitation and do not have that smell at all. I am also in middle Tennessee, so have had about the same temps. My attached garage gets to 90-95 some days, and no issues. The brutes are quite a few years old, but other than that, what salt do you use? Maybe that is the difference? I use Tropic Marin Pro Reef. Just throwing out ideas lol.

 

[homer1475]

Are the brutes new?

I noticed the same when I bought new brutes for a larger mixing station. As time passed so did the smell. I used the water regardless and had no ill effects.

 

[Chewbacca]

I feel you need to contact
@Randy Holmes-Farley
On this mater

 

[ShaggyRS6]

I'm not far from you (Antioch) and I leave both my RO and salt water in the garage until needed. I have them in a couple 35 gallon Norwesco containers like these..

I haven't noticed any kind of smell in either of my containers yet this summer. I do keep a couple power heads in the saltwater one and turn them on now and then to stir it up and keep salt from settling. I don't know if that's correct or not but I haven't noticed anything really change in our tank.

Also, how in the world has your garage only gotten to 80 lol? I bet ours has been pushing 90 at least a couple times the last few weeks with this ungodly heat.

I run a dehumidifier in the garage, keeps the temp right down, I also have a tiny gap in the AC unit that feeds the house. Like really tiny, i considered filling it but it helps keeps the garage cool

 

[ShaggyRS6]

Are the brutes new?

I noticed the same when I bought new brutes for a larger mixing station. As time passed so did the smell. I used the water regardless and had no ill effects.

They are about 8 months old

 

[Arabyps]

I always have a power head running in the salt water (Tropic Marin Classic) until used. Summertime the garage is 80-82 degrees. I use these to mix and hold my water:

 

[ShaggyRS6]

I always have a power head running in the salt water (Tropic Marin Classic) until used. Summertime the garage is 80-82 degrees. I use these to mix and hold my water:

Maybe that's what i will start doing. Im assuming you dont have anything in the plain R/O

 

[Arabyps]

Maybe that's what i will start doing. Im assuming you dont have anything in the plain R/O

Correct. I don't circulate the plain RO.

 

[lion king]

You will get precip in your mixed salt water at higher temps. If for a reef the remedy would be to test and dose up your alk and ca. Red Sea did a vid on mixing salt and stressed temp. You can find this info if you search.

 

[Arabyps]

You will get precip in your mixed salt water at higher temps. If for a reef the remedy would be to test and dose up your alk and ca. Red Sea did a vid on mixing salt and stressed temp. You can find this info if you search.

You might also consider the BRS video on best salt. They have done extensive testing with an entire playlist on salt. The OP is using Tropic Marin Pro which is rated best and in their testing does not exhibit precipitation.

Best Salt Mixes of 2019: The Final Four

Tropic Marin Pro Simply the best Tropic Marin uses only pharmaceutical grade components in their salt mix which results in a fast mixing salt that mixes clear and does not leave any residue in your mixing containers or worse yet, introduce impurities.

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[BrandonS]

did testing show an ammonia in the water? or any levels being off?

 

[lion king]

You might also consider the BRS video on best salt. They have done extensive testing with an entire playlist on salt. The OP is using Tropic Marin Pro which is rated best and in their testing does not exhibit precipitation.

Best Salt Mixes of 2019: The Final Four

Tropic Marin Pro Simply the best Tropic Marin uses only pharmaceutical grade components in their salt mix which results in a fast mixing salt that mixes clear and does not leave any residue in your mixing containers or worse yet, introduce impurities.

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Recommended mixing temp even for trop marin is 73-78 degrees, you can see it right on their bucket. The high temp effects all salt brands, its science.

 

[ShaggyRS6]

Recommended mixing temp even for trop marin is 73-78 degrees, you can see it right on their bucket. The high temp effects all salt brands, its science.

Yep this is what I figured. I did test for ammonia and after 3 days in hot temps i was getting a reading! That was without circulation.

 

[K7BMG]

I use RO/DI at 0 TDS with Tropic Marin Pro.
My water is stored in Norwesco tanks.
The mixing station is in my shop that has no temperature controll.
The past weeks my shop temp has been 95 to 100.
Twice a day I have a timer kick on my mixing station pump and circulate the saltwater, 15 minutes each interval.
My saltwater is storred for a long while up to two to three months before it is gone and I have to make more.

I have no oder.

Using TMP and my white Norwesco mixing station containers I have never had to clean them, its been a year and a half.
No precipitate, no scale, no brown stuff no smell.
My containers when I got them however were rinsed out, then cleaned with bleach, rinsed and allowed to dry, then I used a half gallon of 91 percent alcohol to disinfect and allowed to compleatly dry.
They are sealed using the screw on lids. I have heaters and plumbing and other cordes in the containers but have gasketed fittings.
So when I say sealed I mean sealed.
Brute trashcans are not "sealed" they are covered containers.

But thats how my setup works YMMV.

 

[ShaggyRS6]

I use RO/DI at 0 TDS with Tropic Marin Pro.
My water is stored in Norwesco tanks.
The mixing station is in my shop that has no temperature controll.
The past weeks my shop temp has been 95 to 100.
Twice a day I have a timer kick on my mixing station pump and circulate the saltwater, 15 minutes each interval.
My saltwater is storred for a long while up to two to three months before it is gone and I have to make more.

I have no oder.

Using TMP and my white Norwesco mixing station containers I have never had to clean them, its been a year and a half.
No precipitate, no scale, no brown stuff no smell.
My containers when I got them however were rinsed out, then cleaned with bleach, rinsed and allowed to dry, then I used a half gallon of 91 percent alcohol to disinfect and allowed to compleatly dry.
They are sealed using the screw on lids. I have heaters and plumbing and other cordes in the containers but have gasketed fittings.
So when I say sealed I mean sealed.
Brute trashcans are not "sealed" they are covered containers.

But thats how my setup works YMMV.

This is good info. Your right there is not seal and I think that is not helping, also the lack of of water movement after i have done my water change. I may invest into some sealed units.

 

[jaxteller007]

This is good info. Your right there is not seal and I think that is not helping, also the lack of of water movement after i have done my water change. I may invest into some sealed units.

I found my containers on here from a guy in Nashville breaking down his tank. Mine aren't completely sealed as I just really haven't had time to properly fit and gasket seal power heads for the salt mix. I still haven't really noticed anything off in them. I'm sure if I had high end corals I'd see some bad effects considering I use the same maxi-jet to pump salt or fresh RO/DI out of the containers lol. But we only have one duncan coral and he seems to be extremely happy. All the fish are getting fat and happy. Only problem we've had since I started using these is we have a dang copepod bloom I can't really get rid of. Not detrimental but man it makes the water look "ugly". Hopefully the 40watt UV we added last weekend starts helping that.

When we buy a house and move my goal is to have a much more secure/sanitary mixing station and hopefully an automatic water change set up.