why is my water mixing cloudy?

MOPAR · Nov 13, 2015

I've been having some issues with my fresh saltwater being a little cloudy. I can't figure out what is happening. I use IO salt and I mix 5g at a time using rodi. I add the salt to water with a pump and heater. I have used a different pump and heater to make sure the equipment wasn't causing the issue. Also I have the 200g box so it's broken up into four 50g bags. After the first bag having issues I tossed it think moisture had gotten in. Well I am making sure the second bag is sealed, but still cloudy water. I'm not seeing any precipitation and I'm not seeing any negative affect on corals so far. I hate to claim bad box of salt, but I can't figure it out. Any input would be appreciated.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 13, 2015

Just let it settle (by stopping the stirring) and use the clear salt water. It is normal to have precipitated calcium carbonate, and it doesn't hurt anything.

Not heating the water can also help.

If you really want to eliminate all precipitate, you can reduce the alkalinity to 8 dKH with muriatic acid. That also temporarily lowers the pH and dissolves the solids (or prevents them from forming)

This is what my mixing barrel looks like:

What is that Precipitate in My Reef Aquarium? by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

from it:

Figure 1. The residue on the bottom of the plastic trash can that I use to mix Instant Ocean. I rarely clean it out. The solid is most likely calcium carbonate.

Reefaddict305 · Nov 13, 2015

You probably ended up with a bad batch.

MOPAR · Nov 13, 2015

I usually add the salt to the water let it mix for a little then add heater. I will let it settle and see what happens. I have had salts that would always precipitate, but I would see build up on the bottom of the mixing container like yours and residue on the mixing pump and heater. If I remember correctly seachem salt would do this everytime, but would end up clear. I appreciate the feedback and don't feel it's a threat to the tank as everything looks good, but it's annoying haha.