Ammonia in mixed fresh salt water?!?!?

[funman1]

Had one of the weirdest things happen this morning.
I had been mixing up some salt water for about a week, and decided to use it today (Almost)

I went into the garage and it smelled like major ammonia. So I thought perhaps the cat box was in need of attention?
Nope it was clean and didn't smell?
As I got closer to my bin of water the smell increased.

Sure enough it smelled like it was coming from my salt water!?!?

So before I did a WC with it I wanted to be sure because the smell was so strong in the bucket.
Busted out my NH3 test and sure enough, off the charts with NH3.
What the heck!!!

The fresh water bin was right behind it, and I had used the last of the drops on my NH3 test kit, so I could not test the fresh water for NH3.

So I just tossed it ALL out Rinsed ALL the buckets and barrels out with clean tap, and started making more RO water.

Just made another batch of salt water and sure enough it smelled a tiny bit like NH3. Went to YR and grabbed a Elos NH3/4 test and sure enough again there was a tiny amount of NH3!?!?!
Although it was such a small amount for the WC and such a small reading on the test kit I did the change anyways. Everthing seems fine in the tank, no SPS acting strange, or odd fish behavior yet.

I have been using this batch of salt for the last month, and it's been sealed in the bucket.

Does any one have any idea where this could be coming from?
Water, Salt mix, air, cat pee'd in it?????

I'm at a loss.
Any thoughts?

 

[dots]

It must have been quite an amount in the first batch for you to smell it.

Test your water, then your salt mix with the water.......the point of introduction will present itself.

But to be quite honest, we only know what you have told us and we are interested in what you havn't...... there are just too many variables to imagine. Showing a couple of pics of the area could help see something that you are overlooking for the source of contamination.

How old is the container, is it covered, How old is the RO/DI unit and cartridges, what part of town do you live in.....any construction nearby? Is the container sealed?

Anybody mad at you?

 

[H20Sidhe]

If your cat is anything like my cats, I'd guess peed in. :mad2: I can't believe how/where mine can deposit their urine. In fact, I just got finished cleaning up another ammonia mess. Usually it is in the worst possibe place, and usually it is when they are mad at me - like when I am tardy refilling their food dish.

Was your water tightly covered? If so could they have been peeing on the lid? It is interesting that your old, now tossed, batch was off the chart, and the new batch is tiny amount - maybe residual after you rinsed the bucket? Can you watch your water buckets with a security camera? Or the cat?

 

[funman1]

heheheh
Yeah it's the fact that there's still some in there AFTER everything got totally cleaned out, baffels me.

My cats have never pee'd other than the box?
and that's on the other side of the garage.

 

[MrMikeB]

I would drop a test at the tap, after the RO, and then in your bucket and then once more after adding the salt and letting it settle for a bit.

I would imagine something contaminated the original batch and after you made the new water, perhaps there was a bit left over from the original ammonia water that left a trace amount on your last test.

Heh, maybe the cats peed in the salt?

 

[MandM]

I hate cats. I would suspect them first. The salt may have looked like kitty litter to them.

Second, I would suspect the filters, maybe something got trapped in there and is decaying. Checking the water pre-filter and post filter sounds like the best idea.

 

[Mr. Ugly]

If your DI resin is spent, it'll release the bound up ammonia first, no? Ammonia is from the chloramine that's broken down by the carbon? Wonder if the chloramine levels in the water got bumped recently.