First time saltwater mixer here

[Ding2daDong]

I mixed up a batch of salt w/instant ocean about a week ago in my brute rubbermaid container and it has been mixing with a mag5 outside.

I brought the tank inside today to acclimate to the temp. of my house and noticed a white film around the inside and the pump.

I just wanted to know if this is normal?

Here is a picture after I stirred it up, I thought the white film was salt but it's like a slim. I also keep a lid on it that is tightly sealed when outside.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

-Matthew

 

[Ding2daDong]

Any picture

Thanks

-Matthew

 

[illal]

looks like salt

 

[macawmagic]

when I mixed up my first batch of salt...when I pumped it into the bucket it looked a little soapy, kinda like yours does. I would say it's fine, but get some other opinions.

 

[invertigator]

Smells like Salt

 

[invertigator]

Tastes like salt.

 

[invertigator]

I had the same thing happen, had scum on the surface too. Probably ok, but ask one of the old salts.........no pun intended.

 

[coralfragger101]

I'm not a chemist and I don't know exactly what it is. To my knowledge, it will not hurt your tank. Too many people use this brand of salt with similar experiences on mixing and have thriving tanks. It is not undissolved salt. It is a precipitant as a result of mixing. I believe it is a result of the salt mix (itself - not your doing) not being chemically balanced.

Put a couple of air stones in there and the surface will start looking like your skimmer cup.

Without going into "The Great Salt Debate", this is one of the reasons I switched brands.

This is a brand new container with a fresh mix of Aquacraft salt.

 

[ReefXpert127]

It is simply calcium that has participated from the salt mix. What this means is that there is more calcium then magnesium in the mix. To fix this you can add some magnesium supplements to the water to prevent the calcium from participating. You see it around the pump because heat causes it to participate.

 

[Ding2daDong]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10828305#post10828305 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefXpert127
It is simply calcium that has participated from the salt mix. What this means is that there is more calcium then magnesium in the mix. To fix this you can add some magnesium supplements to the water to prevent the calcium from participating. You see it around the pump because heat causes it to participate.

Hmmm thats probably it. I mix the salt outside for the past week and the heat must have done that. I brought the container in the house and hope over the next day it will clear up.

Thanks for all the help.

Does anyone have any good ways to disperse the flow in a container to better aid in mixing? I guess some pvc and drill a bunch of holes will work well.

Thanks again


-Matthew

 

[coralfragger101]

Mag 12 pump. Set on a timer to mix for 15 min every couple of hours. Simple venturi line injects air into it as it mixes for aeration of mixture as well.

 

[coralfragger101]

You would have had a precip even if you would have mixed this and stored it inside. It is not from the heat factor alone.

 

[ReefWreak]

Wow fragger that's an awesome setup.

Matt, I had the same problem for a while. I was told that it was electricity leaking from the pump and to get a grounding probe and it would stop the precipitation of the calcium in the water. The salt was IO and it was RO/DI water. Looked cloudy like that for a long time. I never tried the ground probe because I just ended up buying premade saltwater and never used that pump again.

Hope you find out what it is.

 

[Ding2daDong]

Well the water is still cloudy and there is still film developing on the inside so should I just remake a batch?

CoralFragger: Where did you get that blue container? Looks perfect for the job.

Thanks everyone

-Matthew

 

[coralfragger101]

Got them at US Plastics, online.

You can use the water you made. If you make a new batch - the same thing will happen.

 

[45commando]

Matt,
you are adding the salt to the container full of water & not the water to the salt,right?If doing the later,then you could be causing the calcium to precipitate out of solution.In fact if you add all the salt too quickly to the water,it can cause the same affect.Make sure you add the salt gradually.HTH & sorry if you're already mixing it this way.

 

[Ding2daDong]

I add the salt to the water but I have been adding all of it in about a minute.

Any other recommendations for this not to happen? I am going to mix inside the house and add the salt gradually. I am also going to make a spray bar so the whole container gets even flow and not just one spot.

Thanks for the help.

-Matthew