Instant Ocean Sea Salt problem

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shjuho

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Nov 20, 2003
Messages
42
Location
Arizona
Today we did a 30% water change in our fish only tank (55 gal). Unfortunately it appears that salt did not fully dissolve, leaving the water cloudy and a white sediment on everything. The fish appear to be OK, but are certainly not behaving normally after about 8 hrs. The Ehiem filter appears to be clearing the cloudiness

Can anybody explain what happened and make some go forward recommendations?

I mixed the RO water w/ this salt and proceeded w/ the water change. We had successfully used this product and this batch of Sea salt before. I am comtemplating another water change and vacuum immediately to try and remove the sediment

:cry:
 
The salt should ideally be aerated for 24 hours before being used. A powerhead in the bucket works nicely for this. Freshly mixed saltwater should not be used except in cases of dire emergency. Doing this, you would not have the problem again.
 
Agreed. Mixing it for a day beforehand is reccomended. Mixing it quickly will leave salt left over. I always check to make sure it's all dissolved.
 
doesnt really matter IMO

I have mixed sea salts for many years and then used it in the tank.. You do need to mix it fairly well before use or you are likely to get some cloudiness.... I'm not saying that the others are wrong but mixing and adding it will not cause any serious problems, I mean just think about how many service guys do it on a daily basis! up until recently tanks for hauling water to accounts was not very affordable (They still aint cheap!! )

Your biggest worry is that you altered the salinity to fast and that is what stressed your fish.....
 
I agree with the rest. Very sound advice! I start premixing on Friday night. I just fill up my bucket, add the salt/ph/heater, let it warm up and stew. Sometimes I'll change the water on Sat night or Sunday night. You want to try and get your fresh batch the same temp and salinity and possibly the pH as close to your tank's as possible. I did the same thing as you on my first PWC and it stressed the heck out of all mu fish. My blue devil even had nips out of his tail, and he's the meanest one in there!
 
You do need to let set 24-48 hrs after mixing so that the salt will be able to mix properly and not be too caustic when adding straight to the tank.
 
Thx for all the help. The tank eventually cleared, but the sediment remained after 2 full days.

I did premix the salt into the RO water and let sit for 36 hrs w/ occasional hand stirring, my std procedure.

I like the powerhead idea. I do believe there is something wrong w. the salt. I will probably do an experiment soon to determine if the salt is usable.

thx again for the info.

Jim
 
I was having a problem with IO salt forming a rim on the blue RubberMaid tub I mixed it in. This was after 24 hours with a powerhead and a heater trying to form a SG of 1.022-1.023. No matter what I did, it kept coming back, like some of the salt didn't want to dissolve.

I hadn't noticed it before probably because I was using a white container before, but it showed up nicely on the blue tub.

So I bought a plastic bottle of Ocenaic salt and it mixed up great. No salt rim and great Ca+ numbers. It was totally mixed after about an hour in 10gal, but of course, I let it sit overnight perculating just in case.
 
ive had the same problem. if you mix for about 24 hours, you get undisolved salt and ive mixed for 36 hours and noticed dust in the bottom and settled on the powerhead. ive tried three different batches and have decided to switch to another brand. im really not have with this issue and the fact that the calcium level is very low with io salt. the ph always came out good thought, witch is a category ive heard other brands fall short in.
looks like your going to have to choose the lesser of two evils.
 
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