grafxalien Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 I have been having issues with low KH, Ca, Mg which didnt make much sense to me since I do frequent water changes and have a low coral load. Anyways, have been slowly fixing that issue with Two part and Mg which has made the tank look better. Anyways, before my water change today I decided I should check the levels in my fresh water. Turns out to be SG 1.026 pH 8.4 KH 5.1 Ca 370 Mg 1080. Ph was API, the rest salifert. I mix my water changes with RO/DI water with my own spectrapure filter; 0TDS on meter. I mix it in a 5 gal bucket with an AC70 powerhead overnight. No heater, but the powerhead makes enough heat to match temps. I put the lid on overnight to prevent things from falling in. This was a fresh bag of reef crystals that I just opened. I bought a box of 4 bags around a year ago and this is the last bag. Any ideas? Think this is bad salt or is my mixing technique wrong? Could leaving the lid on alter the CO2 available for mixing? Link to comment
gus6464 Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Air contact stabilizes the pH but that's about it. Your low Mg and Ca are just the salt. You probably got a bum batch. Have you tried any other salt? Red Sea Pro is the favorite in my area. Link to comment
atrox Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Those are instant ocean numbers not reef crystal numbers. I'd open another bag and test that mix. I would return it, if that is the case. Sorry for the troubles. I use reef crystals and get consistent results. Is the salt clumpy or solid in large chunks before you mix? Link to comment
grafxalien Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 this was the last bag bag in my box of 4 bags. Yes- this bag was hard and clumpy prior to opening it. Link to comment
jservedio Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 It is either precipitation from improperly mixing (unlikely since this is the only bag you had the problem with) or the particles within the bag aren't mixed homogeously and stuff is settled out to the bottom. If it is really hard and clumpy, return it and get a new bag - if you have to break up chunks you should return it or throw it away if it was your fault. It's not all that expensive to not take chances with a bad batch. When you get chunks like that from moisture, evaporation, then recrystallization - the particle sizes will not be homogenous and you will NEVER get it to mix properly and every single batch you mix from the bag (unless you use the whole bag) will be wildly different. Additionally, since there is so little water causing the clumping, you may end up with calcium carbonate which will permanently lower the ability to mix to proper Alk and Ca. Link to comment
grafxalien Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 thanks for the help. I have another batch mixing up tonight and I am going to test it tomorrow. This big was almost solid before I opened it. I am guessing that is the problem then. Doubt I will be able to return it since I bought the box around a year ago. What would cause an un-opened bag to go bad like that? Anyways. Looks like running to the store tomorrow to get a new bag will be the solution. Link to comment
MikeTR Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I had this problem using reef crystals when the bag was clumped together. I see the calcium precipitate in the bottom of the trash can.. I've got a few bags sitting in the garage that are unusable. I too wonder how it happens as I don't see any salt leaking out of them, but they must not be completely air tight so moisture gets in. Link to comment
grafxalien Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 yea. i think I am going to stick with buying one bag at a time now. That and get a sealed plastic container to keep the opened one in. Link to comment
grafxalien Posted November 7, 2014 Author Share Posted November 7, 2014 bought a new bag yesterday. it was soft and free flowing. Mixed it overnight. SG 1.025 kH 8.3 Ca 360. The bag on the side says at 1.023 its supposed to have 405 Ca. These are new salifert kits and I also just tested the kH standard solution that comes with the kit and it was spot on. Am I mixing it wrong somehow? Could it be that since I make small batches (~3gallons at a time) that it is just not uniform? Link to comment
jservedio Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 bought a new bag yesterday. it was soft and free flowing. Mixed it overnight. SG 1.025 kH 8.3 Ca 360. The bag on the side says at 1.023 its supposed to have 405 Ca. These are new salifert kits and I also just tested the kH standard solution that comes with the kit and it was spot on. Am I mixing it wrong somehow? Could it be that since I make small batches (~3gallons at a time) that it is just not uniform? Are you slowly mixing the salt into RODI water? If you put the salt in before the water you will get all kinds of precipitation problems which cause Alk and Ca to be lower than they should be. I normally take 15-20 seconds to pour a cup of salt into RODI while mixing with the other hand. Link to comment
MikeTR Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 I never mix overnight.. 30 minutes until clear and in it goes. I do somewhat match temp on the smaller tank.. Link to comment
atrox Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 Buy it in the bucket off of amazon, its like 60 bucks with shipping. the bucket keeps moisture out, and you get a tshirt and a free bucket Link to comment
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