Kayman Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Been a little confused trying to figure this one out. About 4 days ago I did my first water change in my new tank. Tank has been up now for 22 days and my cycle is basically done. Ammonia spiked at 4ppm for a few days and then dropped down and the rest went on well. Well since I did my first water change it seems like it is snowing in the tank. Lots of white specs floating around in the water column. I have since done 2 more water changes and added filter floss to try and catch some of it. It seems to be getting better but it is still annoying to look at and I'm curious as to what might have caused this in the first place. I am using RO/DI water and Instant Ocean salt. PH: 7.8 / 8.0 (API Test Kit) Ammonia: 0ppm Nitrites: 0ppm Nitrates: 10ppm Still don't have ALK or Calcium tests yet, do I need to have these to figure out the problem or is this sometimes a common occurrence in new tanks? I plan on getting the test kits this weekend. Thanks! Link to comment
seabass Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Maybe just sand particles blowing around? Link to comment
jamescstein Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 How did you mix your water? Did you add the salt to water or add water to the salt? What was the condition of the salt before you mixed it in? I've read several posts on several different forums including this one.. search "instant ocean cloudy".. that indicate it could be the salt in the bag got wet and was rock hard or clumpy too much salt added to the mix too quickly heating the water before adding the salt In at least 1 case it was calcium precipitating out of the mix and a calc test on the water showed low calcium levels in the water. Link to comment
CronicReefer Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Definitely sounds like calcium precipitation, usually you will get a white residue on powerheads as well, but it could just be sand too. Turn off the water currents for a little because sand should settle pretty quickly. If you plan on keeping any type of stony corals I would buy an alk/calc test anyway but if you want to find out if it is precipitation you will need to test the water. Link to comment
Kayman Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 I added the salt to the water. It is a brand new bucket of sand, only had it for a month. Was very careful with initial setup not to get any water in the bucket when I set up the tank. After I added the salt I stirred it up good and then added a small powerhead to keep it circulating and added a small heater to get the temp up to 78. I let it for about 12 hours before I did my water change. sit I've had the powerheads off now for about a day and it's looking better but still not clear. Got my alkalinity test today and going to pick up a calcium at the store in a bit. I forgot to mention I'm running some Chemi-Pure in my sump. PH: 7.8/8.0 dKH: 10 Temp: 79 Salinity 1.025 Link to comment
AZDesertRat Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 To make sure it is not microbubbles from the return pump or a skimmer turn all the lights off on the tank and in the room then shine a flashlight through the tank from side to side or front to back. If the tank sparkles like diamonds it is microbubbles which are common in a new system and usually go away with time. If it just looks cloudy it is floating particulates and again should go away as the sand gets coated with colonizing bacteria making it heavier so it settles and sticks together. Link to comment
Kayman Posted January 26, 2015 Author Share Posted January 26, 2015 It's definitely not micro bubbles, stuff is settling out as I have had the powerheads off and they themselves are getting covered in fine white specs. I picked up the test kits and as of right now. Temp: 79 Salinity: 1.025 PH: 7.8/8.0 dKH: 10 Calcium 400 I'm stumped. Link to comment
Abysswater Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Had this happen once, had a crappy bag of salt. Might had the salt get moisture in it, and precip'ed. Link to comment
Kayman Posted January 26, 2015 Author Share Posted January 26, 2015 I guess it's possible. You think letting it mix longer before I add could help? I'd rather not waste 30 pounds of salt. Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 I've seen this before in salt that had gotten contaminated by moisture. It turned into a solid block of salt. After breaking it up and attempting to mix it, it resulted in precipitation that never dissolved. Link to comment
seabass Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 If the salt was completely dissolved before it was added to the tank, calcium wouldn't precipitate out in the display. However, moisture in the mix will cause precipitation in the mixing bucket. If you introduced precipitate into the display, it will not dissolve at normal reef pH levels. Mix up a new batch and see if it dissolves completely. Link to comment
Kayman Posted January 26, 2015 Author Share Posted January 26, 2015 I'll give that a try, thanks for the help! Hopefully I can get this figured out, I wanna add some fishies! Link to comment
Seth fhy Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Moisture got into my salt bucket once, I still used it even thought there were some hard clumps in the salt. I would let the saltwater mix and after hours there would be little white specs that wouldn't dissolve, so I would just let it sit and let the particles fall to the bottom. Then I would try to get as little particles into my tank as possible and everything was fine. Link to comment
Toon87 Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Be sure to check alk and ca/mg. not completely dissolved salt can give wrong value's. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.