Pjanssen Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 Why did my Alkalinity dosing container form crystals and what do I do about it? 1 Quote Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted August 22, 2020 Author Share Posted August 22, 2020 Top down shot. They are really pretty, but... 1 Quote Link to comment
ajkochev Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 Wow! It does look neat. Obviously it reacted with something. Empty it and clean everything really well and try again is all I have. 1 Quote Link to comment
Reefer-begginer Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 its salt crystals. Normally seen when a cold object reacts to something thats warmer on the outside. It won't hurt your tank, just won't really do anything until it breaks down from the warmer water 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted August 22, 2020 Author Share Posted August 22, 2020 15 minutes ago, Reefer-begginer said: its salt crystals. Normally seen when a cold object reacts to something thats warmer on the outside. It won't hurt your tank, just won't really do anything until it breaks down from the warmer water Hmmm. So maybe my A/C is too cold? Quote Link to comment
Reefer-begginer Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 Lots of things can cause crystals to form like that. The jar might of just been at like 50°F and you added saltwater that is 80° 1 Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted August 23, 2020 Share Posted August 23, 2020 21 hours ago, Pjanssen said: Hmmm. So maybe my A/C is too cold? I was gonna ask where this was sitting? Either it's evaporated a ton, or it's being chilled, or both. (Check both!) If you sit that dosing container in a larger container of warm/hot water the crystals might (should, as long as nothing more peculiar is going on) dissolve. (ESV ships their two-part as a concentrate and it does this (or similar) sometimes in shipping or storage....the bottle actually comes with an FYI on it.) 1 Quote Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted August 24, 2020 Author Share Posted August 24, 2020 8 hours ago, mcarroll said: I was gonna ask where this was sitting? Either it's evaporated a ton, or it's being chilled, or both. (Check both!) If you sit that dosing container in a larger container of warm/hot water the crystals might (should, as long as nothing more peculiar is going on) dissolve. (ESV ships their two-part as a concentrate and it does this (or similar) sometimes in shipping or storage....the bottle actually comes with an FYI on it.) It is sitting on a little shelf above the tank. Sometimes the lid slips partially open, so I guess evaporation is a possibility. Not really being chilled except if I occasionally (shhhhhhh) crank the A/C up a little. There wasn't that much, I threw it out. Ah ha. It is partially ESV. Gradually switched over to SeaChem. It was also suggested to me the dust got into it and caused a reaction.? Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 Unless it was getting blasted by a nearby AC vent, I'm not sure that "the ESV explanation" stands up in your case. 😉 Even then, I was under the assumption/impression that freezing temps were the worry, not mere cool air. Looked cool as heck whatever happened to cause it! 1 Quote Link to comment
empresto Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 I had BRS Soda Ash in a VOSS water bottle as a dosing container for a long time before switching to bigger reservoirs. I left some of the BRS Soda Ash solution in the bottom of the Alk VOSS bottle, and as evaporation started to occur, similar crystals formed throughout the bottle, even up the sides. I'd be curious how much evaporation can happen from your dosing container. Higher concentrations will be more likely to crystalize when a foreign object (i.e. dust) gets into the mix. 2 Quote Link to comment
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