Brown sludge in water change container

[Bolo Tran]

Hey all. I've been using Red Sea coral Pro for the last year or so and have noticed that if I prepare a container of water change water and leave it for more than 2 days, a brown sludge develops on the container walls. What is this and is it harmful for the tank? I use rubbermaid Brute cans for water changes.

[Bolo Tran]

Bump. Am I the only one with this problem?

[ZoaFan08]

This happens all the time with my conatiners. Every other time your efill your brute wash it out, run a 20% mix of vinegar and water for a few hours and then run just water to rinse it. I let mine go 6 months and the brown was caked inside the PVC tubing and I had to replace the tubing.

[lucas73]

I also get that brown residue from Red Sea Coral Pro,I mix up 5 gallons weekly let it mix for 2 days.Im on my third 55gal mix bucket,no negative effects on tank everything looks good

[Bolo Tran]

I want to correct that this is not only evident with REd Sea Coral Pro. When I use Reef Crystals the same thing happened. I do rinse and wipe down the 32 gallon Brute container after every water change. I do appreciate the advice on the vinegar soak but that sounds to be a bit tedious after every water change. Is there another method to resolve this problem or should I just let it be and my tank is safe?

[TheDogFather]

RS Coral Pro just like DD H2Ocean is a natural sea salt made by evaporation and is more prone to minor organic impurities over synthetic salts.

I use both (they come from the same factory) and have always found a bit of residue in the mixing container but its really nothing to worry about.

Cheers!

-TDF

[ZoaFan08]

I get the residue with Reef Crystals and Coralife

[ZoaFan08]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14527889#post14527889 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bolo Tran
I want to correct that this is not only evident with REd Sea Coral Pro. When I use Reef Crystals the same thing happened. I do rinse and wipe down the 32 gallon Brute container after every water change. I do appreciate the advice on the vinegar soak but that sounds to be a bit tedious after every water change. Is there another method to resolve this problem or should I just let it be and my tank is safe?

I hosed the inside down every 2-3 cans and vinegar bathed it every 5-6 cans.

[luther1200]

I was using the same container for about a year and started to get that so I bought a new one. I don't get it on the new container.

[Tangalong]

Leave a ph in the can to keep the water/salt moving...that's what I do and don't have sludge. I still rinse out the Brute to remove all of the salt though to refill with fresh water from tap.

[seapug]

It's Calcium carbonate precipitate. Randy Holmes Farley wrote an entire article about it that I can't find the link to at the moment. Perhaps someone else has it handy...

Regardless, it's nothing to be too concerned about. Adding salt slowly and keeping the water circulating will help keep it from happening. I clean out my mixing barrel about once/year and usually remove a pound or so of the stuff from the bottom.

EDIT: Here it is:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-07/rhf/index.php