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Ducati 911
06/08/2011, 09:01 AM
Im trying to do water changes and I just end up tossing all this new saltwater I make because it turns a dark yellow/ green color.

I have been taking a 5G bucket and mixing about 4 gallons of pure ro/di and oceanic salt... so far so good. water is still clear. After a few hours of mixing with a powerhead it starts to turn colors.

After 24 hours the water is a yellowish color and I dont want to add this to my aquarium...

What is going on?!?

Please help me figure this out this happens everytime.

Ducati 911
06/08/2011, 09:35 AM
could it be the powerhead?

Korrine
06/08/2011, 09:50 AM
that is weird. I have no idea. Occasionally my Reef Crystals leaves some crappy brown residue in the mixing can, but doesn't turn the water colors. Have you tried a different powerhead? Go ahead and try a different if you haven't. What about a heater? Could try a different heater after you try a different powerhead....not both at the same it. Gotta have a control so you know which/if one is doing it.

Michael
06/08/2011, 10:01 AM
what type of bucket is it? is it food safe?

gweston
06/08/2011, 10:03 AM
that is weird. I have no idea. Occasionally my Reef Crystals leaves some crappy brown residue in the mixing can, but doesn't turn the water colors. Have you tried a different powerhead? Go ahead and try a different if you haven't. What about a heater? Could try a different heater after you try a different powerhead....not both at the same it. Gotta have a control so you know which/if one is doing it.



Same for me. IO sometimes leaves a brownish film/residue in the bucket, but it is fine to use. I just wash well and wipe the bucket afterward. If the water is going yellow/green you definitely have reason to be concerned. No idea what would do that though.

I sometimes make my mix up to 5 days ahead of time. I usually just use the powerhead and only put the heater on when I am getting ready to use it. Uses up less power that way. Yes, salinity changes with temp, but I have the measurement down and am almost always within 0.01 sg of target.

As others say, I'd suspect the powerhead or heater.

Ducati 911
06/08/2011, 10:04 AM
Ill try a new powerhead, I dont keep the heather in while its mixing so I know its not the heater.. Im going to take a powerhead out of my DT and try this again, Its really frustrating because I keep wasting all this good ro/di..

I really hope its the powerhead or else idk what to do.

Ducati 911
06/08/2011, 10:07 AM
Its a standard white 5G bucket made by Encore Plastics Corp.

Idk what you mean by "food safe"..

Korrine
06/08/2011, 10:23 AM
Its a standard white 5G bucket made by Encore Plastics Corp.

Idk what you mean by "food safe"..

if it's not a food safe container it can leach stuff into your water. It should be labeled as food safe on the bottom or somewhere.

is this your bucket?
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=41283&catid=752

It says it meets FDA requirements so I would guess it's food safe.

Flippers4pups
06/08/2011, 10:27 AM
I would look at your salt. You may have a bad batch. Also, have your water checked for tds.

Ducati 911
06/08/2011, 10:33 AM
Yeah thats the bucket im using.. Im on hold with encore plactics right now...

evsalty
06/08/2011, 10:33 AM
Im trying to do water changes and I just end up tossing all this new saltwater I make because it turns a dark yellow/ green color.

I have been taking a 5G bucket and mixing about 4 gallons of pure ro/di and oceanic salt... so far so good. water is still clear. After a few hours of mixing with a powerhead it starts to turn colors.

After 24 hours the water is a yellowish color and I dont want to add this to my aquarium...

What is going on?!?

Please help me figure this out this happens everytime.

I would suspect the pump seeing this kind of timing. In other words no pump water is clear but once pump is added the water starts to turn color.

As for the bucket needing to state food safe I disagree. Look at your bucket of salt. I bet it does not say food safe anywere on it. I just looked at several buckets from different salts (IO, Coral Pro, and Brightwell) and none of them said anything about food safe. Also many people use the Lowes and HD buckets without issues as well.

OP have you tested any of this water for ammonia or trites or trates?

Ducati 911
06/08/2011, 10:38 AM
.

OP have you tested any of this water for ammonia or trites or trates?

Yeah everything is reading 0 according to API test kits. Could this maybe be oil leaking from the PH? Is there even oil in PH's?

Korrine
06/08/2011, 10:45 AM
I would suspect the pump seeing this kind of timing. In other words no pump water is clear but once pump is added the water starts to turn color.

As for the bucket needing to state food safe I disagree. Look at your bucket of salt. I bet it does not say food safe anywere on it. I just looked at several buckets from different salts (IO, Coral Pro, and Brightwell) and none of them said anything about food safe. Also many people use the Lowes and HD buckets without issues as well.

OP have you tested any of this water for ammonia or trites or trates?

Thermoplastics are inert once they are set. Generally speaking, they do not leach anything or ever breakdown. If you dropped that can to the bottom of the ocean, in 100 years it will still be there as good as new.

What makes plastic food grade or not is the use of mold release (usually silicone spray) or other treatments used during or after the molding process. "Food Grade" containers are held to a cleaner standard than "non-food grade" containers. However they are molded from the exact same plastic; usually polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE or HDPE). PP and HDPE usually do not require mold release to be used so there should be no manufacturing residue on these cans.



Storing liquid is a lot different than storing a dry grain type material. I just decided I wasn't going to take a chance on non food safe since so much is invested in livestock.

evsalty
06/08/2011, 10:50 AM
Storing liquid is a lot different than storing a dry grain type material. I just decided I wasn't going to take a chance on non food safe since so much is invested in livestock.
Fair enough but I have been using some of these buckets for over a decade and have used many others over the past 16 years in this hobby with no ill effects.

Ducati 911
06/08/2011, 12:18 PM
ok, ive been mixing a new batch since I posted this thread with a different powerhead ( one i got from my DT) and so far the water is still crystal clear..

I guess it was the pump that was leaching something into the water.. any ideas on what it could be?

zigzag1
06/08/2011, 12:29 PM
My bet is that it's likely the pump. I would think the bucket is okay too. I would carefully inspect the pump or simply replace it if not tight on cash. MJ1000s are good utility/water change pumps and pretty cheap IMO.

I would think it could also possibly be a bacterial or algae bloom. Does your change water get exposure to direct sunlight during your 24-hour mixing? Not sure about others, but along with my yearly RO sterilization, I sanitize all top-off and change water equipment using a 30 minute bleach bath and allow it to air dry for 24-48 hrs, includes all buckets, hoses, stirrers, heaters, pumps, etc. Then, rinse all wc/top-off equipment in tap water after each use, and dry throughly. GL!

Ducati 911
06/08/2011, 12:36 PM
I make sure the bucket doesnt get exposed to any direct sunlight or any light for that matter, it has a lid on the whole time its mixing and that container in placed in a black rummbermaid container to make sure no light can get in. It was def the pump, idk what I would have done if I used this powerhead in my DT. Id be crushed if it wiped out all my livestock.

steelhead77
06/08/2011, 04:45 PM
Storing liquid is a lot different than storing a dry grain type material. I just decided I wasn't going to take a chance on non food safe since so much is invested in livestock.

Uhh...No it's not. If it "leached" stuff out, that means that it would slowly dissolve. That doesn't happen. Any container that's labled "PP", "PE", "LDPE", "HDPE" will be just fine for storage of saltwater. As I said, the only difference will be what is used as a mold release in the molding process. If you're concerned, clean the bucket with vinegar and/or bleach and be confident that it is safe.

disc1
06/08/2011, 04:56 PM
clean the bucket with vinegar and/or bleach

But never at the same time!

PokerReefer
06/08/2011, 05:26 PM
You haven't mentioned what "type" of powerhead/pump you were using to mix your water ? I have seen others use pond pumps/equipment that have copper shafts on impellers to a detrimental outcome. What is it that you were using?

Ducati 911
06/08/2011, 08:11 PM
Well in my DT I have two Hydor powerheads, but the pump I was using was a petco brand powerhead..I bought it because it was cheap and I was only using it to mix my new saltwwater. I left that out to make sure everyone didnt blame petco right away... Maybe I should have mentioned that.. but It was a regular powerhead made for saltwater/freshwater aquariums so it shouldnt have done that. Right?

Michael
06/08/2011, 11:24 PM
Yeah everything is reading 0 according to API test kits. Could this maybe be oil leaking from the PH? Is there even oil in PH's?



it wouldn't turn the water a different color, it would just float on the surface if it was oil, I know some plastics can react with certain elements, thats why I mentioned the food safe question, I have no Idea why this is happening I'm afraid, all sounds weird really.

Ducati 911
06/08/2011, 11:39 PM
Well I solved the problem with a diff pump. Thanks for all your time.

evsalty
06/09/2011, 01:48 AM
Well in my DT I have two Hydor powerheads, but the pump I was using was a petco brand powerhead..I bought it because it was cheap and I was only using it to mix my new saltwwater. I left that out to make sure everyone didnt blame petco right away... Maybe I should have mentioned that.. but It was a regular powerhead made for saltwater/freshwater aquariums so it shouldnt have done that. Right?

I use two of the petco pumps. One is plumbed in my RO/DI bin and the other is my water change pump. Neither have ever been a problem for me. So far that is.

Ducati 911
06/09/2011, 04:06 PM
I know forsure it was the pump.. I ran serveral test in different buckets of fresh and saltwater and ended up with the same result.

I cant even take it back because i dont have the recipt haha

evsalty
06/09/2011, 09:41 PM
I know forsure it was the pump.. I ran serveral test in different buckets of fresh and saltwater and ended up with the same result.

I cant even take it back because i dont have the recipt haha
I was not questioning you about it being the pump. I was merely stating that I have two of them that are working good. Every pumps and other parts will have some that are good and some that are bad.

Ducati 911
06/09/2011, 09:55 PM
Yea I know, I can't believe that pump was doing that. I want to get another one but I don't think I can trust it. I hope your pump continues to work for you.