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View Full Version : Just made Saltwater is cloudy

t11t5
06/04/2013, 09:27 AM
I mix my water in a 29g tank. I mixed some friday. Now it is so cloudy I can not see the pump in it. I checked the water before i added salt mix and the tds was 0. any ideas why it clouds like this? should i use it for my water change?
MondoBongo
06/04/2013, 09:38 AM
What salt mix are you using? Has it ever done this before?

I had some issues a while back with a batch of SeaChem salinity that would mix up cloudy. I would leave a spare HOB filter in my mixing tub overnight with some GAC and it would clear up. I talked to several others and it seems it may have just been a bad batch, higher in calcium or some other mineral than normal that was clouding up the water.
bnumair
06/04/2013, 07:16 PM
it sounds like precipitation. was temp of water hot? salt should be mixed in 76-78F water,
also after mixing the salt heater and pumps should be turned off unless u have a chiller on it like mine. (my setup is in garage and it gets 130F in there)
xtlosx
06/04/2013, 07:40 PM
it sounds like precipitation. was temp of water hot? salt should be mixed in 76-78F water,
also after mixing the salt heater and pumps should be turned off unless u have a chiller on it like mine. (my setup is in garage and it gets 130F in there)

Interesting.. I mix my Salinity in 81F water, with a pump, and never had any cloudy issues... Do you have a source for the temperature needed, or did I just not read the bucket? :-)
hogfanreefer
06/04/2013, 07:40 PM
If you over mix Red Sea Coral Pro it will do that. Had it happen and never could get it to re-dissolve. Something about the heat generated by the pump/mixing. It's directions say don't mix more than an hour if I recall correctly.
bnumair
06/04/2013, 07:53 PM
yes its the heat hogfanreefer.....
regarding salinity and temp. usually its on the bucket that states something like to attain 1.026 use 1/2 cup per gal at 77F. pretty much anything in this hobby i have seen regarding salinity and temp there is always a window of temp from 68-78F.
all salt mix pretty much state 77F,
pretty much all refractometers recommend same temp range to calibrate. water and meter both.
pretty much all salinity check solutions (standards) also claim to be at 76-78F before using.
alkalinity precipitate out of water with heat. whether if its temp of water or heat from heater or pumps. thus causing milkiness that never dissolves.

81F is not too far off from 77F but any hotter it probably will show signs of precipitation.