Issues with mixing SW......

[FishWrangler]

So for 4+ years we've used the same salt and Kent Super buffer to make SW. It's always in 4g increments with the same bucket, powerhead, and heater.

2 cups of salt mix and we start with a tsp of buffer...sometimes that's enough buffer and sometimes we need to add alittle more.

Recently the buffer has not dissolved and sticks to everything??? The powerhead , heater, and inside of the bucket gets caked with the stuff.

We test and the ph hasn't changed or even goes lower and we keep dumping more buffer in.......eventually it looks right and we do a water change.

During the water change some of the caked-on buffer must go into the tank....and it's pushed up PH to a dangerous level....pretty sure all the crabs and shrimp are dead and the snails are in some sort of high PH coma. All the corals look unhappy as well...

I've started to slowly add vinegar to drop the PH down....hopefully when I get home today it will be better.

Now that I'm down to a tiny tank, there's no room for error when doing this stuff...one bad WC and things go south quickly......

Anyway, why do you think this is happening and what advise can you give to fix it?

[Ari21]

I would say stop adding the buffer and see if that helps.

[FishWrangler]

I would say stop adding the buffer and see if that helps.

What do I add to get the PH where I want it before doing the WC then?

[Tweaked]

Interesting, I don't think most people even worry about that unless introducing new fish to the aquarium. So you do 4g change on a 10g tank? if doing 15-20% change I would worry. I do huge changes on occasion and never even thought about it.

[FishWrangler]

Interesting, I don't think most people even worry about that unless introducing new fish to the aquarium. So you do 4g change on a 10g tank? if doing 15-20% change I would worry. I do huge changes on occasion and never even thought about it.



So most just add the salt and check salinity??? That would be too easy....

Actually we do a 2g wc weekly, so each batch of sw lasts 2 weeks.

After more thinking, reading, and testing....it's probably more the filters in our ro/di unit need to be changed and that's what is screwing up the parameters when we make sw and top off.

Think we're done mixing and will try Petco SW. I've read mostly good reviews and for a few dollars a week it might eliminate the one part of this hobby I hate....mixing, testing, adding more, testing, adding more, testing, adding more water cause we added too much of something, testing, etc....I suck at making sw.


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[Ari21]

I wouldn't add anything.

[Tweaked]

Yea I would mix and change without buffers etc. heck I don't even heat the water sometimes and just do a quick 20g once I'm at the target salinity.

[Useful_Idiot]

What do I add to get the PH where I want it before doing the WC then?

If fresh mixed saltwater is airated it will have a ph in the 8's. Unless the air in your house is really high in c02 like in the winter when the windows are always closed, but then your tank would be at about that same ph anyways.

Are you running an air stone long enough when mixing?

[Wesus]

I only check salinity fresh SW and KH of first batch made of new backet

[Elricsfate]

So most just add the salt and check salinity??? That would be too easy....



FWIW I too simply mix the salt, check salinity, and do a WC. I usually change 15g on a 75g tank.

My salinity stays pretty much at 8.14 all the time. I tried adding buffers to get it up to 8.3, but everything appears healthy and happy at 8.14 so I figured why add extra stuff, and extra work?

[FishWrangler]

Hmmmmm.........

I forget who told us how to mix salt...maybe the guy at APC when we started up our first tank? Never occurred to me we weren't doing it right....

I'm pretty sure that is how they are teaching students at MSMHS how to mix SW in their classes too.

Salinity is easy, 1/2 cup per gallon and it's always perfect....if we wanted to slightly raise or lower the salinity in the tank, we adjusted accordingly when mixing up a batch. It's the PH that always gave us headaches, especially lately.

Anyway, if we go back to mixing I'll try skipping the buffer and see how it goes. I suppose the 2-part we dose keeps the PH where is should be anyway......

I stopped by Petco (sw tanks and fish looked awful) last night and grabbed 5 gallons of their "natural sw" for $12. Salinity and Ph looked fine so I heated it up and did a 70%ish wc...almost instantly everything reacted positively and besides losing a couple shrimp all should be fine.

I think I'll try doing wc's with it and see how it goes, given my tank is tiny it will cost around $3/week and it's soooo easy.