dKH @ 13, water cloudy. Have used DIY "Marine Snow" in the past, and also used "hardened" salt when starting this tank up.

[Lebowski_]

Hi all.

Problem:

• High dKH (13)
• Cloudy water
• Some coral (soft and Zoas specifically) seem to be a bit unhappy. LPS seem happy and vibrant so may be unrelated.

Plan:

• Picking up another kH test and also going to make some of Randy's calibration solution to check hydrometer (swing arm, checked a couple times against LFS TM hydrometer and came up very close).
• I currently do 20% W/C per week, will continue.

Other tank parameters:

• Calcium: 415ppm
• Nitrate: 7 ppm
• Phosphate: 0.04 ppm
• RO/DI kH: 0-1 dKh (test changes colour on 1st drop).

So I've been having some issues with this tank's chemistry for a while. I think I may have caused this with 1 of the following 2 mistakes:

1. When I filled up the tank originally, I poured in the salt without checking the quality, and several large hardened pieces fell in. I figured they must have been exposed to some moisture, but would be fine. What I've read in other threads though, is that these hardened salts may be compromised chemically.

2. I occasionally use Calcium Carbonate in a mixture with RO/DI water to create "Marine Snow".


Can either of these cause a hardness spike? This thread feels a bit premature until I test kH with a new test kit, but I am still curious if either of these can cause issues. I originally thought the test kit might be off, but it did read 0 dKh on the RO/DI.

I remember @Randy Holmes-Farley mentioning in another thread about how he was unsure about the safety of using Calcium Carbonate in the aquarium, but cannot find that thread again.

 

[Lebowski_]

I can't edit the OP for some reason, but I'd like to add that I don't dose. So if my tests are true, the dKH rise from the IO Salt I use must be from some other process.

 

[biom]

What is the kH of freshly mixed salt?

 

[Lebowski_]

What is the kH of freshly mixed salt?

I had the same thought, so I mixed two buckets last night.

13 and 14 dKh at the same temp and SG.

Now I am thinking worst case is my hydrometer is testing lower than it should and the SG is higher than what it's showing.

Less bad cases are that my Nyos Alk kit is just off OR my salt mix is off and coming in high (luckily it's just a 55g bag).

I suppose if RO/DI is testing 0-1, and fresh salt is testing 13-14, I can eliminate anything going on specifically in the tank itself.

 

[exnisstech]

2. I occasionally use Calcium Carbonate in a mixture with RO/DI water to create "Marine Snow".

Not sure about number one but I doubt 2 is a cause. I was adding diy snow with a small amount of microbactor 7 for ten days strait on 2 tanks and water was crystal clear.

 

[Lebowski_]

Not sure about number one but I doubt 2 is a cause. I was adding diy snow with a small amount of microbactor 7 for ten days strait on 2 tanks and water was crystal clear.

So upon closer examination of the tank, I think a lot of the cloudiness is actually due to microbubbles being pulled into the pump or into the outlet tubing. So this may be a separate issue altogether, and I am less worried about it at the moment.

 

[Nano_Man]

If your Alk is 13 / 14 with mixed salt this won’t solve the issue but may help you going forward . You can use a small amount of acid buffer to reduce Alk to what you want has to be mixed with air stone for 24 hrs . I had a issue with high Alk and used this method worked for me . Only a idea

 

[biom]

I had the same thought, so I mixed two buckets last night.

13 and 14 dKh at the same temp and SG.

Now I am thinking worst case is my hydrometer is testing lower than it should and the SG is higher than what it's showing.

Less bad cases are that my Nyos Alk kit is just off OR my salt mix is off and coming in high (luckily it's just a 55g bag).

I suppose if RO/DI is testing 0-1, and fresh salt is testing 13-14, I can eliminate anything going on specifically in the tank itself.

Double check Alk with different test.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I think all is as expected. Alk is high in IO, and is similar in the tank.

 

[Lebowski_]

I think all is as expected. Alk is high in IO, and is similar in the tank.

Hi Randy, I'm going to double check it with another test, and also check check my salinity again with calibration fluid. Let's say I get the same results, is Alk 13 going to be problematic? Searching similar threads on this forum hasn't been too helpful as the opinions vary from emergency to "if it's not below 7, don't sweat it".

Attached (stolen from this forum) shows an average around around 11.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I don’t think 13 dKH is a problem if nutrients are not too low, but you can always lower it a bit if you want to.

 

[miguelvega76]

Any other recent changes you have done ? Is interesting that the zoas and softies have a hard time and lps are thriving . Normally i have seen lps struggle where softies thrive.

 

[Lebowski_]

New Hanna salinity probe came in. After calibration it reads exactly the same as the swing arm.

New kH test came in as well. Tank tested at 11, so I tried with the old test and it shows 11 now as well. Going to test the salt.

I don’t know enough about chemistry to know why it tested so high and is now in the expected range, but I’ll take it. Maybe it was just user error all along.