Hi folks!
I store my SW mix in a 32 gallon Brute can. I took about half out two Saturdays ago, and filled it back up and mixed it. This evening, I went to fill up my jugs and the water in the Brute smells like ammonia! I did an API test on it and it is reading 2.0 ppm. (I know about the API test being inaccurate, but still, it definitely smells like ammonia...I will be ordering a better test kit. Is Red Sea any good, or should I order Salifert?...Amazon has the Red Sea that I can have delivered on Saturday)
Back to the ammonia smell...it is RODI water mixed with InstantOcean. This batch is about 50% Instant Ocean Salt and 50% IO Reef Crystals. Not sure if that has anything to do with the smell. Last batch was 100% IO salt. Another possibility is that I fill up a 5 gallon can at my RODI station, then transfer it to the 32 gallon mixing station. I used the same can that I put my dirty water during water changes. I rinse the can, but maybe some left over crud stayed in it that converted to ammonia.
I will wait for a better-than-API test to make sure that what I'm smelling is indeed ammonia before I dump the water out, but if it does turn out to be ammonia, is there anything else I can do save the water? Maybe dumping some bacteria into it and wait until it tests for Nitrite/Nitrate.
Thanks,
Ed
I store my SW mix in a 32 gallon Brute can. I took about half out two Saturdays ago, and filled it back up and mixed it. This evening, I went to fill up my jugs and the water in the Brute smells like ammonia! I did an API test on it and it is reading 2.0 ppm. (I know about the API test being inaccurate, but still, it definitely smells like ammonia...I will be ordering a better test kit. Is Red Sea any good, or should I order Salifert?...Amazon has the Red Sea that I can have delivered on Saturday)
Back to the ammonia smell...it is RODI water mixed with InstantOcean. This batch is about 50% Instant Ocean Salt and 50% IO Reef Crystals. Not sure if that has anything to do with the smell. Last batch was 100% IO salt. Another possibility is that I fill up a 5 gallon can at my RODI station, then transfer it to the 32 gallon mixing station. I used the same can that I put my dirty water during water changes. I rinse the can, but maybe some left over crud stayed in it that converted to ammonia.
I will wait for a better-than-API test to make sure that what I'm smelling is indeed ammonia before I dump the water out, but if it does turn out to be ammonia, is there anything else I can do save the water? Maybe dumping some bacteria into it and wait until it tests for Nitrite/Nitrate.
Thanks,
Ed