Precipitate in Mixing Barrel?

j.falk

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 11, 2018
Messages
1,246
Reaction score
1,586
Location
Illinois
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
Is it normal to have precipitate in the bottom of your saltwater mixing barrel?

I dumped out my saltwater mixing garbage can yesterday and in the bottom was what looked like caked on calcium / mineral deposit. The deposit was easily removed and I rinsed out the barrel to reuse, but I'm wondering what is causing the precipitate?

I'm using a 20 gallon garbage can, a 75w submersible heater for temp, a Penguin 550 power head for mixing and IO Reef Crystals for salt. I fill the barrel with RODI water, then I plug in the heater and power head and then slowly add the salt to the water in half cup measurements and then wait 24 hours before using.

Am I doing something wrong that would cause the calcium to separate and precipitate to the bottom? Should I let the water heat up to temp before adding the salt? Could it be the submersible heater lying on it's side at the bottom of the barrel that is causing it...or maybe the combined heat of the heater and power head sitting in the bottom of the barrel? Maybe a bad batch of salt?
 

mfinn

likes zoanthids
View Badges
Joined
Jul 22, 2006
Messages
11,455
Reaction score
8,311
Location
Olympia, WA.
Rating - 100%
5   0   0
Reef Crystals is known for leaving a dirty brown residue behind.
Was the residue brown or white?
 
OP
OP
j.falk

j.falk

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 11, 2018
Messages
1,246
Reaction score
1,586
Location
Illinois
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
kind of sounds like the residue RC is known for.
Fwiw, I warm my water first before adding salt.

Thank you. I appreciate the advice. I'll try warming the water first with my next batch.
 
OP
OP
j.falk

j.falk

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 11, 2018
Messages
1,246
Reaction score
1,586
Location
Illinois
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
I know with RC, the longer I wait to use it, the amount of residue builds up.

That could be the issue too. I usually mix up 15 gallons at a time and only use 9 - 10 for a water change. The leftover water I usually let sit in the barrel until the next water change.
 

PatW

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 14, 2013
Messages
2,539
Reaction score
1,943
Location
Orlando, FL
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I get some brown gunk left over when I mix up Reef Crystals or Instant Ocean. I have found that I can remove the residue with muriatic acid diluted about 10 to 1 in RODI water.

I believe that Randy uses Instant Ocean in his system. He posted a photo of his mixing bucket once and it had a very impressive build up of precipitate. So I guess Randy does not think it is a problem and I would say he knows far more about it than I do.
 

mfinn

likes zoanthids
View Badges
Joined
Jul 22, 2006
Messages
11,455
Reaction score
8,311
Location
Olympia, WA.
Rating - 100%
5   0   0
I used Instant Ocean exclusively for 2 decades and never saw the same issue I and others have with Reef Crystals.
The issue with Reef Crystals is different than normal precipitate.
 

Mixing lighting technologies: Do you use multiple types of lighting for your reef?

  • I currently use multiple types of lighting for my reef.

    Votes: 9 50.0%
  • I have used multiple types of lighting for my reef in the past.

    Votes: 2 11.1%
  • I haven’t used multiple types of lighting for my reef, but I plan to in the future.

    Votes: 4 22.2%
  • I have no plans to use multiple types of lighting for my reef.

    Votes: 3 16.7%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
Back
Top