Recipe 2: Alkalinity Dosing Suddenly Not Clouding Water

[mcarroll]

So I put a new set of Recipe 2 Ca and alk gallons online a couple nights ago and I just noticed that the alkalinity part isn't turning the water cloudy anymore as it goes in the water.

Same reagents and formula as always. (About 300+ grams/gallon.)
Same old bag of arm & hammer.

Anyone have thoughts on why this could happen or if it could be normal? I can't figure out what could have happened, but what's going into the tank looks like magnesium as it dissolves. (I don't even have any magnesium to mix, so I know I didn't grab the wrong bag of reagent.) Trying to figure out what I did wrong.

I've been dosing Recipe2 like this for quite a while, BTW, and I've never seen the alk part not cloud the water. This is definitely weird.

Testing now to see if I can tell anything that way.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Baked? Unbaked may not cloud water as it doesn't raise the pH.

 

[mcarroll]

I've used Recipe 2 (unbaked) for a long time and it's the first time I've noticed it like this. The jug this one replaced did it for sure.

Still haven't gotten that testing done though. I'm curious to know if testing shows everything normal.

 

[mcarroll]

Mg levels have been low and I brought them back up along with the switch of the jugs.

Do you think clouding be less likely at 1375 ppm vs 1200 ppm?

 

[mcarroll]

So my test numbers seem more or less inline...will have to test another sample in a few days to be sure.

It's either strange that this is happening, or strange than I never noticed it before.

 

[Ocelaris]

Agreed with the baked vs non baked. My first attempt used non baked and once I realized the difference, I baked it and now it's cloudy again. I suspect your bottle may have had air get in and CO2 mixed into the chemical? Not sure if that's possible, but seems like a reasonable explanation.

 

[mcarroll]

Recipe 2 is just plain baking soda....non-baked. I scoop out of the Arm& Hammer bag onto the scale, then pour it into the mix. No other middle step!

I guess conditions are just right and maybe that's what's "weird".

Another factor is that, at 1.0235, s.g. is a bit lower than usual too...1.025 or 1.026 are the only two numbers I usually see on my refractomer.

 

[Myka]

I've noticed that the alk portion doesn't cloud the water when I am at the top of the bucket. Once I've used most of it, the bottom portion of the bucket will cloud the water. It seems like there is some sort of settling occurring that I can't see. I mix in black H2Ocean salt mix buckets so it's easy to see undissolved granules, but I mix the entire bucket all night with an MJ1200 so it should be well mixed. Either way, I've definitely noticed what you describe. I'm using Tropic Marin Part B though, so maybe it is different.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Check me if I'm wrong Randy, but is the cloudiness from Precipitation occurring? Would calcium in a low value not allow the precipitation/ cloudiness to occur?

What's the OP's calcium at?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Higher magnesium would, IMO, probably lead to more clouding, since the precipitate that forms instantly is magnesium hydroxide.

 

[mcarroll]

With the Mg angle I guess I was thinking of its "poisoning" effect on aragonite crystals but not considering direct precipitation. So that's not it

For lack of better explanation I guess I'm with @Myka – maybe I just don't pay much attention when I first put a new jug online and this isn't as uncommon as it seems.

Sorta stands to reason I guess....excitement is over once the new jugs are in place. I'm usually off to bed.

Thanks to everyone for all the feedback!