Hello everyone,
I am getting back int the hobby after a break and I have ran into a problem I have never had before. I have a 120g aquarium and a RO/DI unit. I filled the completely empty aquarium with about 40 gallons of RO/DI water and then added a bag of Instant Ocean mix (enough for 50 gallons). I stirred it up and then put a powerhead and heater in it and left it overnight.
The next morning the water was still very cloudy (I could not see the back of the tank from the front). I added an additional 15 gallons of RO/DI water and the salinity is now around 1.022. I added a few more powerheads and aerated the water with them to help it dissolve better. It's been running like that and is just as cloudy as ever.
I think adding too much salt might have caused a precipitation event because I do see very fine white silt covering the bottom of the tank, the heater and the powerheads. Is there anything that can be done to salvage this water or do I need to dump it all and start from scratch? I was thinking of letting the water settle for a day or two and syphoning out the white silt. I don't mind the cost of the salt too much, but my RO/DI unit only make about 25 gallons of water a day.
This tank will be used as a mixed reef with soft corals, possibly LPS at some point. Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Keith
I am getting back int the hobby after a break and I have ran into a problem I have never had before. I have a 120g aquarium and a RO/DI unit. I filled the completely empty aquarium with about 40 gallons of RO/DI water and then added a bag of Instant Ocean mix (enough for 50 gallons). I stirred it up and then put a powerhead and heater in it and left it overnight.
The next morning the water was still very cloudy (I could not see the back of the tank from the front). I added an additional 15 gallons of RO/DI water and the salinity is now around 1.022. I added a few more powerheads and aerated the water with them to help it dissolve better. It's been running like that and is just as cloudy as ever.
I think adding too much salt might have caused a precipitation event because I do see very fine white silt covering the bottom of the tank, the heater and the powerheads. Is there anything that can be done to salvage this water or do I need to dump it all and start from scratch? I was thinking of letting the water settle for a day or two and syphoning out the white silt. I don't mind the cost of the salt too much, but my RO/DI unit only make about 25 gallons of water a day.
This tank will be used as a mixed reef with soft corals, possibly LPS at some point. Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Keith