Reef Crystals This Cannot Be Normal?!

[akitareefer]

Last year I cleaned my mixing barrel and pump after 2 years of use. There was a very thick layer on the bottom and the foam on my mixing pump was nearly clogged. Never saw any ill effects on the system

 

[kuyatwo]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-07/rhf/#2

 

[salttanklife]

I quit using reef crystals for this reason. I figured it was a bad batch after mixing my first bucket and threw everything away without using any.

 

[petro2342]

I use Red Sea Coral Pro and it does something similar, ONLY if I mix it over 24 hours or so. I'm going to go back to shorter mixes because I hate cleaning my heater and mixing pump after each salt mix.

 

[hybridazn]

Not sure if you seen this but i think i tagged you in my builthread about a week ago

I get this tan detritus looking crud build up in my on hand 5g bucket that i refill once a week. After everytime i mix up fresh rscp, my pumps and wc tank have this filthy tan gunk buildup on everything. It annoys me a little bit that i have to clean everything for every water change so ive ben slowly switching salt mix

I use Red Sea Coral Pro and it does something similar, ONLY if I mix it over 24 hours or so. I'm going to go back to shorter mixes because I hate cleaning my heater and mixing pump after each salt mix.

Your getting precipitation because rscp is to be mixed for really no longer than 4 hours before use and not to be heated until it has mixed clear. I mix rscp for 20 minutes before use and it's always crystal clear and never have any residue in the mixing containers

 

[ritter6788]

I always have a barrel mixing. I don't use it for weeks/months at a time. Maybe that's why my barrel is always brown. You can chisel the stuff off the sides of it.

 

[petro2342]

Your getting precipitation because rscp is to be mixed for really no longer than 4 hours before use and not to be heated until it has mixed clear. I mix rscp for 20 minutes before use and it's always crystal clear and never have any residue in the mixing containers

Thank you for this insightful piece of information! I was mixing for a few hours before and was told I needed to do it longer or the salt won't desolve properly. Back to my early years of mixing the salt for a few hours. One last thing, once mixed how long can you store it for without any circulation pumps? I plan on doing a 50% water chance because my sump tank is not so pretty looking.

Edit: I found a Red Sea video. I hope it helps others as well.

 

[reeferfoxx]

RC is popular because it's cheap. RC and IO users love it because they feel that " you get what you pay for" doesn't apply to this salt mix.

 

[NanaReefer]

Try skipping the extended mixing to see if that helps.

It should take around 5-10 minutes to mix saltwater completely - so just use it on the spot.

That's how I've done practically every water change I've ever done...water temp is usually around 70ºF while tank is at 79-82ºF (depending what period of the tank we're talking about).

I've done up to 30% water changes this way with no noticeable effects. (Never had to try bigger...)

Exactly what I've done today. Mixed for 2hrs then changed.

I know at one time you were following my thread concerning my "sand bed issues" and this rust colored crap that's been plaguing it.
It still persists. Seemingly gets worse after every WC. Begins to recede around the 2wk mark.
I often wondered if this brown residue from the RC is in part responsible?

 

[petro2342]

I've used IO as my first salt mix. I can tell you that I used it alot faster than I do with Red Sea and haven't looked back. Though the price is more for the Red Sea, you're also getting higher values. Because I don't dose, that is very important in my system.

 

[petro2342]

Exactly what I've done today. Mixed for 2hrs then changed.

I know at one time you were following my thread concerning my "sand bed issues" and this rust colored crap that's been plaguing it.
It still persists. Seemingly gets worse after every WC. Begins to recede around the 2wk mark.
I often wondered if this brown residue from the RC is in part responsible?

How often do you do water changes?

 

[Sabellafella]

Your getting precipitation because rscp is to be mixed for really no longer than 4 hours before use and not to be heated until it has mixed clear. I mix rscp for 20 minutes before use and it's always crystal clear and never have any residue in the mixing containers

I started using reef crystals, rscp mixes up real fast and is ready to go right away. The reef crystals if i had to guess takes about 4-7 hours before it turns crystal clear, but if i store it for more then a day gets some caking agent that builds up on the bottom of my buckets. Rscp is clean, never once had issues with it other then the typical white precipitate from storing

 

[ksc]

RC is popular because it's cheap. RC and IO users love it because they feel that " you get what you pay for" doesn't apply to this salt mix.

I've been using IO for almost 20 years. It does happen to be cheaper than other salts that might be as good. It's also available at every fish store near me. More TOTM have used IO than any other salt mix.....by far.

 

[twobytwo]

I used to get the brown stuff when I first started my tank about 18 months ago. I would typically heat the water while its mixing, it might even sit for a day or two until I had time to do a WC. Now, I fill my Brute with RODI and add salt/heat about 1-2 hours before using... I'll get some white buildup over several WC's but haven't seen the brown since I stopped heating/mixing the water until just before the WC

 

[reeferfoxx]

I've been using IO for almost 20 years. It does happen to be cheaper than other salts that might be as good. It's also available at every fish store near me. More TOTM have used IO than any other salt mix.....by far.

I don't know what TOTM means in the reefing world but... If i wasn't running nanos but say, 90 gallons or more, I would use RC(for sure). Dirty salt is a small price to pay for owning large systems.

 

[ESVAreefer]

IO Reef crystals is the product we use at the local high school for their reef tank. The mixing vat that we use is caked with that brown residue. Once we stored ro/di water at 10 ppm in there to use for a water change the next day. Before mixing I opened the container and was hit by a foul odor, the same odor I use to smell when I mixed small batches of RC for my home tank when I used this product. The major difference was this was way stronger also no salt had been added to the rodi water. I checked it and it was at 1600+ ppm!!! I couldn't believe that was right so I checked it again it was at 1600+ again! That's crazy, no cleaning chemicals no salt just that brown sewage looking junk caked to the side and bottom. I cleaned it with vinegar and that didn't help. The pineapple sponges, the pumps, the carbon reactor, gfo reactor and the sand bed have this brown goop in them it all stinks the same and I can't imagine it not being a source of tank pollution! I've cleaned a lot of it up but it comes back! In my home tank I switched to Red Sea coral pro salt with no issues. The school tank still has problems with nitrates and phosphates and that brown sewage stuff is everywhere! If red seas was cheaper I'd switch the school tank to it.

 

[mcarroll]

RC is popular because it's cheap. RC and IO users love it because they feel that " you get what you pay for" doesn't apply to this salt mix.

Are you a fan of another salt "because it's expensive"? Do you love it because you "feel like you're getting something extra"? It's good to feel good!

In seriousness:

• Economies of scale. IO and RC sell many orders of magnitude more than other brands. This alone could explain 100% of the price disparity.
• To boot, most other brands are imported, so every bucket or bag carries a huge shipping cost.
• With those things together, that probably means that the IO people make more or the same money per box at (e.g.) $50 as the imports do at $80.
• "Premium" is one thing, but domestic salts that cost like the imports make no sense to me at all.
• As far as getting what you pay for, you have to consider how many people (remember: economies of scale) have successful tanks using RC or IO. LOTS. Seems close to 100% of large tanks.
• Since both salts have been in wide useage for many many years (and continue to be), you can tell from the results of a single Google search such as:
  "reef crystals" | "instant ocean" "tank of the month" | TOTM
  (Click to the Images section of the search results, of course.)

 

[reeferfoxx]

Are you a fan of another salt "because it's expensive"? Do you love it because you "feel like you're getting something extra"? It's good to feel good!

In seriousness:

• Economies of scale. IO and RC sell many orders of magnitude more than other brands. This alone could explain 100% of the price disparity.
• To boot, most other brands are imported, so every bucket or bag carries a huge shipping cost.
• With those things together, that probably means that the IO people make more or the same money per box at (e.g.) $50 as the imports do at $80.
• "Premium" is one thing, but domestic salts that cost like the imports make no sense to me at all.
• As far as getting what you pay for, you have to consider how many people (remember: economies of scale) have successful tanks using RC or IO. LOTS. Seems close to 100% of large tanks.
• Since both salts have been in wide useage for many many years (and continue to be), you can tell from the results of a single Google search such as:
  "reef crystals" | "instant ocean" "tank of the month" | TOTM
  (Click to the Images section of the search results, of course.)

HAHA! In all seriousness??? lol...

Anyway we wouldn't be talking on this thread if this salt was good. Besides I already stated I would use it on a larger system. TOTM is subjective...

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

This brown sludge is why I switched to Aquacraft Bio-Sea Marine. Similar to RSCP, you only want to mix it for about 2 hours, and if you add it to room temp water, it is fully dissolved and clear in literally minutes. If you mix it longer that a few hours, it starts to precipitate. So if I need to use it later I just let the heater sit in it and go in and turn the pump on a couple times a day but usually I just mix it for about 15-30 minutes and use it right away.

On top of having to wipe out the Brute can after using RC, I also disliked the 24 hour wait after mixing it. Double whammy. Plus Aquacraft smells super awesome.

 

[reeferfoxx]

Ok, serious question.. why would the salt only precipitate in bucket and not in the tank, after a long period of time? What happens in the tank that keeps that from happening?