Help needed ASAP (1 Viewer)

[BP]

I was mixing some fresh saltwater today and for some reason it is really cloidy. (background) Girl at Neptunes told me that RO water is stripped of everything when it's made so like an idiot, I added a teaspoon of PH buffer to the freshwater and mixed it for about a minute before adding the salt. After adding salt and stirring vigorously every few minutes (even now) it is still cloudy. By the way the buffer is Kent Marine buffer and the salt is Oceanic. Is this still safe to use in my tank? I've already taken about 7 gallons of water out of the 20 gallon and need to fill it up.
Any help is appreciated.

BP

 

[Guest]

water

I would not chance it, sounds hinky to me. Just mix some more and move on.
Jen

 

[BP]

Thanks Jen unfortunately the pet shop was closed before I could get to it today. I was thinking that it would be a bad idea to use but not sure how long I could leave the tank without circulation/heat because the water level is at about the halfway point of the tank.

 

[Cakepro]

All you need to do is check your calcium, alkalinity, and pH levels. It simply sounds like you had a precipitation event. No biggie as long as you correct it before doing a water change.

RO/DI water is stripped of everything, but the synthetic salt mix replaces everything back to normal seawater levels (supposedly...many brands are actually too high or too low in various elements). I use Oceanic, so I do have to buffer the water to get the alkalinity up. Next time, just mix your seawater, aerate/agitate it for a good 6 hours, and then test. You can then add buffer or calcium or magnesium or whatever it needs at that point.

You really shouldn't use freshly mixed seawater...it's not yet stabilized and it's hard on your fishes.

~ Sherri

 

[MarkieB]

r, aerate/agitate it for a good 6 hours,
You really shouldn't use freshly mixed seawater...it's not yet stabilized and it's hard on your fishes.~ Sherri

I really think this is more important than most of us realize.
I have found a big difference letting my water mix over night with a powerhead.

 

[MMaddox]

DO NOT do a water change with unstable\precipitated water. Ditch it, rinse EVERYTHING with fresh water, and start over.

 

[Guest]

BP if I had read this, I could have offered you some water since the store was closed, or you can always go to the windmill water dispenser.
But I didn't read it until today.

 

[BP]

Thanks Narkon,

Hopefully what I did will be alright. I went to the water dispenser in Kroger and got the water from there. It says that it is RO, 2stages of UV and charcoal filtered. No signs of stress yet but the tank did go the night without circulation or heat. Thanks everyone for their suggestions and help.

BP

 

[rxonco]

I've never let my water sit for any length of time. I just mix it up really well and dump it right in. I've never seen any problems. Now that I've said it, I'm going to have problems.