New Saltwater mixture clears, then turns cloudy with film (1 Viewer)

[blackblaze11]

Hi everybody
I have always used tap water to mix new salt, and have never had a problem with cloudiness. I use instant ocean brand salt, and added it to a bucket of fresh tap water with a powerhead in it; its a whirlpool in a bucket and mixes clear in minutes. This was using well-water in North Houston. I moved my tank up to college station, and also use tap up there. I recently mixed 75 gallons of water to start up my new tank, but here's what happened. The water was crystal clear and the salinity was at 30-31, and the temp was 74 degrees about 40 minutes after mixing. I come back to check the next day, and now the water is milky with a thin white film coating everything. This happens everytime i make water in CS, no matter what i mix it in. What is going on? Has anybody else had this problem? What can i do to prevent it? There are alot more dissolved metals and calcium in the water up there also...any advice would be great!

 

[melev]

I wouldn't use tap water. Why don't you do a test and buy 5g of RO or Distilled water, and try the same method in a bucket? Is if the results vary.

 

[mario8402]

College Station is some of the worst water imo for TDS. I tested my friends who lives in Bryan and it came back at over 750 -800.. He had to buy an RO system just so his freshwater fish would quit dying

 

[Guest]

i suggest you quit using tap water.. it's toxic.. invest in a ro/di filter or buy your water from a machine... i have used the glacier machines and have had no trouble.. sure it's 25-35 cents/gallon but thats cheap compared to what can happen when your tanks goes bad and you lose your livestock.. or have to battle bad algae or cyano..

just my 2 cents
Fluval

 

[Guest]

Trust me College Station water is bad.

Haven't you noticed that if you soap your hands and try to rinse them off with College Station water, the soap doesn't come off?

 

[blackblaze11]

Thanks for the input, just thought i could get by with water conditioners, etc. instead of bustin the bank buying water Looks like i will be investing in an RO/DI sometime soon....