The IO Reef Crystals Thread- Precipitation (1 Viewer)

[Reefahholic]

Since I’ve switched from regular IO to IORC I’ve noticed A LOT of precipitation especially when I try to heat the water with my brute lid on. I know it’s 82 degrees when I pull the lid off. I may have to buy a D/C pump. The mag 5 is putting out too much heat.

Anybody have any suggestions with this saltmix? Kinda scared to use this batch as it’s already precipitated 3x. Prolly won’t hurt anything as long as I bring up the parameters to the correct levels. I think it’s only the ALK, but I haven’t tested to find out yet.

 

[Reefahholic]

Pics

 

[steveb]

that seems to be a common thread with IORC that I have seen on various forums. I used to get a lot of precipitate with Red Sea. Not so much with regular IO. I recently bought some IORC during last amazon sale. we will see...

 

[Reefahholic]

that seems to be a common thread with IORC that I have seen on various forums. I used to get a lot of precipitate with Red Sea. Not so much with regular IO. I recently bought some IORC during last amazon sale. we will see...

Yeah, I did too. I think I may discard this water I have now and try to mix with some power-heads that don’t put out much heat. I think if I can stay around 78 or so that maybe it will be better. I’ll report back. I think RC has an Alk of 13. Cal is higher too.

 

[webster1234]

whatever is precipitating out means it isn't mixing and isn't benefiting your tank. It has to do with the ingredients used. Red Sea is notorious for this as well and is the reason I switched salts, which I thought I'd never do. Red Sea makes their salt by evaporating H2O from the sea water. But when you re-hydrate the salt, some of it doesn't dissolve back. May be the same thing going on with IO.

 

[Tenny]

This happens with mine a lot, never knew what it was, but I still use it in the tank. I don't see any negatives in my tank. Perhaps the better question is how much better can it be doing if it wasn't mixed in?

 

[Reefahholic]

whatever is precipitating out means it isn't mixing and isn't benefiting your tank. It has to do with the ingredients used. Red Sea is notorious for this as well and is the reason I switched salts, which I thought I'd never do. Red Sea makes their salt by evaporating H2O from the sea water. But when you re-hydrate the salt, some of it doesn't dissolve back. May be the same thing going on with IO.

Were you using the Pro? I know both the Pro and Reef Crystals have very high Alk.

I don’t know what it is, but I’m pretty sure it has something to do with heat and the higher ALK because I didn’t notice it this bad with regular IO.

I just tested the 20/G I have left. The ALK was a little low, but I’ve been dropping it to low 8’s the last few batches.

ALK was 7.78
Cal was 450
Mag was 1480

So it’s not depleting the major elements much. Maybe just the alk a little. I’m gonna use this water and I’ll let you guys know if I notice anything crazy.

 

[Reefahholic]

This happens with mine a lot, never knew what it was, but I still use it in the tank. I don't see any negatives in my tank. Perhaps the better question is how much better can it be doing if it wasn't mixed in?

I spoke with Randy Farley about it before and he said it should be fine to use. So I’m gonna roll with it as long as the tank seems to be benefiting.

 

[i_am_poor]

whatever is precipitating out means it isn't mixing and isn't benefiting your tank. It has to do with the ingredients used. Red Sea is notorious for this as well and is the reason I switched salts, which I thought I'd never do. Red Sea makes their salt by evaporating H2O from the sea water. But when you re-hydrate the salt, some of it doesn't dissolve back. May be the same thing going on with IO.

This has to do with the elevated elements in RS Coral Pro salt plus heating up the water and causing higher chances of precipitation. RS instructs to mix using colder water and only heating to match tank temperature right before use. I guess the case is the same for Reef Crystals.

 

[Reefahholic]

This has to do with the elevated elements in RS Coral Pro salt plus heating up the water and causing higher chances of precipitation. RS instructs to mix using colder water and only heating to match tank temperature right before use. I guess the case is the same for Reef Crystals.

I think I’ll likely follow that plan. Thx for the info.

One trick I learned by accident was when I was using air stones to blow off CO2 after adjusting dKH with Acid Buffer to bring the pH back up. I noticed that the bubbles were binding all the crud on the surface and it was now being collected around the edges of the brute can. Before...it would just sit on the surface for days and when I tried to check salinity that junk would get on the pipette. Or if I tried to get a 10mL sample with a syringe it would get it dirty. Thank gosh I was about to throw this salt in the dumpster. Now I can easily see the bottom of the can and the surface is clear again. The rings on the sides don’t bother me much. I just like to see clean and clear water to the bottom.

Thank you Air Stones!!!

 

[OceansX]

PLEASE review the directions of these mixes. Some need to be mixed for 24 hours. Some need NOT to be mixed for more than 4 hours.

I like using salt mixes with a dkH above 7 so as to mirror reef conditions, mixes like Reef Crystals or Red Sea Pro.

However, these salt mixes above ~7 dKH are going to naturally precipitate out calcium carbonate while as they are mixed longer and atmospheric CO2 is mixed in. Their alkalinity is going to fall. Because seawater is NOT "stable" above 7 dKH. The precipitation is harmless gunk and a by-product of creating a salt mix with an alkalinity above 7 dkH.

One could after following the mixes' directions, keep the mixing pump going, and measure the alkalinity drop across several days.

 

[bpb]

I’ve used IO and RC interchangeably now for about 8 years. Sometimes mix between the two. Whatever bucket I happen to grab.

I’ve always filled the 2 buckets I’ll use with rodi water, if it’s summertime, it’s hot, if it’s winter time, it’s cold. I never bother with a heater or to cool it.

I measure salinity of every new batch. In countless batches I have yet to encounter any salinity variation. So beyond that first check, I don’t even bother checking ANY parameters through the remainder of that bucket or box.

I fill the buckets, drop a powerhead in each, use 5 heaping scoops in each bucket.
Mix for 20-30 minutes. And use immediately. It is usually still cloudy when it goes in. Tank is crystal clear within an hour of the water change. I don’t notice any solid precipitate to be honest. No brown sludge in the bucket you hear about. Once in a blue moon I’ll get about 1/16th of a teaspoon of sediment at the bottom of the bucket. That goes in the tank too.

I run display alk in the 8’s usually and do 10% water change a week. The net result of the high alk salt, and the high consumption tank gives me stable alkalinity readings. It May artificially inflate a touch a couple hours after a water change but it levels back out.

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.


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