# HELP! Making my own Saltwater with RODI - Issues



## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

I let my RO/DI water sit in a 5G bucket with a heater and powerhead.

After about 4 days i went to use it and it seems like a flim of brown coated the bucket and the surface had alot of white film...

What could be causing this? Is it not good to have saltwater mixing with heater for that many days? 

The bucket, heater and powerhead were cleaned with vinegar before this use, thinking that was the issue?


----------



## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

I find that is the case with all salt mixes except for TMPro and KZ Reefers Best. It's not harmful but it sure doesn't look right when it occurs.

Just mix it all up and "fizz" it well w/the powerhead before adding to the aquarium


----------



## shiver905 (Nov 2, 2010)

If it straight ro/di you should not have this happening, Clean the bucket and put a lid on it.


----------



## rrobbiiee (Dec 4, 2010)

If I don't use a powerhead to circulate the water this happens to me as well. 

When I do need to do a quick water change and can't wait for the cloudiness to subside I don't find it has any effect on my tank except for aesthetics.


----------



## carmenh (Dec 20, 2009)

Do you use Reef Crystals? Mine always does this and according to quite a few posts on different forums, it's "normal". I just move the pump around to stir it, then use it. It doesn't do any harm and stays dissolved...


----------



## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

Yep, Red Sea Max is the salt...

Apparently its a known thing but does not have any side effects.....

Just weird putting it in my tank... as the new water looks worse then the old siphoned out water


----------



## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

I've heard that it's partly due to anti-caking agents that they add to the salts. Anyways that's what I "chalk" it up to when I see that crap in my mixing bucket.


----------



## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

So how do i go about STORING premade salt?

Am i letting it sit to long with the heater/powerhead?

Should i ONLY store RO/DI and make salt before use?


----------



## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

I mix it up and if I don't use the whole batch, I either just leave it (lazyness) and aerate and heat it up prior to the next use (and check paramters), or if I'm feeling not-so-lazy, I'll tarnsfer it to a clean bucket to get rid of the brown crap, and do all that other stuff when the time comes to use it again.


----------



## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

I remember reading an article about properly making saltwater, and the author was claiming that mixing your salt with COLD water will prevent those symptoms which, according to him, result from some reaction that takes place when adding the salt to warm water.
I always mix my salt (Instant Ocean) with cold water and let it warm up to room temperature, but I live in a condo and it's always around 25C.


----------



## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

I do the same thing.. as my RO comes out cold (shouldnt be hooked up to hot line)

Turn on my heater and my powerhead at the same time...


----------



## rrobbiiee (Dec 4, 2010)

This actually only started happening to me with my most recent bucket of salt, it's Kent Sea Salt. Prior to this I used Instant Ocean and no matter what process I used the water was always clear.

Maybe a new brand will be on sale this year on Boxing Day and the testing will continue!


----------



## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

Kweli said:


> I do the same thing.. as my RO comes out cold (shouldnt be hooked up to hot line)
> 
> Turn on my heater and my powerhead at the same time...


next time try adding the heater only when the salt dissolved. and let us know the results!


----------



## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

I always thought the heater would help disolve the salt??

Ive never (in my history of life) been good at disolving any type of salt in cold water

Maybe the powerheads help speed it along then


----------



## rrobbiiee (Dec 4, 2010)

I find even with a heater it can take more than 24 hours to fully dissolve everything 

I guess it's just the game we all have to play!

Must admit the only thing better then watching a lively reef, is watching salt mix with water. What makes it even better is checking the specific gravity to make sure it's within spec...OOOooOOoooO


----------



## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

Yep, the worst is checking the salinty of your new batch to find out its 1.035 salinity... 

Ive finally figured out what i need to use to get in the 1.026 range.. but those first few batches were CRAZY salty.....


----------



## rrobbiiee (Dec 4, 2010)

1.026? I always thought 1.023 was considered the highest you'd want to go 

Does that explain some of the problems I've had with my tanks?


----------



## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

From the start I was always told to aim for 1.026

I seem to stay in the 1.025-1.026 range and never had any deaths yet.... besides burning a ricordea to close to light and my clown goby jumping out of the tank... maybe it was too salty for him, lol


----------



## rrobbiiee (Dec 4, 2010)

Do you use a refractometer to measure? 

I still use the type with the little arm, which I know is a big no-no. I've read horror stories of people thinking they are in the safe area of 1.020-1.026 yet they are up to 1.030+.


----------



## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

I use a refractometer, bought it used for like 30-40 bucks...

If you do raise your salinity, do it slowly over a week


----------



## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

If you use higher quality salt, there is no reason you can't mix it/dissolve it right before you do a water change. I've had the most luck with Tropic Marin Pro - literally mixing it five minutes prior to a water change and manually dissolving it (mix with hand/something). Some of the other brands I've used take a bit longer to properly dissolve though.


----------

