Cloudy Make-up water

notorious_reb · 12/18/2008, 07:20 PM

I added PH buffer too quickly after mixing in the salt to my make-up water. The water is clouded up (as advertised when you combine the buffer with a calcium additive). I havnt made this mistake before and would hate to scrap 20 gallons of RODI water....can i simply remove half of the water and replace it with 10 gallons of fresh RODI water? Or will this just result in the scrapping of 30 gallons of water?

Randy Holmes-Farley · 12/19/2008, 05:45 AM

I'd just let it settle and use it. You precipitated calcium carbonate, which made a small drop in calcium and alkalinity. You can measure it once settled to see how bad it is, but it is likely OK to use.

FWIW, there is almost never a reason to add pH buffers to new salt water. Nearly all have plenty of alkalinity, and the pH is not well boosted by buffers.

12/18/2008, 07:20 PM	#1
notorious_reb Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5	Cloudy Make-up water I added PH buffer too quickly after mixing in the salt to my make-up water. The water is clouded up (as advertised when you combine the buffer with a calcium additive). I havnt made this mistake before and would hate to scrap 20 gallons of RODI water....can i simply remove half of the water and replace it with 10 gallons of fresh RODI water? Or will this just result in the scrapping of 30 gallons of water?

12/19/2008, 05:45 AM	#2
Randy Holmes-Farley Reef Chemist Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Arlington, Massachusetts Posts: 86,233	I'd just let it settle and use it. You precipitated calcium carbonate, which made a small drop in calcium and alkalinity. You can measure it once settled to see how bad it is, but it is likely OK to use. FWIW, there is almost never a reason to add pH buffers to new salt water. Nearly all have plenty of alkalinity, and the pH is not well boosted by buffers. __________________ Randy Holmes-Farley Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef