Bad batch of Instant Ocean

[Megalodon]

I did a 25% water change today, with Instant Ocean for the first time, and immediately my tank started crashing! I tested pH (8.2), ammonia (0), nitrite (0), nitrate, phosphate, copper, salinity (1.025), and all looks fine, except for alkalinity... a kH of more than 30!

Both my cleaner shrimp died, my Hawaiian feather duster is laying out of its tube twitching, my Bengaai cardinal is belly up, my royal gramma is missing, and my yellow tang doesn't look impressed. The water is also very cloudy white.

Normally I use Red Sea but decided to switch to IO. The new water was RO and mixed for 24 hours with a powerhead, but I added a bit of salt 30 minutes before to adjust salinity. The water was introduced slowly over two hours.

I thought it could have been the RO but it tests fine. I did another batch this time with tap water and mixed it vigorously for 30 minutes. It tested the alkalinity at over 37!

I brought it back to JL Aquatics today and they did a test batch and their test kit showed kH off the scale too. They were shocked, but told me it was because the water had to mix for 24 hours, there has never been a problem with IO ever, and they just gave me a new bucket.

The new batch I'm doing right now with tap water has an alkalinity of only 5, so obviously there had to of been something wrong with the first bucket of IO. This batch also isn't so cloudy.

Does anyone know what could of happened? Anyone had a problem with IO lately?

[Quinn]

I never mix my water for 24 hours. Maybe two at the most. Am I courting disaster?

[christyf5]

two hours? I mix it and put it in the tank like less than 15 minutes later. Am I tempting fate too?

Christy

[Mak]

Well, IMO a 40% water change and especially a new brand of salt, is just way too large of a change.

Also, I've tried mixing the salt and heating it from 15 mins up to 4-5days and could not tell the difference any of the times. I do try to stick to overnight though.

[Megalodon]

But the new salt bucket I have has an alkalinity of only 4 kH even after 15 minutes of mixing. Besides, the bad batch of water I used mixed for 24 hours. I just dont' know.

[Quinn]

Can you or J&L send the salt back to IO for analysis?

[Chad]

Originally Posted by Megalodon

But the new salt bucket I have has an alkalinity of only 4 kH even after 15 minutes of mixing. Besides, the bad batch of water I used mixed for 24 hours. I just dont' know.

Well, if you still have the bucket of salt I would keep it.. get ahold of IO and complain. Maybe you can recover some of your costs.. though I doubt it. You can try ..

Chad

[Megalodon]

Yeah JL Aquatics gave me a bag with a sample of the salt. They have the bucket right now. They're letting their test batch of water sit overnight then they'll test it again... they think the water will be just fine by then but I doubt it.

I'm going after Instant Ocean tomorrow. Somebodies got to pay for my loss... I guess there's only so much the LFS can do.

[fishnut]

I found Bob Studt at Aquarium Systems to be most helpful when I had a problem with IO salt. (it did not dissolve properly - it turned out that I had allowed it to absorb water from the air before mixing).

I sent Bob a sample (1 cup) of the salt as requested. Before he had even received it, he had a new 200g pail on its way to me.

IMO, Aquarium Systems is most anxious to make things right, and provides A1 customer service when and if there is a problem.

[sumpfinfishe]

I always mix my new water for at least 48hrs, I know this may sound extreme to most, but I had a few instances when I was just starting out in the hobby where my salt was not completey mixed, thus causing cloudyness and salinity jumps. I also agree with Mak, I think a 40% change is too much for mixing two new salts, maybe this caused some kind of chemical reaction- like the one that some are reporting with Crystal Sea and I.O.

Megalodon: Sorry to hear of your situation

Hopefully J&L's test is positive and maybe that way you could in turn seek some kind of damage claim from I.O. for your losses. If I were you I would be sure to save all specimens and also take pictures as well. Sounds like maybe there was a mixing or settleing problem

cheers, Rich