Instant Ocean Reef Crystals crashed my Tank!

[DigitalWeight]

Just a thought here - do most people weight their salt when adding it into RODI? I do as I found the whole measured cup thing wildly inaccurate when I test the salinity of the newly prepared water (which I think is just good practice to do no matter what). You did say you tested the salinity so that should be fine - unless the testing was way off (no offense)?

A couple of more thoughts - how much water did you actually change - 20% or 80% - larger change can really impact things if the water is not close in parameters?

For the experts out there - is mixing for 2 days an issue at all? Perhaps not as it constantly gets mixed in the tank anyway but something in me remembers reading something about only letting salt mix until dissolved (not necessarily clear) and not for extended periods of time. Could the 2 day mixing time have any downside?

That said, I am still only 1.5 years into this whole crazy hobby so my questions/thoughts may be off base, but I wanted to throw that out there...

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by denny@concept

amonia in salt is quite common as an impurity


from RHF:

There are a variety of sources of ammonia in reef aquaria. Minor sources include: 1) tap water (especially if it contains chloramine and is not treated with a deionizing resin) and 2) impurities in salt mixes and other additives. It has previously been shown that the total NH4-N ranged from 0.55 to 11.9 micromole/kg (0.008 to 0.17 ppm total NH4-N) in an analysis of eight brands of artificial seawater mixes. At the higher end of the scale, those levels will be detected with an ammonia test kit and can present potential toxicity concerns if fish are kept at those levels (see below). These levels of ammonia may be introduced from impurities in calcium chloride and magnesium chloride, where ammonia is a well known impurity resulting from some of the commercial manufacturing processes used (such as the Solvay process, which involves ammonia).

Calcium and magnesium additives can also be a significant source of ammonia, especially for aquarists who are trying to use inexpensive sources of bulk calcium or magnesium chloride. I discussed testing calcium chloride for ammonia in a previous article.

This is all very true. But if you have a well established tank, the nitrogen cycle will quickly digest and render a small amount of ammonia totally harmless when added to your tank. But if it is accompanied by other deaths (eg livestock) and lack of O2, then the ammonia can indeed be a problem, and can result in what we call a tank crash.

Don't know if your problems were directly related to the salt, but I wouldn't take a chance with it, if indeed that was the only actual change to your tank routine. Best of luck with your recovery.

[denny_C]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Thousands also use instant ocean, but i remember when it wiped out many tanks due to a bad mix and high alk. Because it was good last month doesn't mean it's good forever.
Although I do agree it wouldn't be one bucket, and we'd hear a lot more about it. Maybe we will in the next while

yup IO had the big issue many years ago that caused quite a stink , so it can indeed happen regardless how many use it

[Slyguy00]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Thousands also use instant ocean, but i remember when it wiped out many tanks due to a bad mix and high alk. Because it was good last month doesn't mean it's good forever.
Although I do agree it wouldn't be one bucket, and we'd hear a lot more about it. Maybe we will in the next while

Yea i guess so, but it still seems pretty unlikely. Technology is a lot better and more efficient than it was 5-10 years ago to. Lets hope we don't hear to many more reports of this.

[Tiansho]

I change 10% every week. I matched salinity and temperature. I have mixed sand upto 3 days with no effects. I use a power head to mix and at any point in time it would be the same as inside the tank. It should not affect the chemistry (and if it does, the same would happen inside the tank).

[Slyguy00]

Theres more to new salt water then just temp and salinity.

[Samw]

I've thrown bags of Instant Ocean out before as well. It wasn't worth trying to prove the salt was bad to the retailer or manufacturer so I just buy a new bag and generally the new bag is fine. I haven't had fish die but the salt is inconsistent and at times it doesn't dissolve completely, the water is brownish or cloudy, and sometimes ****es off the corals especially sensitive SPS. If fish are dying though but no one else is having that problem, there might be something more to it like something in the bucket or something was tampered with.

[jorjef]

Do you have a bare bottom tank.?

[Aquattro]

I've mixed salt for a month, no issues.

[Skimmerking]

What about your POWER head that you are using. Maybe is it a older one or oil filled pump.