First fill of tank wit IO salt

[lilrobb]

So,

72hrs later, with lots of agitation, aeration and filtration my tank still looks like skim milk.
On top of that a residue of slimy white "powder" is all over the tank.

This is a bare tank, no sand or anything else in it - so it has to be the salt.
Never happened with Seachem before, wonder if this is just a prolonged mixing period?
Anything I can do about this?

Robb

 

[snowmansnow]

I know people love IO, but I changed to SeaChem a while back ( for various reasons) and have never looked back.

 

[gmpolan]

I use IO but premix in a barrel first

 

[dakota9]

Use Seachem Clarity, dose according to instruction. Do this is conjuction with Charlie's floss idea. You'll be clear by the end of the day.

 

[mojo]

It's very likely due to the addition of a lot of salt all at once. I forget the chemistry, but as I understand it, what you're seeing is a precipitation of calcium into the water column due from high pH due to the addition of a large amount of salt and no other buffers.

Try adding some vinegar (1/4 cup at a time) over a couple hours to drop the pH and thereby redissolve the pH- my bet is that it'll magically clear up. The vinegar won't have any long term effects.

 

[lilrobb]

AHHH!
Chris, that makes sense - also adding the floss to some HOB filters I have laying around.

Robb

 

[skriz]

No, no, no, everybody's wrong. The only way to clear this up is to upgrade to an Orca Pro II

 

[eric b]

No, no, no, everybody's wrong. The only way to clear this up is to upgrade to an Orca Pro II [/QUOTE

Don't tell him that because he will have me plumbing in one this weekend...HaHa