got ethical husbandry?

2.9 pico build

So I added fresh tap water in it 3 days ago to check for any leaks and it didnt. I decided to add some salt in it thinking with just the rocks and powerheads and filter it would mix it for me. But when I added the salt in, the water turned all cloudy without ever going clear for a day. Its still cloudy right now. Is it because the marco rocks are curing?
 
Thanks! Im maintaining it at 76. Using opportunity to test out the new heater. I removed all the salt water and threw it away. I mixed up another batch of saltwater and currently have that in the tank. It helped a little, but I think it still needs to stir itself more. Ive read that maybe its the Marco rocks that are leeching out some nutrients
 
My first set of Marco rocks were full of gunk.
Turned the water a cloudy white/light grey, even after several rinses.
I ended up power washing them, then soaking for a couple of weeks.
Then they still slowly released phosphates for months.

My second set, years later, was WAY better.
It was clear they had been soaking in salt water for a while. Even had a bit of life on a couple.
No problems at all with those.

So, depending on the batch, those rocks might be the issue.
 
Aw, I dont know which batch I have. I got it from a local reefer found on craigs. After aquascaping it, I sprayed down the scape to get rid of any debris stuck or loose. That took out alot of dust. When I had only tap water pre mixed to test the water heater, It was completely clear. Does marco rocks have a reaction to salt water or something?
 
Hard to say. Dust is suspicious, but clear tap water is not.

Suggest: Pull out the rocks, mix some fresh salt water, put it in tank. Is it clear?
No = What salt? How did you mix it? Anything else in tank?

Gently put in rocks. Does it become nasty?
Yes = You have your answer.
 
I used oxyclean to clean out my Macro rocks for a couple weeks and rinsing them in between days.There was a lot of organic waste that needed to be cleaned off.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1618138
 
There are more than one type of Marco rocks right? Key largo, etc...? Which are you all talking about. I've gotten a few boxes of key largo lately and had no issues with cloudy water or anything.
 
Thanks guys for the input. So yesterday I switched out the saltwater with a new batch which was still cloudy but there was big difference. Just got back from school and the water is almost crystal clear now. I think I'll let it mix around for a bit some more then Im going to add some sand from my nano. Do I need to acclimate live sand? Or can I just squirt it in using a turkey blaster?
 
The tank was finally finished cycling last Sunday so I went ahead and put some corals from my nano inside. It looked like this when I was finished:
P1000856.jpg


Today I met Gusty who gave me some freebies. Thank you Gusty again!
He transformed my tank into looking like this:
P1000858.jpg
 
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