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Salinity Salt Mixing at 13dhk to 14dhk - WTH?

GDawson

GDawson

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I mixed up 2 batches of water yesterday for WCs today. The 32gal Brute is registering 13dhk and the 5gal bucket is registering 14dhk. Both are heated and circulated/aerated and I’m using a brand new bucket of Salinity. In the past this wasn’t an issue. Anyone else having this problem?


How can I lower it before use?


-Gregory
 
Is it possible your source water has some carbonates? Since this hasn't happened before, perhaps RO/DI filters are due to be replaced?

I am mixing up some water with Salinity this morning, using a bucket of Salinity from Lot# 51347, and will test the alk.
 
No RO unit yet....just plain tap. Still this hasn't been an issue before. Maybe they changed water sources. It's supposed to be Lake Shasta for out here. The Lot is #52800

Any idea how to lower it for use? I really don't want to shock everything.

-Gregory
 
Tropic marine makes a product that lowers alk and makes ca raise instead. Forget what's it's called. I have some in sf...
On a side note, maybe phosphates and or silicates in the tap giving you a falsely high reading? Maybe test just the tap?
 
It could be seasonal variation in the water source, my tap water TDS is all over the place throughout the year but I have not tested tap water to determine what causes the underlying fluctuation in TDS.

Acids (vinegar, muratic, etc.) could probably help to lower the alkalinity (I've never had to lower alk before, so perhaps an expert could chime in here).

However, unless you're doing a large water change, and all other parameters are good, it may not be necessary to tinker with the alkalinity in the new water. For example, if your tank is at 10dKH, changing 20% of the water at 13dKH would result in water of 10.6dKH. If you're dosing two-part, you could scale back the amount of the alkalinity solution added so that alkalinity drifts back to 10dKH.

BTW, you should be applauded for trying to make your new water as similar to your tank water as possible to prevent stress to the inhabitants. :) Using RO/DI water in the future would make the job easier on you.
 
@Coral reefer - thanks for the offer. I'll be in Burlingame tonight but nowhere near The City.

@lattehiatus - I'll have an RO unit in a week or so and then we can see the difference. Yeah...it wouldn't be a hideous fluctuation but one WC would be about 30% total volume and the other 25% so it's enough to worry. Thanks of the props as I am really trying to manage tank stability.

-Gregory
 
Another interim solution is to purchase a jug of pre-made RO/DI from a LFS or water store to make more saltwater. You can mix in some of the saltwater made from tap water to make water with less than 13/14dKH for the water change. This could also give you a chance to quickly test the alkalinity with RO/DI water to see if it is still elevated above the Aquavitro lab certified values.
 
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