[Cela Vie]

Anyone have any experience with this stuff? I bought some for my new tank and I put some in a brute garbage can to mix with RO/DI water for the live rock coming in today but the water is still cloudy (its been mixing with a power head for over 24 hours and it is still cloudy). The salinity is at 1.026, which is fine (especially for live rock), but it is still cloudy. What's up with that? I will probably be switching to Red Sea Pro but not until after the cycling process begins, so any feedback on Oceanic would be great.
Thanks!

[ReefKing24]

I use Reef Crystlas, it works great for me, i think your hydrometer is broke or something because it shouldn't still be cloudy. Also maybe it is the garbage can? Something isn't right, that's a fact, and i would bet that it's not the salt.

[henwayrob]

something must be wrong if it hasnt cleared. i use instant ocean never had a problem
Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Feature Article: Inland Reef Aquaria Salt Study Part II
this is an article on sea salt mixes comparison.

[CyberJester]

Thats funny I bought Oceanic Salt because that is what the LFS that use carries and mine is still cloudy as well after several days! Have no choice now live rock will be here in a couple of hours and would take a while to regenerate all of that water.

[Cela Vie]

That is funny. I see you putting together a 90G as well. You should post some pics of your set up.

The refractometer is brand new and it's working fine, but even if that were the case it wouldn't explain why a RIO 2500 cannot mix 25 gallons of water in 24 hours not to mention 48 hours no matter how much salt is in there.

My live rock just got to the house and I'm here at work . My wife accepted the packages, so it'll be in the A/C until I get home to put in the containers to cure. Hopefully, the water will be clear by then. If not, I'm still going to put them in, but I will not be starting the tank with Oceanic and switching to Red Sea Pro. Instead, I will start the tank with Instant Ocean and switching to Rea Sea Pro. It's just that my LFS does not carry Rea Sea Pro.

This is very perplexing...(and annoying!).

[blind1993]

why dont u go to dif fish store for the salt because u need to be consistant.

[Cela Vie]

I know, that's why I'm switching during the cycle (long before any livestock). The problem is there are only a couple of LFS in Jacksonville, FL and they are all related.

[Cela Vie]

OK. The water is clear now, but there is a white film at the bottom of the barrel. I mixed it up and the water got cloudy again. That can't be right! Oceanic Salt sucks!

[CyberJester]

Originally Posted by Cela Vie

That is funny. I see you putting together a 90G as well. You should post some pics of your set up.

The refractometer is brand new and it's working fine, but even if that were the case it wouldn't explain why a RIO 2500 cannot mix 25 gallons of water in 24 hours not to mention 48 hours no matter how much salt is in there.

My live rock just got to the house and I'm here at work . My wife accepted the packages, so it'll be in the A/C until I get home to put in the containers to cure. Hopefully, the water will be clear by then. If not, I'm still going to put them in, but I will not be starting the tank with Oceanic and switching to Red Sea Pro. Instead, I will start the tank with Instant Ocean and switching to Rea Sea Pro. It's just that my LFS does not carry Rea Sea Pro.

This is very perplexing...(and annoying!).

Going to post some pics, been busy trying to get everything in place for LR. Got the LR yesterday, spent damn near all day cleaning it. Now its sitting in my tank. Haven't aquascaped yet but will do that this weekend.

[blind1993]

well i think that u did not mix them correctly.

[CyberJester]

Originally Posted by blind1993

well i think that u did not mix them correctly.

How exactly do you mix salt and water incorrectly

[e_baer]

there is no correct wat but i had oceanic and it was fine for me, what i learned is that it gets cloudy depending on what buffer you use.

[blind1993]

by haveing clorinated water, not mixing the salt with powerhead and by hand. and other things.

[Cela Vie]

How about RO/DI water being mixed with a RIO 2500? It wasn't until I took out the RIO and put in a air pump just to keep it moving that the white stuff settled. But it doesn't mean it was mixed. It just settled onto the bottom to be easily stirred up again. Do all salts leave a white film at the bottom that needs to be removed by a mechanical filter? Not the one I'm using in my 37 gallon tank...can't be right.

[henwayrob]

why would you want to use a salt that has to be stirred up right. ive used instant ocean, kent, and reef crystals and never had to do anything but pour the water back and forth and within an hour it is clear no settling out. ya'll need to look at the article i put in up at the top to see differences of the salt companies. salt should not be hard to mix up.

[Cela Vie]

I concur, which is why I'm returning the other jug of Oceanic and getting IO.

[CyberJester]

The one thing I did want to tell you is that the mixture time depends on the temp of the water. Colder water and salt mix much more slowly then warm water and salt. Kinda like sugar that way.

[carmanimports]

i use instant ocean becuz i had same problems with oceanic so i gave up and went to insant ocean

[reefnoob1991]

Oceanic is fast dissolving, took my water 20 min to clear. Must be something you did wrong?

[Cela Vie]

Originally Posted by reefnoob1991

Oceanic is fast dissolving, took my water 20 min to clear. Must be something you did wrong?

How do you mix the Oceanic salt? I put 25 gallons of RO/DI water (TDS=0) in a 35 gallon Brute and the threw in 13 cups of Oceanic Salt. Then I put in a RIO 2500 to mix it. Did I have to manually mix it before putting in the RIO? Why is there a white film at the bottom of the Brute still? Maybe I got a bad batch, which is enough for me to learn my lesson about that product. I returned the other jug and got reef crystals instead. In either case, let me know how you mix the Oceanic for water changes.

[reefnoob1991]

I poured the salt in the bottom of a 1 gallon pitcher, poured in 1 gallon of distilled water, it mixed very well just doing that because the water flow was so great from the 1 gallon jug. any left over i just mixed it with the water in the tank and poured it back in

[Cela Vie]

You do that for a 1 gallon water change? How would you do it for a 10-20 gallon water change? I like to mix the water for a few days and let it aerate before putting it in. I guess I can stir it up and the put it in while it's cloudy then the sediment can settle in-tank, but does not sound right.

[reefnoob1991]

I mixed mine up and poured it in in less than a minute.