High Phosphates in Salt Mix

F

Fish Outta Water

Has anyone experienced high phosphates in a new batch of salt water right after you mix? We have been using Salinity by Aquavitro for the past 2 years. Recently we noticed a rise in our phosphate levels in the tank. So I decided to test some left over water that I was storing in a jug. It was exactly the same as in the tank. Between .08 and .12. I thought maybe it was just leaching out of the jug. But today I filled up the brute with about 27 gallons of Rodi. I mixed he salt and immediately tested. Same thing. .08-.12 on my Red Sea pro phosphate tester. I also tested the rodi. It was 0. So that rules out the water as well as the test kit.

Is it normal to have phosphates this high with newly mixed saltwater? If not, we may have to quit using salinity.


Matt
 
I would contact the manufacturer and give them the batch number/info. That's pretty high.
 
Maybe it's the container leaching something out. Or the test kit is old?

Can you mix up a new gallon of water in a different container and test again?
 
Would it leach that much phosphate that quickly? I ran the water today. The water wasn't in the container for more than 5 hours. We are using one of the gray brute trash cans. I don't think it's the test kit since the rodi tested at 0.


Matt
 
I just did a test in a cup with the same salinity as my tank. Tested RODI in the cup and got 0 phosphates. Dumped the water and filled with rodi again. Mixed the salt until it was clear and tested again. Phosphates read between .08 and .16 on my Red Sea phosphate pro test kit. In guessing about .1 ppm. Next step is to call seachem.


Matt
 
Just called. They said they will check with the lab and get back to me. Guess we will see. In the meantime, this has me a bit scared about this salt. I have loved it up until this bucket. Has anyone else had any issues? I have considered changing as well. I do know I can't continue to use this bucket though.


Matt
 
The problem is not your salt. It is probably your Red Sea max phosphate test. It is a known problem with a big group of them. About 20 people complained about it over on Reef Central. The minimum result of the test is often .08.

Get a different phosphate test.

That said, you did say you were getting absolute 0 on the rodi output. Maybe it climbs to .08 very quickly or something. Either way, I'd just get a new test.
 
A little late but I remembered to test phosphate on my salinity salt today since I was doing a water change. New mix tested .11 and tank tested .01. Forgot to test my RO water. I'm using a Milwaukee Low Range Phosphate Photometer.
 
My bucket says Lot #64340.00. I've had it probably 6 months or more. Had a bucket of Red Sea I had to use up before I tried the salinity. I'm not sold on it so far. It doesn't mix completely though the water clears up fairly quickly. It just always leaves a bunch of crystals in the bottom of my mixing bucket. I may just go by to Red Sea Pro.
 
We had problems mixing the Red Sea salt. It made a mess of everything. The mixing instructions are too specific in order to get it to mix right. Salinity mixes clear for us. We love it. I will check the batch number tomorrow.
 
you have to prep it way in advance and put a power head in the bottom and let it chew up the salt and keep the stuff in suspension....I have that same problem and found that the power head works great.
 
Salinity mixes clear for me too, but there are all these crystals left in the bottom. It almost looks like glitter. Fritz has actually been the best mixing salt for me. It was clear in no time and no residue. I would go with it but I've read a lot of bad reviews so I haven't used any other than the couple of samples I had.

Not sure I want to stick with salinity if the phosphates are going to be that high. Wish I had tested my Red Sea to see if it had any.
 
I just switched over to hw-Marinemix Reefer Salt Mix from Tropic Marin Reef and it mixes exactly the same (clear w. no residue) as Tropic Marin Reef. It comes in a box so I just pulled the bag out and rolled it around and put it in an empty salt bucket. I've been using for a couple weeks now and I notice better polyp extension with my parameters being exactly the same. I have some new frags so we'll see how they color up.
 
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