chalk-like residue - mixed water

[thomb]

Was going to do a water change on the 21 of Dec but life conspired against me. I'd started mixing the water on the 18th.

Left the water circulating with a pump in a sealed trash can. Just checked it, the can has a white residue on the sides and bottom.

I tasted the aforementioned residue, it tasted like chalk.

I have not died yet.

Relegate this to ice melt and start over? Stir it up and go with it?

Anyone else seen this before.
This Elos salt mix btw

 

[mnavick]

Get the same from Red Sea Coral Pro and was told Calcium build-up.
Check the parameters and if still good I would use it.

 

[Moe_K]

Was going to do a water change on the 21 of Dec but life conspired against me. I'd started mixing the water on the 18th.

Left the water circulating with a pump in a sealed trash can. Just checked it, the can has a white residue on the sides and bottom.

I tasted the aforementioned residue, it tasted like chalk.

I have not died yet.

Relegate this to ice melt and start over? Stir it up and go with it?

Anyone else seen this before.
This Elos salt mix btw

Hmm, I've not seen this before. I am a humble Instant Ocean user.

 

[s_kelley]

I read on RC that companies use a type of clay as a binder and this is what eventually settles into all out mix barrels/containers. Very common from what I read anyways

 

[Ellabug]

Sounds like your had a precipitation event where the calcium and carbonate alkalinity bound together and precipitated out. I'd test your calc/alk/mag/salinity before using it. In general its good to use a pump to mix the water for a few hours (a lot of mixes say 3 hours) and then let it sit at least 24 hours before using as it is really caustic when first mixed, but there really is no need to mix it continuously and sometimes doing so can cause precipitation. I'm guessing its still fine to use but if you have a lot of hard corals / sps in your tank I'd definitely check the levels first. If the residue is hard to scrape off then it is more than likely calcium carbonate precipitant

 

[MrX]

There's another recent thread about the Red Sea Coral Pro salt causing a build-up here on the BRS forums. Consensus was it's nothing really to worry about.

I myself have seen/had it happen in my mix barrel. In fact, a week or two ago, I went crazy and cleaned it all out (paint scraper, etc.). Barrel is good as new.

Never seemed to cause any issues for me.

 

[mchartier]

I just cleaned out my mixing Brute can, I filled with freshwater and vinegar, ran a pump in it over night, the water was so brown that I could not see the bottom of the can. I clean thus can about every 3-4 months. I am receiving my first batch of ESV salt tomorrow, I have been frustrated with the Coral Pro that the last two buckets have been so inconsistent with parameters, and also ESV mixes up with no residue and can be used in 20 minutes of mixing.