HELP! Problem w/Saltwater Mixing barrel

[NEWSALT]

I posted the other day about moving the float switch in my saltwater mixing barrel so I can add more water for a water change. Well today I emptied out the water in the barrel to see how much was in there and how much higher I needed to move the switch to get the volume of water I wanted. As I'm emptying the water out, I'm saying to myself, "this water doesn't look clean." It had a brownish color. When the barrel was empty, the very bottom had this scaly "stuff" at the bottom:

Then I wiped down the inside of the barrel and this is what the towel looked like:

It was a brown rusty color. What I have is a Mag18 inside the barrel to circulate the water before a water change. What could this rusty film be and where is it coming from? Could it be from the Mag18 pump? With every water change I've made, I'm adding this horrible water to my display tank. Any ideas? What should I do?
Thanks

 

[Hawkeye]

it looks like sediment that separated/precipitated from the water when left uncirculated for a period of time. It's just weird because you said you had a mag 18 running.

My initial reaction is "diatoms".

 

[pgordemer]

That brown is pretty common in a container used for mixing water. Its mostly undisolved solids from the salt mixture. That why it is recommended to wash our the barell with some vinegar to get the calcium and undisolved parts out of it.

I cut it down here by wiping out the barrel with a towel after every 2 uses.

 

[NEWSALT]

So, that's normal?

 

[Hawkeye]

I guess you could try a different brand of salt and seeing if indeed that particular brand is a culprit - or it's just all salt. Hard to pinpoint since even the same brand will have different "Batches".

 

[JohnS_323]

I think it's pretty normal. We get the same type of thing in our mixing barrels.

 

[pgordemer]

So, that's normal?

Yes, its normal..

 

[mikem]

So, that's normal?

Yes, that's normal.
I get that sediment build up from just my RO/DI water after a few weeks.

 

[chase33]

I'm glad to hear the responses in this post. I get that also and just today after cleaning it yet again I was going to go out and purchase another container thinking it had something to do with it.

 

[Demo]

I'll go with the odds and bet most of the responders use Instant Ocean. I had the same sediment in my mixing barrell for the entire 2 yeas I used IO. Since changing to Crystal Seas I have a fraction of the "build-up" that I had with IO. I have no experience with other salts, but it is definately much more prevalent with IO than Crystal Seas.

 

[NEWSALT]

Well I'm glad to see that this is normal. I guess I should be wiping down the inside of the barrel every so often to keep down the build up of the brown residue. Are you guys doing anything to clean up that scaly build-up at the bottom of the barrel?

 

[JohnS_323]

I'll go with the odds and bet most of the responders use Instant Ocean. . .

Nope, never used it. I've used Tropic Marin Pro and Reef Crystals mostly. I also tried a few buckets of Red Sea. I've seen some degree of sediment/residue with all of them.

 

[chase33]

I used Reef crystals and now I use oceanic and I got the residue with both. I clean mine with a sponge and hot water after every three or 4 uses. I'll clean with vinegar after the next water change.

 

[Demo]

Didn't say all, said most. With IO, my barrell looked like Newsalt's photo after 1 week of mixing. With Crystal Seas it doesn't look that bad now and I haven't cleaned the barrell in close to six months. I have to admit, I did hope to find time to clean the barrell this weekend, but ran out of time.

 

[NEWSALT]

I'm using Red Sea.

 

[smcooler]

IO Reef Crystals is to blame for the brown slime, most likly something they add to the salt in the mixing process cant be to good. JMO.


s

 

[blange3]

That brown is pretty common in a container used for mixing water. Its mostly undisolved solids from the salt mixture. That why it is recommended to wash our the barell with some vinegar to get the calcium and undisolved parts out of it.

I cut it down here by wiping out the barrel with a towel after every 2 uses.

NICE! Now I feel guilty because I skipped cleaning the bottom before I started a new batch, and it's been more than 2 batches since the last cleaning.

I use Tropic Marin and get a lot less than I got with IO. IO was much better than Reef Crystals, which needed to be cleaned after every batch.

 

[Phyl]

I have a pile of Red Sea that I'd like to sell off. I don't care for it. I'm really hoping to like the GetTanked salt. I haven't found one that I like yet.

 

[magic]

I have a pile of Red Sea that I'd like to sell off. I don't care for it. I'm really hoping to like the GetTanked salt. I haven't found one that I like yet.

Waiting on your verdict!

Bob

 

[Phyl]

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We're about to do our first water change with it. I'll be watching for goodness (and of course reporting back). LOL.

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