Info for new reefers mixing salt at home

I ran into something strange the other day and I couldn't make much of it then I finally figured it out. Just wanted to share the info to anyone who was having the same issue.

I mix at home with a 20g brute and return pump. I'm currently using Red Sea blue bucket, which I consider to be one of the best quality salt on the market today. Anyways, I made large batch of new salt water a few days ago but, unfortunately, I ran out time to reef so I waited til the next day to get things started. That's when I noticed the new salt water looking really foggy. I've had this happen a few times in the very beginning which I think was due to user error but aside from those days, of all the times I've mixed salt since then, this was something strange I thought. It was crystal clear the night before when I mixed it then less than 24hours later (about 12 hours), it became foggy. I couldn't see the bottom. My concern was that the water was not safe to use. I'm looking at it thinking, "wtf? Seriously, what is going on here?" I couldn't think of any reason why the water would look so bad. This happened once last week as well.

Well, it turns out that this was a result of me not cleaning the brute after use and mixing new salt water again. I normally take a acrylic scubber pad to lightly scrub the inner walls while rinsing in water after each use. and give a good rinse a few more times before air drying. I did, however, skip this step a few times last week and a few more times again before I mixed this new batch of saltwater. I did talk to an LFS owner about this and his response was the new water was somehow contaminated.

I mixed a new batch after cleaning the brute then waited a full 24hours, we're good! I'm convinced it was because I didn't clean after each use. First I thought maybe it's the salt or my return pump. I even thought there was something wrong with the brute, lol. It looks like it was user error again.

If you're not already doing so, I strongly recommend that you lightly scrub the mixing bucket after each use to get the best new saltwater to your tank. If anyone has any feedback, whether you agree or disagree, would be much appreciated. Have a great day everyone!

I always rinse after every mix. It's good to know. Thanks for sharing.

No problem at all and likewise myself, I do it every time with the exception of last week and this. I have to admit, I did get a little lazy thinking it's going to be just fine so long as I use the new saltwater right away, kind of like what the LFS's do. I'm not wasting salt like that again. Thanks for the feedback,

Interesting. Ive been mixing in the same container for the last 6 years and have not cleaned it out once. Never had that issue, or any others up to this point.

Edit* salt I use is reef crystals

Same here. It has not been 6 years but some times it is many months before I clean and no problems.

I also used Red Sea Blue exclusively at one point and noticed that salt if not used within the day left quite a bit of residual in my mixing container. I have since built it into my routine to mix and use on same day with a freshwater rinse after each use. This has helped keep the residual build-up on the mixing container to a minimum.

Okay, I would like to, however, encourage you to try cleaning the container this one time to see if there are any improvements to your reef after a couple of water changes. You'll never know if you can benefit by taking this extra step unless you try and I certainly hope that it does make a difference.

Ive dealt with cloudy water a couple of days after a water change, even after rinsing mixing container, a pump to mix, and heater to bring up to temperature.
this is with the Red Sea blue bucket.

Are you mixing it for 30 minutes per instructions? Just making sure because some salts require longer mix time. Yeah, I do notice the residual from time to time so I also try to avoid putting it off til the next day. Thanks for your feedback!

Please do give it a shot tho and more importantly, please let me know if you notice any difference after a few water changes. Thanks in advance!

I mix it for about an hour and half to two hours, or until salt has dissolved.

Well, if you took all those step to mix then the saltwater should have came out pretty clean. Are you referring to the cloudy water being in your tank? If so, maybe you over dosed kalkwrasser (takes a couple days to clear up). Bubbletip anemones releasing sperm would be the only other thing I can think of that would make your tank cloudy (clears up the next day).

Gotcha, I'm used to using a salt that requires 24hours of mixing while aerating. For me, switching to the Red Sea blue bucket was one of the best decisions I've ever made in this hobby. The blue bucket requires only 30 minutes of mixing with no aeration required and mixes really clean. The salt itself is so fine that it feels soft in on your hands in some sense. It's seriously incredible!

Just as a reminder, the instructions on RS blue bucket says to mix for only 30 minutes.

From what I noticed, the salt should all be dissolved within 20 minutes with the exception of the small amount in the bottom that hasn't yet been dissolved. I'll point the return pump to mix the last of it then top off RODI to reach 1.025/1.026 salinity. I usually end up mixing for about 40 minutes or so. But yeah, the water should be pretty darn clear after about 20 minutes of mixing.

Hasn't happened to me. I use the same salt and I'm terrible, I've left salt mixing for days because I get caught up with other things. I just check salinity before using it, temperature will be what it is inside the bucket.

i've had this happen with coral pro, turned cloudy a few days after it was in a bucket with an active pump

I do clean my mixing vessel, brute 32, after every time i do a WC. I can’t put off doing a WC once I mix because it’s the same can I use for RO/DI collection and I evaporate about 10 gallons every week.

I have had quality salt mix up cloudy for me. Never been a problem though, clears up nicely once it’s in the tank.

Thanks for the feedback everyone, thanks for taking the time Merry Christmas!