Instant Ocean water still cloudy after 40+ hours

Hello everyone,

I am getting back int the hobby after a break and I have ran into a problem I have never had before. I have a 120g aquarium and a RO/DI unit. I filled the completely empty aquarium with about 40 gallons of RO/DI water and then added a bag of Instant Ocean mix (enough for 50 gallons). I stirred it up and then put a powerhead and heater in it and left it overnight.

The next morning the water was still very cloudy (I could not see the back of the tank from the front). I added an additional 15 gallons of RO/DI water and the salinity is now around 1.022. I added a few more powerheads and aerated the water with them to help it dissolve better. It's been running like that and is just as cloudy as ever.

I think adding too much salt might have caused a precipitation event because I do see very fine white silt covering the bottom of the tank, the heater and the powerheads. Is there anything that can be done to salvage this water or do I need to dump it all and start from scratch? I was thinking of letting the water settle for a day or two and syphoning out the white silt. I don't mind the cost of the salt too much, but my RO/DI unit only make about 25 gallons of water a day.

This tank will be used as a mixed reef with soft Corals, possibly LPS at some point. Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Keith

 

Yes it sounds like precipitation.No need to throw the water out but all the equipment may need a good vinegar bath as the precipitation usually sticks to it. Always add salt very slowly to avoid precipitation problems and use less then needed. It is much easier to raise salinity then lower it especially when no animals are present. I would definitely test Alk. ,cal., and mag. To be sure you have no major imbalance. The water should clear eventually but mechanical filtration will help. It will need to be cleaned regularly of course.