SteveM December 4, 2007 Share December 4, 2007 I have been having a small problem with some brown algae in my main tank that I think is coming from my new saltwater that I keep mixed for water changes. I have a 2 35 gal rubbermade trash cans that I use to keep my RO/DI water in one and my new saltwater in the other. I have noticed that when I take water out of the saltwater can there is always a orange/brown residue around the inside of the trash can. If you wipe it with a paper towel it almost looks like rust. Could this be the cause of the brown algae in my main tank? If so, how do I keep this from happening? I have a powerhead in the trash can that constantly runs and there is also a small heater in there. Any ideas or suggestions for saltwater storage so this doesn't happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonkadawg December 4, 2007 Share December 4, 2007 I have been having a small problem with some brown algae in my main tank that I think is coming from my new saltwater that I keep mixed for water changes. I have a 2 35 gal rubbermade trash cans that I use to keep my RO/DI water in one and my new saltwater in the other. I have noticed that when I take water out of the saltwater can there is always a orange/brown residue around the inside of the trash can. If you wipe it with a paper towel it almost looks like rust. Could this be the cause of the brown algae in my main tank? If so, how do I keep this from happening? I have a powerhead in the trash can that constantly runs and there is also a small heater in there. Any ideas or suggestions for saltwater storage so this doesn't happen? have you tested this water yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lletellier December 4, 2007 Share December 4, 2007 someone can correct me if i'm wrong but that shouldn't be happening if your ro/di is working properly and your water is covered. when is the last time your replaced your filters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveM December 4, 2007 Author Share December 4, 2007 The filters in my DO/DI system are brand new. My TDS meter reads 0 but I have not run any tests on the salt water. If I test the new salt water what should I be testing for? Also, when I keep a lid over my saltwater it looks as though there is mold starting to grow on the inside of it. I guess from the moisture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phisigs79 December 4, 2007 Share December 4, 2007 im in the same boat so ill tag along Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonkadawg December 4, 2007 Share December 4, 2007 I'd start with phosphate and go from there. Probably silicate too. Are your storage containers near a window or some other light source? I'd pull the pump and heater and clean those as well. Also, have you switched to a new brand of salt - maybe got a bad batch or something? Oh the other thought - are your containers food grade containers? If not, that might be the cause. Sorry for the rambling, just throwing thoughts out there as I read over your post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phisigs79 December 4, 2007 Share December 4, 2007 Mine and Steve's are trash can that were rinsed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveM December 4, 2007 Author Share December 4, 2007 I'd start with phosphate and go from there. Probably silicate too. Are your storage containers near a window or some other light source? I'd pull the pump and heater and clean those as well. Also, have you switched to a new brand of salt - maybe got a bad batch or something? Oh the other thought - are your containers food grade containers? If not, that might be the cause. Sorry for the rambling, just throwing thoughts out there as I read over your post. They are in my basement not near any windows. I have used the same brand of salt since day one. The trash cans are black 32 gal rubbermade cans that have a lid to them, I do not know if they are "food grade". About a month ago I completely drained tham and cleaned them including the heater and pump but the "brown" stuff has returned already. Not really sure what to do from here. What type of large water storage are other out there using where they do not have this problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami December 4, 2007 Share December 4, 2007 (edited) I have the same setup using Rubbermaid trashcans (and stored in the basement as well). I routinely empty my cans and scrub them clean with a new scotchbrite pad, rinsing well with clean tap water and allowing the can to air dry. Then, if I haven't made RO/DI water in a few days, I back flush the membrane (or you can let the water run for a few minutes) to make sure that I'm getting the highest quality water. I started doing this when I found my TDS in my RO/DI reservoir climbing even though the water coming in from the tubing was still at 0 ppm. (That indicated that the can was contaminated and needed a cleaning.) Once I did that, my source water in the can fell back to zero. If you're seeing stuff growing in your cans, it's time to clean them. Also, I try to make up the bulk of my saltwater a few days in advance and not to store a large amount of it around for weeks. This minimizes making new water on top of week-old (or older) water, which might get life introduced into it by transfer buckets, hands, and other sources of contamination. I also try to regularly clean the heater and pump that I use in the saltwater container. You may want to consider a soak with some dilute bleach to kill any bacteria, algae, etc. that may be contaminating your cans or your hardware. Be sure to rinse well! Edited December 4, 2007 by Origami2547 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveM December 4, 2007 Author Share December 4, 2007 I have the same setup using Rubbermaid trashcans (and stored in the basement as well). I routinely empty my cans and scrub them clean with a new scotchbrite pad, rinsing well with clean tap water and allowing the can to air dry. Then, if I haven't made RO/DI water in a few days, I back flush the membrane (or you can let the water run for a few minutes) to make sure that I'm getting the highest quality water. I started doing this when I found my TDS in my RO/DI reservoir climbing even though the water coming in from the tubing was still at 0 ppm. (That indicated that the can was contaminated and needed a cleaning.) Once I did that, my source water in the can fell back to zero. If you're seeing stuff growing in your cans, it's time to clean them. Also, I try to make up the bulk of my saltwater a few days in advance and not to store a large amount of it around for weeks. This minimizes making new water on top of week-old (or older) water, which might get life introduced into it by transfer buckets, hands, and other sources of contamination. I also try to regularly clean the heater and pump that I use in the saltwater container. You may want to consider a soak with some dilute bleach to kill any bacteria, algae, etc. that may be contaminating your cans or your hardware. Be sure to rinse well! Those sound like some good suggestions. I have not tried a few of those and will clean out the cans again this weekend and try to store my water for very long. I usually keep quite a bit of mixed saltwater on hand and maybe it is just sitting there to long. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonkadawg December 4, 2007 Share December 4, 2007 I've been using 2 of these: http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/product.a...roduct%5Fid=953 They're stored in the basement, been in use for at least 2 years and haven't emptied and cleaned yet. Not getting any funky growth either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zotzer December 4, 2007 Share December 4, 2007 I get some sediment in my mixing bin. I siphon it out with a turkey baster from time to time, but never gave it much thought. Maybe I should clean out my bin! Tracy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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