undissolved salt??

well the stuff floated to the top i scooped it out and used the rest. i didn't get any problems then. i'm having some problems now( about 3 days now) but they are due to a 7 hr power outage. it's been about about about 3 wks since i used the salt though.
i'm really new to this, but i don't think switching salt brands would be a problem.
many people might not respond to this thread b/c it's old, u cud start a new one and get some input from more experienced members.

 

ari68

I have changed brands 3 times since setting up my tank 2 years ago
I started FOWLR and used a local inexpensive salt
as I reefed up my tank, I switched to reef crystals , with no noticable ill effects
as I got interested in SPS, and thus more aware of the numbers (Calc, Mag etc) I switched to Red Sea Coral Pro -again with no negative effects

but its a good idea to make it gradual, some people mix old salt with new salt 50/50 for a couple of water changes in order to give the inhabitants a chance to adjust to the potential chemistry changes (avoiding shock)

Steve

 

it seems that my salt has moisture in it, I have to scrape it to loosen it.
Could this also be the reason that I have red slime algae???

 

Not IMO

red slime algae normally indicates high nutrients like Phosphate and Nitrate
and also a lack of water movement IME - when I have had this, its always been in the lower flow areas of my tank
had some in my 60 until recently, when I added an additional 750 GPH wave maker (K clone) and added Purigen into my cannister filter
it cleared up within 10 days

Steve

 

I have never had this with io but have with reef crystals. I mix mine with a mag 5 in the bottom of a 32 gallon trash can what do you use to ciruclate the water? maybe its not enough cirulition for the water and its not fully mixing. Are you using a heater or and air stone either? if its cold it might mix tough too.

 

I'm very new at this.
My tank is 10 gallons, about six months old with one powerhead and a powerfilter. 10 lbs of live rock 2 inches of live sand.
1 turbo snail, 3 hermit crabs, 5 nerite snails and 10 dwarf cerith.
one mushroom and polyps.
I had green hair algae for about 2 weeks and the only thing I did was cut down the light time and the algae was gone only to be replaced by red slime on the sand only.
what am I doing wrong??

I want to add a fish but scared to kill it.

 

where are you mixing it? you are not mixing it in the tank are you? I would mix it in a seperate container with heater and air to make is as close to the tank water. If you are mixing it in the tank your asking for trouble.

 

No airstone or heater just a powerhead.

 

I mix it in a separate bucket, not in the tank

 

ari68

sounds to me like your doing nothing wrong at all
What rating is your power head in Gallons per hour please
same question on your filter
Im betting these 2 are placed high in the tank in terms of water output/ return so it makes sense the cyno would be on the sand
do you have a Phosphate test kit and a nitrate test kit?

possibly adding another small power head lower down in your set up (dont point it at the sand) would help matters

as would adding Rhowphos/ Phosban and Seachems Purigen to your filter in mesh bags or pouches



Steve