White hard Calc like stuff on the glass of the sump, normal?

[plc001]

I dose Randy's part 2 in to my sump. Is it normal for it to stick to the glass?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Some precipitation is typical. I get plenty near where I dose limewater. But it can often be avoided by adding the parts more slowly, or separating them out more in time, or raising magnesium.

This article has more:


What is that Precipitate in My Reef Aquarium?
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-07/rhf/index.htm

[plc001]

Thank you sir.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

You're welcome.

Good luck.

[Nanz]

Originally posted by Randy Holmes-Farley
Some precipitation is typical. I get plenty near where I dose limewater. But it can often be avoided by adding the parts more slowly, or separating them out more in time, or raising magnesium.

This article has more:


What is that Precipitate in My Reef Aquarium?
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-07/rhf/index.htm

Thats really interesting because I seem to have the same problem. Everytime I dose Alk using Randy's recipe #1 it looks like I'm pouring in milk. Could this be low Mg?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thats really interesting because I seem to have the same problem. Everytime I dose Alk using Randy's recipe #1 it looks like I'm pouring in milk. Could this be low Mg?

No. The transient precipitate that happens when adding high pH additives, like the alkalinity part, is perfectly normal. It is magnesium hydroxide that redissolves. The solids on the sides of the sump are calcium carbonate.

This is normal:

from:
What is that Precipitate in My Reef Aquarium?
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-07/rhf/index.htm



Figure 3. The transient cloud of magnesium hydroxide that forms when high pH additives are added. In this case, the alkalinity portion of B-ionic was added to a fairly still portion of one of my reef aquaria.


but check the sides of my sump near where limewater enters (right behind the skimmer return that you can see). That is calcium carbonate. It is normal, but can be avoided to some extent: