What reaction is making the water smell like cat pee?

[Versus]

Yah cat pee water! , I left a bucket sitting sealed with mixed rodi and instant ocean . 7 days later it smelled of cat pee (i have no cats)


There was black film on the bottom .. I decided todo a test and filled 2-2000ml beakers full of water one instant ocean and one marin tropic . I had left them in the dark and 1 week later the marin tropic smelled normal and the instant ocean smelled like cat pee .

I am not saying it KIND OF smelled like , I mean it really really smelled like cat pee and plus the water was slimey .

Do cats make instant ocean? ( i assume the smell would be that of ammonia since cat urine is 40% ammonia )

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Many salt mixes contain some ammonia. Perhaps you got a batch that had unusually high ammonia, or was otherwise contaminated. My IO typically sits for days to weeks in a 44 gallon trash can without stirring and does not get a black coating or smell bad.

[Versus]

Thanks Senor . I am tossing that bucket out

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

That sounds prudent. :)

[Boomer]

Do you use tap water ?

[romanr]

I have the same issue with my 32 Brute full of mixed Instant Ocean. I got a 160 bucket from Drs Foster & Smith and it does stink like urine. I've bee using it and have not seen any ill-effects but I'm going to test it for ammonia to see if that is the problem.
BTW, I know someone is going to ask, I'm using RO/DI water and it smells fine. It's after I mix it that I get the smell.

[romanr]

I sent an e-mail to Dr. Timothy Hovanec (he makes IO) to see if he would offer his opinion. I'll let you know if I get a response.

[Versus]

Thanks , ya I use a 32 gallon brute also .. And no I am not using tap water , I things to live for more than 1 hour in my tank.

Week and a few days and the marin tropic still has no odor .



The odor coming from the bucket was so bad with IO I had to dump it .
It wasnt like get down and smell the water .. The whole bathroom ( we have no utility bathroom or utility sink in our house because the people who designed it are idiots ) smelled of cat urine.



I have read some threads about instant ocean and am starting to wonder why I used it in the first place , I dont like getting "mystery salt" . 50/50 chance if its good or if its crap.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Boomers question about tap water may relate to chloramine in it. Ammonia can come from it.

In my RO/DI system, when the DI becomes depleted, the effluent stinks of ammonia, presumably from broken apart chloramine that gets stuck the the DI and then comes back out when the DI is depleted.

Depending on the pH, it can smell more when the salt is put in, raising the pH.

[romanr]

Good point but my RO/DI unit is a month old so I don't think I've depleted the DI already. I have 2 Brutes and the one I use to store the RO/DI water has no smell. I've been using IO since day one only deviating a few times to experiment. It is by far the most widely used salt and had a great track record so I would be surprised to find out it was the salt.

[Rueg]

You should test your water. Test the TDS before the DI resin and after. Chloramines can wipe out DI resin in no time. If you are filling brute trash cans that would be plenty to use up the DI resin if your tap water is high with TDS and chloramines.

[romanr]

If Chloramines are an issue then what can I do to keep my DI from prematurely exhausting? Where can I get a Chloramine test kit? I've been meaning to pickup a TDS tester but I figured I had at least 6 months before I had to worry about testing my water.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Chloramine is not a big concern if it is passed through carbon then RO then DI. It will deplete the DI, as will other ions that get through the RO. I have chloramine in my water and I use RO/DI.

These articles have more:

Reverse Osmosis/Deionization Systems to Purify Tap Water for Reef Aquaria
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/rhf/index.htm

Chloramine and the Reef Aquarium
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-11/rhf/feature/index.htm

[romanr]

RO/DI water: No Chlorine and No Chloramine per Jungle dip test.
I will make a fresh batch of salt this weekend and test it for Ammonia. I have a TDS monitor on the way so I'll be able to test that also.

[Versus]

That was it I think , I have decided to no longer keep a DI filter on ( if i use DI again it will be a full DI only unit ) because of the amount of chlorine in floridas tap water they go through way to quick.


tds is showing 4 through the output . Still odd though the water was kind of slimey? ..

[Boomer]

I will make a fresh batch of salt this weekend and test it for Ammonia.

And you will find ammonia in it t about .25 mg / l. Almost all sea salts have ammonia, some more and some less. Most of it comes from the Magnesium and calcium chloride components. These components are "bathed" in ammonia during the processing/making of them. Same for baking soda and washing soda. It is called the 'Solvay Process" and often all the ammonia is removed. Some may have very high levels.

Here are two examples

2Na+CO2 + NH3(ammonia) + H2O ----> NaHCO3 + NH4Cl(ammonium chloride)


2NH4Cl + CaO ---> 2 NH3 + CaCl2 + H2O