# My water is purple



## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Weird.
I cleaned up a tank and refilled it with new distilled water. I added Instant Ocean. A few hours later, the water is purple. Very purple.
I guess I'll have to start all over again, but has this ever happened to any of you? I've never seen this before in over 29 years of saltwater keeping.
An ideas?
I didn't use any permanganates or iodines or anything else I can think of that's purple.


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## TigerBarb12 (Jan 7, 2007)

It almost sounds like you dumped dye in the tank, but i highly doubt you'd pull a stunt like that, unless you have kids or something, im not sure


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

Very bizarre, only odd ball thing have happened with saltwater after preparation within 24hrs the water was very cloudy, i just dumped it, normally its just clear. But purple, perhaps the salt is tainted, few weeks back guy using IO discovered tons of small pieces of plastic in the salt itself, needless to say IO took care of him for it though.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

weird... yeah I've had IO not dissolve on me before but never turn a color. HAHAH


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## Guest (Oct 17, 2007)

pictures?....lol


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

No picture, but imagine a black round-front 12-gal nanocube tank filled with 1/4 strength grape kool-aid.

I'm going to experiment with mixing up some new water in a plain jar to check for color.


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## Guest (Oct 17, 2007)

lol..that purple eh?? did it hurt your fish or corals or anything in the tank?


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## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

Tos:

1) I am not into saltwater and

2) I have diligently read your initial post in this thread but

3) What you are describing "really sounds like" potassium permanganate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_permanganate

TR


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Yeah, it does sound like it, and it's the first thing I thought of, but the problem is that I don't even HAVE any. It's not that.

Well, mixing it up in a jar did not result in purple water. The cause must be in the tank someplace. A snail, maybe? A bit of some plant?
I dunno. I guess I'll just have to check around a bit more this time.
Nothing was injured, as the tank is empty.


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

Strange ...


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## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

TheOldSalt said:


> Yeah, it does sound like it, and it's the first thing I thought of, but the problem is that I don't even HAVE any. It's not that.
> 
> Well, mixing it up in a jar did not result in purple water. The cause must be in the tank someplace. A snail, maybe? A bit of some plant?
> I dunno. I guess I'll just have to check around a bit more this time.
> Nothing was injured, as the tank is empty.


Yep: been there: done that and got the Tee shirt.

Years ago (like 39 now) me and "my assigned science partner" were "playing around" (which obviously we should not have been doing in quantitative analysis) and the graduated cylinder became cold "ie. an endothermic reaction was occurring".
When we "stuck our fingers into it" our fingers turned purple and several months expired before the purple "went away".
Our "brilliant thinking" was boiling: when the smoke detectors went off and the instructor came out of his office "my partner" and I spent a month cleaning the science lab after school hours due to our "brilliant thinking".

TR


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

A snail makes sense, unless you spilled some crystal violet 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murex_brandaris


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

ah .. possibly a hitch hiker ?


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

any thing in there that can ink a tank?


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## Reefneck (Oct 15, 2005)

"Awwwwww. You Guys made me Ink!" 

Yes, My 3rd Daughter caame home for a couple weeks to visit and brought the "Finding Nemo" DVD with her for my 2 young daughters so I have been enduring it for 3 days now. AARRGGHH!


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

Reefneck said:


> "Awwwwww. You Guys made me Ink!"
> 
> Yes, My 3rd Daughter caame home for a couple weeks to visit and brought the "Finding Nemo" DVD with her for my 2 young daughters so I have been enduring it for 3 days now. AARRGGHH!


LOL !! Been there, done that with my 4 year old only with different movie of his choice. Enough to strangle someone ...


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

Wondered what's the update on your purple tank incident, TOS.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Dumped it out, rinsed everything, filled it back up... PURPLE AGAIN!

Now I'm annoyed.


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

Wow !! Wonder what can it be ? Could it be a bad salt water mix batch ? Or the container or even the RO/DI filters? :?: :?: :?:


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

I think I have it figured out; the spongeblocks probably have some organic dyes in them which don't rinse out noticeably in fresh water, but leach out slowly in saltwater. That doesn't make much sense, but it's all I got. Another experiment is in order.


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## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

TOS



TheOldSalt said:


> the spongeblocks ?


TR


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## Guest (Nov 2, 2007)

TOS, you thought of sending the water to a lab to test it? They may be able to find something in it that would cause it to turn purple.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

I don't think I'm going to have to go to THAT much trouble. I'm pretty sure it's the spongeblocks ( part of the built-in filter system of this tank ) and that they can eventually be purged of their purpleness.


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## vvolfe1 (Oct 9, 2006)

Theoldsalt, Is this a new tank? If so does the nano cube have its own filtration? If so check the compartments. If need be fill it with tap water and see what happens. It almost sounds like someone dropped a marker in the filtration system and then put the filters over it.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

HA! That would be too easy. 
This is a tank I've had running for about 2.5 years as a freshwater plant tank. I took it down and set it back up as a salt tank in one day, and I scrubbed the heck out of it.


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## vvolfe1 (Oct 9, 2006)

HMMM I didnt notice your post on the sponge filters. That could possibly be correct. I'd think it have to be in the filtration part. Like you said maybe the salt is acting as a catalyst to something already in there. The api ph kit turns water purple maybe something like that is happening or if you used that ph up or down stuff when it was fresh water.


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