OK trying to figure this one out...
I went back to the LFS where I bought it and checked a couple other buckets. They all had what I would call a slight clorine odor. The guys there definately noticed the odor as well and said they had never noticed before. They then brought out the bag they had been using to mix for theirs and customers tanks. It did NOT have the same smell. I took a small amount of the bagged TM home to mix and test with my pool chlorine test kit to see if it was a false positive.
Their mix and their RO/DI came back 0 on the chlorine test. I then mixed my batch of TM with their RO/DI and it tested 0 as well. Confused, I then tested the remaining RO/DI unmixed I had bought from a different LFS. It came back with a positive chlorine reading. I know the other LFS adds Kent Marine PH buffer to all of its RO. Could this possible trigger a false positive? The contents from Kent's web site lists carbonate, bicarbonate and borate salts of sodium, magnesium, and potassium as ingredients. If not, then buyer beware, they are selling bad water and won't get my business again.
I started another small batch with my TM and the good RO/DI and it is dissolved and clear and has no noticable odor at this point.
Could the PH buffer cause this? The only other thing I can think of is I did also add the remaining IO salt ( ~2 cups ) I had in the first batch with the TM. Could there have been some reaction between the salts?
I am really curious if this is just a poorly maintained RO/DI or if the buffer had something to do with it....
I still can't get over how cloudy and strong the chlorine odor was from the mixing container, something definately was wrong there...
Thanks for listening
gotta love TM Pro Reef 