lava stuck atop lamp

[meagan rodgers]

so i bought this lava lamp..
http://www.spencersonline.com/images/spencers/products/interactivez...
..and i wanted to change the wax color a little so i added about a spoon full of candle wax. the wax was bubbly and floated at the top. once i put the top back on and started it up, the lava appeared to be mixing with it nicely, but i wanted it to mix faster so i shook it and all the wax left the spring and went to the top. i kept trying to push down the wax so it would melt back into the spring but it wouldnt stay down. i ended up messing with it so much that the liquid got really foggy and while transferring the liquid back and forth i misplaced some so i added about an eighth cup of water into my lamp. i want to defog my lamp and make the wax work again. i know nothing about lava lamps or what exactly they consist of, so please dumb down the advise for me C: thanks!

[Keith]

If the lamp is inexpensive it would probably be better to buy a replacement.

The wax and water in the lamps needs to be balanced so any changes you make can have an adverse effect, especially large changes (such as a spoon full of wax).  It sounds like the wax is now not heavy enough and the water is too heavy. It would probably have been ok to add wax based candle dye, but even that can be tricky.  Shaking the globe is never good, and just adding water is not good either.  There are ways to fix the lamp if you are determined to do so, there are many here who have done so and I'm sure they will give you proper advice.

 GOO'd luck!

[Alfred]

If this is a new lamp, it will almost certainly be more expensive to fix it at this point than to buy a replacement. If you want a custom color, you might consider just buying a Goo Kit and whatever dye packs you want. You'll end up replacing the entire contents of the lamp, but it's still cheaper than buying a ceramic filter to clear up the water (assuming it doesn't do so on it's own) and easier than tracking down the necessary ingredients to change the wax's density.

[Loren]

A spoonful of candle dye is WAY too much. That stuff is super concentrated, and adding that much is what caused your problem. :( You can add a little rock salt and distilled water to try and match the new specific gravity, but it might be very tricky.

[Jus]

Was it candle wax, or candle dye that was added???  jus wonderin'...

Dang...I hope you didn't get the idea to shake your lamp from any pic posted here by somebody like...errr...me? Maybe I should delete that pic...