Beginner needs help
MikeG
reef tank but just a fish. It is a 55 gal tank
1) My water is pretty much 7.0 on the PH scale. When setting up the tank
after adding salt and ( I don't know if the substrate played a part in it )
the ph is 8.2. My question is when changing out the water, do I need to get
the ph to 8.2 before I add it? Will it adjust to 8.2 after adding it? Will
that be a too big of a shock on the fish?
2) I have some lava rock and a piece of slate from my fresh water tank I'd
like to put in the tank. Will this have any adverse affects on the
chemistry of the water?
3). When adding water, should I raise the temp, or will adding it slowly
work?
4)When I set it up 3 weeks ago I had the salinity dead on, 1.022. A little
water evaporated ( very little - like 1/4 of an inch) and the salinity went
up to 1.027. After I added fresh water to top it off it droped to 1.024.5.
Is this common? I know it was bad, but before when it was fresh water, I'd
sometimes let the water level drop a couple of inches.
What do some of you do to prep for a water change. I was thinking of
storing a 5 gal container of fresh water(for topping off- and declorinated)
and two of saltwater? Do you all just mix up the water when you do the
change?
Any input would be appreciated.
Thanx,
Mike Gideon
Brad
wrote:
>I have just changed from a freshwater setup to a salt water tank. Not a
>reef tank but just a fish. It is a 55 gal tank
>
>1) My water is pretty much 7.0 on the PH scale. When setting up the tank
>after adding salt and ( I don't know if the substrate played a part in it )
>the ph is 8.2. My question is when changing out the water, do I need to get
>the ph to 8.2 before I add it? Will it adjust to 8.2 after adding it? Will
>that be a too big of a shock on the fish?
The salt mix will put the water at about 8.2-8.3 by itself.
>2) I have some lava rock and a piece of slate from my fresh water tank I'd
>like to put in the tank. Will this have any adverse affects on the
>chemistry of the water?
Maybe. lava rock can contain heavy metals that could leach into the
tank. Slate should be OK as long as there is no visible veins of
metal, ie. iron, sulfur, etc. You can see this by have different color
streaks thru the rock.
>3). When adding water, should I raise the temp, or will adding it slowly
>work?
Temp and salinity should be adjusted before adding to the tank.
>4)When I set it up 3 weeks ago I had the salinity dead on, 1.022. A little
>water evaporated ( very little - like 1/4 of an inch) and the salinity went
>up to 1.027. After I added fresh water to top it off it droped to 1.024.5.
>Is this common? I know it was bad, but before when it was fresh water, I'd
>sometimes let the water level drop a couple of inches.
I use (as do many others) an automatic leveling device. Mine is a
reservoir attached to a float valve. This maintains my water level at
all times. I would avoid too large a change from ignoring evaporation.
When I did mine manually, I topped off daily, sometimes more.
>What do some of you do to prep for a water change. I was thinking of
>storing a 5 gal container of fresh water(for topping off- and declorinated)
>and two of saltwater? Do you all just mix up the water when you do the
>change?
I have 20-30 gallons of RO/DI water in reserve at all times. When I
make a batch of new salt water, I mix it the night before just so it
can reach the same temp. In the summer my reserve water is close
enough and I'll just mix and change right away.