Advice?

camfish

camfish

Active Member
If you have read my other threads, you know that I have extremely low calcium and really high alkalinity. I bought some different salt today...coralife. I found some Reef Calcium (a calcium suppliment) too and I was wondering if I should use it. Will adding it

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up my pH and cause a swing resulting in fish death? Anyway, my kH is off the charts and my calcium is 240. It is a 30 gallon tank. It says to use 1 capful for 20 gallons once each day.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
If it were me I would mix up 30 gallons of saltwater and do a complete water change tomorrow night.
I wouldn't bother with trying to fix water that was that far out of balance.
 
camfish

camfish

Active Member
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
http:///forum/post/2648187
If it were me I would mix up 30 gallons of saltwater and do a complete water change tomorrow night.
I wouldn't bother with trying to fix water that was that far out of balance.
In my thread it asks if adding would cause fish death, did you miss that part, or do you really think that a 30 gallon water change is a good idea? I have 2 clowns and a royal gramma.
 
nordy

nordy

Active Member
Newly mixed water should have calcium, ph, and alkalinity levels much more in balance than what you now have. I use Reef Crystals and "out of the box" I get calcium around 400ppm, so yes, a "total" water change sounds like a good idea and should get your tank pretty close to proper levels.
I haven't read your other threads on the subject, but what about your test kit? the calcium level seems very, very, low!
 
camfish

camfish

Active Member
no offense Nordy, but before I make a huge decision like this, I kinda want a second opinion. I only have 2 five gallon buckets for saltwater, so how can I make all of this saltwater and empty the tank. Where will the fish go? So many questions. I am incredibly skeptical...will I have a mini cycle? I need answers please. Mind you I have that Reef Calcium.
 
mopar9012

mopar9012

Active Member
do you have any corals? if not I really wouldnt be concerned about the calcium in the first place. Yes it is important but I never even looked at my calcium till I got started with corals. The fish you have now are pretty hardy. I dont think they will die over the calcium right now.
How long has the tank been running? How long have you had those fish?
Right now if I were you, I get the alkalinity down.
What is you pH level?
Do a water change with the levels they are supposed to be.
If you really want to get started on the calcium too then do a 10 gallon water change.
thats what I would do, I know bang guy is a very respectible name around here, just 100% water change is a lot of work
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by camfish
http:///forum/post/2648314
In my thread it asks if adding would cause fish death, did you miss that part, or do you really think that a 30 gallon water change is a good idea? I have 2 clowns and a royal gramma.
Yes, I missed that part. No, adding calcium won't kill your fish. But with extremely high Alkalinity it will just precipitate out of the water and not change anything except possibly lower your Magnesium level.
Yes, I believe a 100% water change would be a good idea in this specific case. Be sure to match Salinity and temperature as closely as you can.
If I was doing it I would mix 30 gallon of saltwater in a clean rubbermaid trash can on day 1. On day 2 I would warm the water up to tank temperatures and then adjust the salinity. I would drain the tank until the fish are almost out of water and then I'd start pumping in the new water.
Yes, doing 5 gallon water changes every other day will help. It won't take a month to fix your water but it will take some time. There's a reason why your parameter are way off balance. You should also look into that. Have you been "Buffering" your water to raise PH?
 
camfish

camfish

Active Member
Okay, I have not been buffering anything, it is just my sucky water, but I think that I have a solution nearly drawn. Luckily, walmart just got an ro machine at their store. So I went there and it was 13 dollars for a 5 gallon jug and 1.85 to fill the jug. I go to get it and the lady forgot to charge me for the jug...shhh! Okay, so now I have 2 five gallon buckets, 5 gallons of water in a jug, and plenty of salt. What is the best way of doing this? I may be able to go back and get water tonight, but
Assuming that that is a possiblity, what should I do?
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
if for some reason you dont have the ability to mix 30 gallons of water for a complete change out like bang has suggested * and I agree with* do the smaller changes in the tank till the parameters are where they need to be.
one thing I need to ask is what type of salt were you useing I know you said you have coralife salt now.
as far as 100 percent water changes as long as you match temp and salinity your fine doing that because the bacteria from the cycle is in the rock and sand not in the water column so its tricky to match everything up sometimes but is doable.
HTH
mike
 
camfish

camfish

Active Member
I was using IO salt. It would be challenging to do a 30 gallon change considering the fact that I only have 1 jug and 2 buckets. Is there a better course of action? If I do a 10 gallon change tomorrow and another 10 gallon this weekend, do you think that that would be enough to fix it, or would I have to do more? If more, how much?
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
I would just do the smaller water changes on a daily basis until the levels are where they need to be in your situation or you could go get a plastic tube that hold 40 gallons and mix all the water you need in there and then do the change. they cost 12-15 dollars at wal-mart it would take a few trips to wal-mart to get enough water to fill it though.
BTW I started with IO and never could keep a good levels in my tank so I switched I use red sea salt now and probably try a different one later on.
Mike
 
m0nk

m0nk

Active Member
Yeah, all good advice here. I started with IO as well, and had terrible params. It took a few weeks of water changes with new salt to get things in line, and Red Sea and/or Red Sea Coral Pro are good salts, imo. I use the later. You might want to consider, though, getting a container big enough to hold all that water just in case, but it's up to you whether you have the room for it or not. I've learned you can never have too much RO/DI and/or mixed salt water water ready for emergencies. Also, if for some god awful reason, you needed a quick getaway for your LR, fish, and water (tank issues, mostly), you'd be prepared with a container.
Anyway, if you don't have coral yet, or much coral yet, a slow transition is fine, even though a quick on (100% water change) won't hurt either. A cycle would only start if you have NO bacteria on the solid surfaces, it doesn't exist in the water. Just do what the others mentioned and be sure your SG/salinity and temp are exact, so there's little/no shock to the fish.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
If it were me I would mix up 4 gallons of new saltwater in each bucket for a total of 8 gallons.
Then tomorrow I would do an 8 gallon water change.
*** Edit - after making 4 gallon of water do an Alkalinity test to make sure you don't have a bad batch of salt.
 
camfish

camfish

Active Member
So if I do a weekly 30% water change, how long will it take to make the parameters where they need to be?
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
yeah it will take alittle while you should start to see some better test results after the first change out but since it will be diluted in the older water it will take awhile for it to actually get where you want it.
Mike
 
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