almost ready.

[rcdude1990]

im almost ready to set up my 125
i jus got in the mail
1. 2 50 gallon bags of instant ocean
2. 2 600 gph power heads
3. 2 300 wat heaters
4. and a bottle of stress coat
does this sound good? am i ready to add water now?

 

[sign guy]

more salt more power heads and I thought you had a ro unit? What type of filter are you using?

 

[michaeltx]

agreed with the more salt is I was going to set up a tank that large I would get a couple of buckets comes out cheaper.
Mike

 

[rcdude1990]

oh opps
i have a box of salt that is good for 55 gallons
so i really have 155 gallons worth lol my mistake
i have 2 other power heads but i dont no how many gph they are, i think they are like 400
and as for filtration i have a wet/dry
and yes i have a ro unti now

 

[meleerock]

With most tanks you aim for around a 20 time water turnover rate. Since your tank is 125 gal. you should try to shoot for 2,500 gallons per hour in movment. This seems like a lot but you can also take into account the wet/dry pump. With 2,000gph with the 2 600gph and 2 400gph powerheads you will have great flow.
What are you going to use the stress coat for? I have never used it in my tanks and always looking to learn something new!

 

[scubaguy]

I just recieved 2 Koralia 4 (1200 GPH) plus the filter(Penguin 350 until I get a HOB Refrigum or a sump) and another PH 350. A little over kill but it should keep the tank clean.

 

[rcdude1990]

o yea wat am i using the stress coat for?!
o yea i was goin to use tap water but yesturday i found a deal on ro
so stress coat was to remove the chlorine but i dont need it now

 

[meleerock]

An RO is definitly handy to have around. Im sure you know chlorine will evap. out of water within 24 hours anyway if you have a good flow. Does the stress coat provide any benifit to fish at all? Sorry if I am hijacking.

 

[michaeltx]

Originally Posted by rcdude1990
o yea wat am i using the stress coat for?!
o yea i was goin to use tap water but yesturday i found a deal on ro
so stress coat was to remove the chlorine but i dont need it now
not useing it for anything I missed it in your first post. its good for freshwater but in SW tanks it will cause the filtration to go nutts.
Do you have a QT setup?
Mike

 

[sly]

IMO, stress coat is completely worthless in a saltwater tank. As water circulates it will naturally rid itself of chlorine. You should be premixing your water for 24 hours anyway and so chlorine is not an issue. It also causes problems with protein skimmers. It's like adding soap to your system.
If you premix your water and acclimate your fish properly, you do not need stress coat.

 

[rcdude1990]

so if i was using tap water, then i shouldnt add stress coat?
ur saying basically put the tap water in and let the filter run for 24 hours?
im asking cause my friend might wanna do it wit tap water

 

[sign guy]

tap water is horible Why dont you want to use the ro?

 

[rcdude1990]

ok lol this is my fault im screwing everyone up
my friend wants to start a tank to, but since im using ro i was goin to give him the stress caot cause he wants to do it wit tap. (he thinks it would come out better, and also i bet him it wont) so someone wrote u dont need to add it because after 24 hours it evaporates, i jus wanted to no if he lets the filter run wit out adding stress caot, the chlorine would evaporate?

 

[koolaidman]

rcdude, yes, chlorine can be eradicated but aerating or mixing it for 24 hrs. Consequently some towns stabalize chlorine so it does not evaporate. This is called chloromine, aerating it will do nothing. I do not know if stress coat covers chloromine as well. I use a product called ACE, which neutralizes chlorine, cloromine, and the ammonia that is a byproduct of the chloromine. so i would call your town water supply to make sure. sorry if you already know this.

 

[sly]

Using tap water is risky. Even if you know what levels are in the tap water, that can change from one day to the next. For example, if you have heavy rains in your area then you can have very high concentrations of silicates and nitrates in your tap that might not have been there the day before. Tap water is very unreliable and can make a tank crash suddenly and unexpectedly.
It is not so bad for freshwater tanks because they do not require the careful chemical balance that is in saltwater. Calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, etc... all form a chemical balance. If one of these goes off then it can adversely affect the others. The only way to keep a balanced system is to know exactly what it is you are putting in there. That can only be achieved with high quality reverse osmosis/de-ionized water. Anything else is not pure and so you could have problems at any moment.