Quote:
Originally Posted by
stoney53 http:///t/397161/help-my-tank#post_3539090
in the last week twice I have had to add about 3 in of water in a 125 gal tank. do I add salt?
also nothing grows in this tank. whats wrong. tried corals, mushrooms featherdusters
Hello, Welcome to the site.
First, water evaporates, but the salt does not, so to keep the salt levels where they should be...when the water evaporates, we add enough FRESH RO (reverse osmosis) water to bring it back to the same line of fill that it was originally. This is called Topping off.
Next, all tanks must first cycle before you can add any life. The first thing you need are test kits, the lab type not the strips. Only a test will tell you when the tank has cycled. Then you need a Hydrometer or a refractometer to know exactly what the saltiness (SG... AKA Specific gravity) of your tank is.
Your very next purchase needs to be a good beginners book on keeping a saltwater aquarium. If you don't know about topping off, you need some info before venturing any further. A good book will explain about cycling and why and how it's done. It will also explain equipment, and what it does. It will also help you understand the lingo so you will know what questions to ask, we are here to help you and we don't want to sell you anything.
I recommend....The Conscientious Marine Aquarist, by Robert Fenner or Saltwater Aquariums for Dummies, I like this book, it explains things very clearly so anyone can understand it. Reading a book before you do anything else, will help you so much, and save you lots of money because it will prevent problems such as corals dying, mushrooms not making it, and poor feather dusters meeting an untimely death.
A 125g tank...awesome! For the first tank...the bigger the better! List your equipment, so we can see what you already have, and what you still need.
