Help Overdose

[willcon]

Hey i have just recently startted setting up a 50 gallon reef tank and i overdoesed quite a bit of a phosphate and silicate remover(Seachem PhosGuard to be exact) because im using tapwater. should i do a full water chnge or change half or what? Anyone with knowledge about this please respond! :happyfish

 

[puffer32]

You can't really do a full water change if you have fish in your tank, it wouls cause another cycle, do maybe 30 %, can you use RO water instead?

 

[schadiest1]

30-50% would be good IMO.... and maybe another 20% in a week.

 

[sammiefish]

why do you think that you "overdosed" on PhosGuard? Is that a filtration media that absorbs phosphate and silicate? While Im not sure, I would think that using more than recommended amount would not pose a toxicity problem, does it?

 

[willcon]

first of all thank you for all of you help
i dont have any fish yet so its not that big of a deal
IMO....?
RO?
the only info on the bottle says "overdosing not reccomended"
im about to start buying the live rock and maybe i few fishes do any of you think this would pose a threat to the liverock/fish?

 

[ophiura]

IMO = In My Opinion
RO = Reverse Osmosis water
Have you cycled this tank? If not, I wouldn't be adding any fish. From the sound of it, you may not have cycled yet? I would strongly suggest reviewing the cycling process. :yes:

 

[willcon]

:sleepy: by cycling you mean...?
i have a prizm pro deluxe which i have been running for a while with livesand

 

[tizzo]

https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/show...ghlight=cycled

 

[who dey]

wooooohhhh!! cycling meaning giving your tank a 4 week minimum grace period before adding any animals to develop nitrifying bactera to stabalize your parameters ie.. ammonia, ph, nitrite, nitrate etc... just to name a few i would not suggest running a phosphate sponge as an alternative to ro/di water. buy ro water from walmart or buy a unit. sponges are fine depending on which one you use i run it on occasion but it's a little different from your kent and some of the cheaper ones.

 

[willcon]

so the phosguard shouldnt affect the lr?
ro?
i cant afford buying water is it really that bad to use tapwater?
thanks for all the help :joy:

 

[who dey]

there are hundreds of TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) in tap that will cause nightmares in saltwater tanks! RO (REverse Osimosis) water will eliminate the majority of these solids. But yes there are some success stories with tap but i wouldn't recommend the risk. BTW walmart sells ro water for about .38 per gallon so i'd say if you can't afford that then you may want to re-think the hobby

 

[willcon]

i dont even know where a walmart is around me, would distilled water work?

 

[who dey]

distilled will work, your in hottttlanta and you can't find a walmart??? :notsure:

 

[9lives]

Check around at your LFS. One by me sells ro water at .25 a gal and another sells ro/di water at .40 a gal.
Initally your cost could be high,but after your going then all you need is several gals a week for topoff and enough for a 10 to 15% water change.
Your tank will benefit greatly and you will have fewer problems.
And YES!!! this hobby is expensive,but enjoyable.

 

[ophiura]

Depending on your tap water, you may very well spend more on animal loss and algae problems than on the water itself. So just go with the right water to start It is available at grocery stores, those "windmill" water kiosks in parking lots, etc. Not always the best, but usually better than tap.
I STRONGLY suggest you read the intro threads at the top of the new hobbyists forum. If you don't know what "cycling" means, you have a lot of research to do to save money and the lives of animals. Please DO NOT add anything until the tank is properly cycled!