How to add/change water?

francis

francis

Member
My tank is 35 & was only 3/4 full. 3 months old now. I used natural sea water untill now & would like to add more, atleast 5 more gallons. Can i use marine salt to make an artificial ocean water? will it be healthy? or use natural sea water again? I already have 3 anemones & 1 bubble coral inside with 1 lobster & 2 yellow fin damsels. thank you!
:thinking:
 
kimkissyfish

kimkissyfish

Member
Do you mean you have NEVER added water to this tank yet? or done a water change? If a 1/4 of the water has evaporated I would think your salinity is way off. In a 3 month old tank with the stock you have, I see potential problems. (sorry)
How did you cycle it?
Please post the water perameters...
Sal
ammonia
Nitrites/trates
Ph
temp
Calcium etc...
and system set up.
Im a bit worried that you had to ask that question, but we are all here to learn, so please don't take the questions wrong..
Answer to your question is YES, you can use saltwater mix in your tank, in fact the salt in stores has nuertients that are good for your tank. But i think you should TEST your water, especially salinity before adding salt water.
Top off is used for evaporation (fresh "no salt" or RO water)
water changes (saltwater) is used to maintain tanks h20 perameters
Kim
 
francis

francis

Member
Sorry for my late reply. My computer is here in the office. Actualy, i made a 100% change of water after cycling the tank with LR & LS for 1mo. & 1wk, but i instead used a natural sea water but didn't filled the whole tank. The salinity is good 1.023. Amonia 0, Nitrites.trates 0, temp 76f.
 
kimkissyfish

kimkissyfish

Member
Um Francis,
You did a 100% water change? Meaning you took ALL the water out and replaced it after cycling it.
DId you use fresh seawater then too?
OK, First, Did you see the ammonia spike go up then go down to nothing?
think I know what you mean you only filled it 3/4 the way. You did that so the other 1/4 would be the top off??
Okay, Then... Lets do this. Go to the fish store and buy a bag of salt.. Mix it up to the salinity you are at.. should be between 1.022-1.025.. which ever you want. Let it sit a day with a thermometer in it and a powerhead. THEN, your gonna fill the tank to the top. ~ Retest it.
Never remove 100% of the water again because that's all the "good " bacteria you built up while cycling. YOur tank MIGHT have another mini cycle. DId you use Live Sand when you set up this tank?
If after a week you dont see ANY ammonia OR NitrITES, you should be OK. Then check your NitRATES... can run between 0-40.. 40 would be on the high side but still acceptable. I expect you shouldnt see a 40 or higher on such a new tank but, you never know becuase of the natural seawater.
Then, for now on..... only ADD fresh ro/di water OR treated Tap water for "top off", which is from EVAPORATION. When you do your small weekly OR larger monthly water changes(WHICH EVER IS BETTER FOR YOUR TANK) your gonna mix the store saltwater and take out the same amount of gallons your gonna change and replace it with the saltwater mix.
Please feel free to ASK questions here... We are Only here to help. Also, do you have any books on saltwater tanks? I bought a couple before I began this hobby.. Believe it or not "saltwaterfish for dummies" is a pretty good book.
As far as stocking, what kind of anenome's do you have? In a 35G.. 3 might be too many. They may shoot darts "meaning STING" each other and die. Also, LIGHTS are very important when keeping CORALS. So please tell me about your LIGHTING. Maybe I can HELP you out there, if you want to keep your corals ALIVE. NO problem! You can get proper lighting for your tank.
Hope this helps, Kim
 
francis

francis

Member
That was very nice of you guys, and Kim. Now i know what i really have to do. And..yeah! i saw that begginer's guide book you mentioned. I'm gonna buy it now! :)
Thanks!
 
kimkissyfish

kimkissyfish

Member
No Problem Francis,
I cant wait to see your tank at all its stages.. Looks great so far!
Did you check out your lights? Just interested in then because of your anenomes.. They need special lighting to keep them alive. VHO, PC's or better yet MH. The regular "florscent hood lights" are not enough.

Please let us know when you check it out... Glad your picking up a book, It's FUN reading!
Keep up the good work, Kim
Here is a pic of my tank, with its last rehab.. It's changed again too.. I had problems with a mantis. I actually DONT like the way it looks now, so gonna go rearrange yet AGAIN! I'll post pics afterwards. :joy: Also, I have KILLED (or almost killed) the Brain coral I just bought, maybe cuz it fell several times OR the angel liked it too much..:thinking: AND I have T'd OFF my tomato clown, he DIDNT like my hands in HIS tank so often.. :mad:
 
kimkissyfish

kimkissyfish

Member
SAD CLOWN! He hosts in my torch now.. LOL
I DONT have the proper lighting for an anenome, so he has to do without.
Ps. I tried 2 anenomes and they both died... My bad!
 
francis

francis

Member
I better check for a good light. :)
You still don't like the your tank look right now? Ill be happy to have a tank like that! :joy:
I had a problem with my hermit crabs the other day too. I saw one of them on top of my bubble coral and the other one shredding my sea weeds. They ended up inside my filter box.
What do u think i should do to my hermits? i don't like them inside my tank anymore. Not sure yet when to be back in LFS to trade them. Is it ok to let them inside the filter box for a while?
 
kimkissyfish

kimkissyfish

Member
Francis,
Hmm? What kind/ & how many hermits do you have? They should be fine in your tank. They may have been just "cleaning up" left overs. If you dont want them, maybe your LFS will take them back. They probably wont give you your $$ back though. They are good scavengers which is an advantage to a reef tank like yours. A GOOD clean up crew is essential!! They may do fine until you make your decision IN your filter box...But not too long...
As for lights, I would go with VHO (very high output) they come in a "hood type" like your regular florescents OR metal Halide, which is the "best" for anenomes and most corals.
If you get the VHO in the hood type you can ALSO add Power compacts (white & actinic) you can retrofit them in your canopy. BUT check what you can have UNDER a canopy.. MH you CANNOT! But, PC's you CAN. You will probably spend about 150-300 bucks on your lighting BUT thats what gonna MAKE your reef. MH will be more $$... but you WILL NEED them to keep your anemomes alive for any period of time. Also, if your anenomes die in your tank, they may release TOXINS and can kill your tank. SO, be careful.
Ya, I actually HATE they way my tank looks, I decided to NOT touch it for a week or two, just live with it for now, everyone's getting stressed, INCLUDING me.. LOL :joy:
YOUR rock work looks awesome! Keep up the good work, HOw'd your water change go??
Thanks, Kim
:D :D
 
francis

francis

Member
i haven't added the water yet but it's ready. There are still very,very,very small part of the salt that doesn't disolved yet. Is it ok if add it already? im not going to put the remaining salt, ofcourse.
I have hermits. 2 of them. Do you really think they were just cleaning left overs "on top of the bubble coral"? and the coral deflated though.
 
kimkissyfish

kimkissyfish

Member
Hi,
Hmmm? Just two and they are going after your coral, doesn't sound good. Did you find out what kind they are?
As far as the water, did you check the salinity? If its not all dissolved, maybe its "saterated" meaning too much salt in the water, It should dissolve pretty quickly. So, I'd check that FIRST...:yes:
Try putting a Powerhead IN the water bucket to help it circulate.
Kim :joy:
 
francis

francis

Member
Yes there's a power head in the bucket. After it dissolved, can i put it in rightafter?
My tank salinity is 1.023 i made 1.025. Is it ok to add it to the tank?
 
francis

francis

Member
im using an ordinary fluorescent tube light at the moment. I have in my tank 2 sebaes, 1 long tentacle, 1 bubble coral, 2 yellw fin damsels, 1 hawaiian red lobster.
 
moray345

moray345

Active Member

Originally posted by Francis
im using an ordinary fluorescent tube light at the moment. I have in my tank 2 sebaes, 1 long tentacle, 1 bubble coral, 2 yellw fin damsels, 1 hawaiian red lobster.
you better get new lighting quick:eek:
 
aidos

aidos

Member
KimKissyFish, i dont wanna hijack this thread but how do your corals cope with ur Emperor Angel.
BTW the tank looks fantastic....and the Emperor Angel is superb :happyfish
 
kimkissyfish

kimkissyfish

Member
Adios,
Thanks, I have been VERY lucky with him.. I bought it as a juv. I have had him for 3 years and watched him "morph". If I keep him well fed, he does OK. I decided to go with corals AFTER I had the fish, so I experimented.
I DO think he likes brains though.. My only problem coral I have noticed.
Also, I re-read your first post Francis, I must have MISSED the LOBSTER! The lobster might be the culprit. I had one in the begining and he "feasted" on everything. Watch him carefully, especially at night. Shut all the lights in the room and turn a light on in another room, and sneak over and peek in your tank.
Lemme' know, Kim
 
kimkissyfish

kimkissyfish

Member
Francis,
Oops, I got over zealous with the post button....Sorry.
YOu should try to add salinity that is the same as the tank, a point higher is ok I guess. (for a small change) The only time your water should be different salinity is when you are TRYING to change or alter the salinity of your tank for some reason. ( just remember again, only treated fresh water "not saltwater" should be added for evaporation, or top off, OK) and new saltwater is used for water changes.
Corals and inverts are more sensative to water changes but it will stress out the fish too, so go easy. And, YES you can take the PH from the tank and use it in the bucket and then put it back into the tank.. NO PROBLEMS.
Have you decided on your lights yet? I wouldn't want your anenomes to die..
Can't wait to hear what kind you decide on, it's so fun to watch a new tank BLOOOM! If you have questions, just ask.!
Keep us informed, Kim
 
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