how to change water...

[jacrmill]

ok now i know that im supposed to let the water sit for a day and it should be aerated. i usually change 5 gallons every 2 weeks. i get the RO water from a grocery store and it comes in 5 gallon jugs. should i just take that, add the right amount of salt, and PH buffer and put an airstone in the bottom of it for a day? or do i have to use a tank and hook up a powerhead? of course i would then check PH and salinity before pouring in my tank.

 

[mr . salty]

Sounds like a good plan too me.

 

[nm reef]

very close to what I do
I change 5 gal per week.........ro/di water pre-mix salt to tanks sg(1.024
use air stones to mix & circulate
use heater to balance temp to tanks temp(80 degrees
remove 5 gal from tank
replace with 5 gal fresh

 

[jacrmill]

thank you, thats what im gonna do. itll be easy too. all i gotta do is buy a $5 air pump and $.25 air stone. thanks.

 

[moga]

I remember that Mr.Salty(correct me if i am wrong) said that if water quality is good by testing your water, why we should change?..

 

[jimi]

While ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings may all be great. Water changes replenish vitamins and minerals thus the need for them.

 

[justchillin]

moga:
i have wondered the same thing...isn't there an additive that will replace the minerals...water changes are the only thing i dread with this hobby...

 

[mr . salty]

I myself havn't done a water change since I switched to my new tank.That was in december.I use a trace element suppliment,and have maintained near perfect water quality. Well,now that I have said it,something is bound to happen.But I believe that with the complex filteration setup that I have,and oversize skimmer,My water changes may be a thing of the past.Only time will tell.(KNOCK ON WOOD)Everyones tank is diferent,Your tank will tell you if it needs a water change.......

 

[krazykarel]

Mr Salty what do you use to supplement the trace elements?

 

[bluegill]

man...
i want to be just like salty when i grow up.
i swear it, i swear it, i swear it.
no water change since december.
some people have it all.

 

[liongirl]

Is RO and RO/DI water the same? What do those letters stand for?
I am about to do my first water change .... I usually use water from the tap and treat it ... Do i need to buy water from the store ... is it easier? Is it called RO or RO/DI on the shelf?
Sorry such stupid questions .. but these are the only abbreviations that i dont get so far
Thanks.

 

[krazykarel]

I believe RO = Reverse Osmosis and DI= dionized (im not so sure about this one)
I believe it is just a better quality of water...im not too sure, i haven't been around for very long

 

[bayouguy]

RO/DI= Reverse Osmosis, De-Ionized - two techniques to purify water. You can purchase water purified by these processes or you can acquire your own purifier (I bought mine for a little bit ove $200). RO is typically good enough for aquariums which removes from 90-97% of bad stuff like heavy metals, amonium, phosphate, nitrate, silicate, bacteria and hardness, DI is an added step which can bring your water up into the 99.5% pure range. Usually you don't find De-Ionizers unless they're the last step in a RO system.
I recommend always testing water, even if you're purchasing store-bought RO/DI as if the filters start to go bad from their machines, it won't be any better than tap water. At least if you have your own purifier, you can monitor the quality of the equipment you use to make your water.
I'd be curious to find out what supplements one can add to avoid water changes.
[ June 06, 2001: Message edited by: BayouGuy ]

 

[fugu]

i use water aged for a week- RO water with saltmix and powerhead for about seven days then siphon out the old and pour in the new. MR SALTY what is your setup? no water changes wow, i have my tanks in an office with raw concrete floors and very open so water changes are no big deal but i am interested in knowing how you buffer your system to allow such minimal water changes.

 

[playtime]

Maybe I am wrong, but I do a 10% water change about every 2 weeks in my 25gal. I use the same container each time so I know how much salt,etc... I add the water and salt and Novaqua then let it set for about 1 hour to test the water. My ph is always the same so all I need to do is heat it ( and sometimes I don't even need to do that) I would love to be like MR Salty and never do them again but for now, this doesn't seem to be too bad and it's working. Oh, in case I didn't make it clear, I use regular tap water (my faucet arieates the water great) and a chlorine and metal remover.
Playtime

 

[bobj]

I use Coral Life salt which provides a specific gravity of 1.022-1.023 and a pH of 8.2 to 8.3 if .4 cups are added to one gallon of water.
I usually change 10% per week. I use RO water which has no chlorine so it is not necessary to aerate it for 24 hours.
I check the pH, specific gravity and the DOC(disolved oxygen content). If th DOC is 4-6 ppm I add the water. This usually occurs about 2 hour after mixing the water.