just bought.......

[corvettev12ttnos]

Ok well i just went to my LFS yesterday around 6pm and got some DI water(5g) and put the salt in it etc. and i have it cycleing with a maxi jet power head and i started cycleing yesterday for about 30 min but then had to leave so i unpluged the power head (i have tubes running in the jug because the power head is to big to fit in the jug) and is this ok?? and i left it unpluged till tismorning and pluged it back in so it's been going for about 14hrs with salt in it but with the power head on it's been about 2hrs now and the water is clear and this is my first water change so how do i go about transfuring the water from the tank and adding the new freshly made DI saltwater?? and i know to syphon it or use a power head and pump the water but do i add slowly or can i just take the 5g out of my mian tank and the add the DI SW just like that?? and my fish/inverts are in my sig but i do have 1 snial(had 3, 2 died)

 

[corvettev12ttnos]

i have 1 more ? what should the alkilinty level be??
BTW some please tell me is this what i do?? because i'm gonna do this at 5pm

 

[sampson1269]

you should first check your salinity in the tank and make sure its ok. then check salinity in your new water. it's best to circulate for 24 hours first, just so you know its mixed completely. pump out 5 gallons from the tank and add your new water, if water properties are the same, especially p.h. 8.3 is ideal. never rush to change water in a tank and always check water properties first. also, don't forget when you add water due to evaporation, use water without salt.as far as mixing goes, as long as you have good circulation in the container it will work with the pump outside.

 

[wrassecal]

You are just changing out 5 gallons?? Is this DI from Crystal Clear? Why are you doing a water change? That's where I get mine. I do mix my water and let it sit for 24 hours and then recheck sg. but I don't use a ph at all. 5 gallons in your 55 isn't going to make that much of a difference so you can just slowly pour it in after siphoning 5 gal out. I don't check everything, just sg and temp even if temp is a little lower when doing that small of a change it isn't going to have much of an effect. HTH

 

[corvettev12ttnos]

no deb i got it from the Reef Shop because i didn't know CCA had DI water but i'll go there next time (i hope dave doesn't hate me now because i bout a 5g jug from the reef shop and it has there name on it in big letters) and i've done the math on my tank and i only have 30g (take or leave some) in my tank, so i'm doing a 10%water change and it's time for me to do one anyway cuz my nitrates are going up to dangerouse levels (80ppm) so i need to do one and tismorning when i got up the water in the jug was clear but the salinity was to low so i gotta wiat another 24hr

 

[ed r]

A 10% water change is a good start, but I suspect that afterward your nitrate will measure very close to the same. 80 minus 10% is still 72. Check to make sure you are not overfeeding or doing something to increase the nitrate. A 5" sand bed should be able to easily handle the nitrate from one cleaner and two damsels. Keep looking for another source of nitrate and address that. In the meantime, water changes can keep the problem at a safe level, but they will never get you to zero unless your sand bed is working properly.

 

[corvettev12ttnos]

Ed, my sand bed is new (i think 2 or 3 weeks old) and my trates where 20 then 40 then 60 and now 80 in a 7day period so i think i might be over feeding but my ammonia is 0and trites 0 and ph 8.3 and i don't know of any other source for cousing my trates(i'm new to all this) so if you would please list some other factors and i don't think it's anything that i'm adding to my tank because i'm useing Coral Vite by Kent Marein so... <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" />

 

[wrassecal]

OK I didn't know you were having a nitrate problem. Your tank is fairly new and when you did the dsb if your ammonia, nitrites and ph are are at normal levels you are probably at the end of a cycle and that, plus feeding like Ed R said is what is going on in your tank. I would lay off feeding for a couple days it won't hurt and after the 10 % water change tonight I'd test daily and see if your nitrates don't start going down on their own in a couple days. From following your posts the end stage of a cycle is my best guess of what's happening to you.

 

[corvettev12ttnos]

Ok well i did my water change yesterday and it went well(i think) and everything is still alive so i guess it's all good and i'm gonna see if i can find smaller cubes of brine shrimp to feed my 2 damsels and cleaner
THANX agian for your help everyone!

 

[ed r]

As Debi mentioned, you probably could skip the feeding for a few days. In a 55g, there should be plenty to keep a couple of damsels going without your feeding much at all. If your brine cubes are too large (no doubt about that), you can cut them (watch the fingers) into fourths. Something less than the size of a regular pencil eraser is more than enough for them. If in doubt, cut back even further.