Mixing instant ocean

[rez101]

ok
1. should I use tap water or distilled I mean buying 55 gals of distill is going to cost me
2. Do I add the sand after the water is in the aquarimum and then turn the filter on or add it a little while after
3. I bought a box of instand ocean and no where on the box does it say what the mix ration is it only tell me that it is 25gal does that mean I need 2 boxes to fill a 55 gal tank
4. how many power heads do you recommend I was thinking about 2 of them also where should I place them in the tank?
thanks again everyone you are really helping me out

 

[bullshark]

The 50 gallon bag of salt should be plenty. I just put in tap water and add a tap water conditioner. After this circulates a day or so (to let all the added cholrine/cholramine by the town to disapate out of the water) then I add the salt. How you add it is not a big concern, but the more you add at once the longer it seems to take to mix and clear up. Temp affects mixing as well. The colder the tank water, the longer it takes to mix fully.....
Good Luck! I just set up my 120 again and I am waiting for it to clear up now!!!

 

[austinreef]

I used Instant ocean as well. 2 1/2 cups for every 5 gallons. Hope this helps..

 

[javatech]

Do not start with tap water. this is one of the things you don't want to be cheap on and if you don't have the money for good water then you should wait till you have some (a lot) this is not a cheap hobby in the end it will cost you $25 to $55 a gallon to set it up right

 

[justinx]

1. Do NOT use tap water. You will kick yourself later if you do . . . I promise. RO is the best source, and it should not be too expensive. True, it will be more expensive than tap, but thats the way this hobby goes. And this is kind of a one time cost. You do have to top off, and RO water is best for that, as well as water changes, but filling the whole tank obviously is only once. Actually purchasing an RO filter will save you BIG BUCKS in the long run.
2. Add the sand after the water is placed into the tank and the salinity is adjusted. Do not fill the tank full of water though. Displacement will fill up and if the tank is full of water, you will have a wet floor.
3. The guide according to IO is 1/2 cup per gallon of water, but this is way off. I think that it is more like 2/3 cup per gallon. This step is really a guess and check kind of thing. But you will need at least twice as much as the 25 gallon box.
4. You can get away with 2 power heads, placed at opposite ends of the tank near the top, and aiming in opposition to one another. Personally, I would use more like 3, or even 4. The general rule is that there should be at least 10x turnover per hour, but most prefer more. 15x to 20x is a good range to shoot for.
Best of luck, and welcome aboard!

 

[rez101]

where can I get ro water is that like distill water

 

[dpdiver]

Walmart, Or possibly your LFS can provide you with some. I went on ---- and bought a RO/DI filter. for around $175.00 well worth the investment in the long run. Especailly when you have to perform waterchanges and top offs.
Email me and I'll send you the web site
bryantmi@msn.com

 

[marinefish]

Using tap water is a nightmare. that is one mistake i will never make again.

 

[cmonkey]

Buying the RO kit would be your best long term bet but it that is not an option
5 gallon jug=$12
RO =.25cents/gallon
well worth it, it just sucks making trips back and forth.

 

[irenicus]

I've used tap once and awhile. I don't recommend it, but sometimes you just have to use it. If you live in a place where water quality is a problem, by all means, do not use it. Also, i think if you have a reef tank, using tap is not an option. Fish only, you could get away with it if properly treated. Using tap will cause algae I believe, which is a pain to clean.

 

[sinner's girl]

when we set up our 55gl we went to walmart and bought 50gl of water. had we been smart, we would have only bought say 20 then brought them back to refill for 1/3 of the price. (refill is .33)
you don't need 55gl...you have to account for sand, lr, and other equitment.
no tap water. we use the water that's at the front of wal-mart.
how close is your local wal-mart? by all you need at once if you'd spend more on gas. otherwise just buy say 15-20 gallons then refill them

 

[finfin2003]

I know you have heard this from others who responded to you, but again, from experience DON'T USE the tap water!!! I am not tring to fix a problem with something called cyno bacteria... or red slime alge is the best way to describe and it might have been prevented had I used ro water!!
Good Luck

 

[zanemoseley]

can you use one of those brita water fiter attachments that goes onto the faucet or does that do a poor job of filtering contaminants

 

[javatech]

no do not use that just wait if you have to and save up to buy a RO/DI unit $200 + or - $30
airwaterice.com

 

[aileena]

If I were you get your sand and put it in the tank...then place garbage bags on top of it...get your water from the local grovery store in gallon jugs...I made 3 trips to the store with 15 gallons of water each time...this gave me 45gallons which almost filled it to the top considering displacment from the sand....
the store water is RO water or distilled, either will work for you...the trips to the store are a bit embarassing, but just tell them you are thirsy
The bags on the sand will get the bed from stiring up and will work great!!!trust me on this one!!!

 

[austinreef]

How do you get the garbage bags out without stirring the sand?

 

[blue dew]

The garbage bags should float off the sand after enough water is in the tank. I'd keep them in there until you get the tank pretty close to full because they will keep the water from stiring up your sand into a cloudy mess. I took mine out a bit earlier and my tank took a few days to clear up.
Also, I definitly agree with the posts concerning not using Tap water. Besides the clorine and cloamine that is usually in there, a lot of tap water is full of phosphate and silicate, both of which will cause you algae problems down the road. I've been using distilled water from Walmart (58 cents/gallon), but now have a good source of RO from a LFS (30 cents/gallon). I live in an apartment right now so a RO/DI setup isn't feasible.
Have fun with this part, setting up a tank is one of the best parts, just take it slow.

 

[sinner's girl]

I've never heard of useing garbage bags...does this really help? is it needed?

 

[blue dew]

I don't really know if its needed, it was suggested to me when I bought my sand. I guess you could use a bowl and slowly pour the water into it so it wouldn't dig a hole in the sandbed. A couple shhets of plastic would actually work better (I think) since you wouldn't get any water trapped in the bag. My tank still was a little cloudy for a day or so, but using one of those sponge filters on my powerhead input screen helped clear it up fast.

 

[cb]

When we redid my friends tank we sat a 21/2 gallon bucket down on the sand and poured the water into the bucket when the tank was almost full we removed the bucket and finished adding the water. The tank cleared up in a couple of hrs.