Okay, may have found at least one of my problems.

ntvflgirl

ntvflgirl

Member
LFS guy, (yes, I know, he's a clown!!) told me that I wouldn't need a heater because it doesn't get cold enough here to worry about the tank water. WELL!!!! I checked my tank today, because I was worried about the salinity, and my temp was 74!! Will someone post the link to the salinity chart. I can't find it, and I know someone here gave it to me before. Should I buy a heater, and HOW MUCH ARE THEY!!!! This is getting crazy, but I love it. Mr. Salty assured me my specific gravity was fine. I believe him It's at 1.023 after a water change. Was at 1.024. My sailfin is a little stressed, but I had an ammonia spike for some unknown reason. All inhabitants accounted for. 20% water change, ammonia still at .25. Any suggestions, and am I in big trouble with the temp?
 
mr . salty

mr . salty

Active Member
74 is no problem..Hell,I wish I could keep mine at 74..
I now see by your signature that your tank is only about a month old...This alone could account for the lingering ammonia reading.Some new setups have this ammoproblem.My 130 did when I first set it up. Just be sure not to addany more fish till this ammo get's to ZERO..Any new additions will only prolong this process....Your bio system is still very young and unstable.Giving it time now to settle down will greatly increase your success in the future...
 
ntvflgirl

ntvflgirl

Member
you're kidding!! I thought it was supposed to be at 79-84...or at least that's what I've been reading. Although I don't have any corals...yet. Would you suggest a heater, or not that important at the moment?
 
fishfood

fishfood

Member
You are in florida but not where is stays warm all the time. It is finally cooling off down here and i had the doors open all day today but tonight i had to close them because it is cooling off. Down to the low 60's right now.. I know thats not cold for people up north, i'm from PA.. My point is the coldest night here last year that i can remember, In pensacola anyway was in the 20s. So it does get cold and if you don't keep the heat up in the house the tank may cool off. I'd have a heater just in case. They really aren't expensive and since you need to give the tank time before you get any fish you can spend your money on a heater. BTW my tank stays at 83/84. My lights push it up to that temp so i need two heaters in the tank to keep it there at night when the lights go out. I don't know if i need two but one in the sump and one in the tank seems to work well.
 
mr . salty

mr . salty

Active Member
Two low powered heaters is allways better than one big heater...Say you have a 300watt heater in a 55,and it malfunctions,,,Sticking in the on position..It will take a couple of hours to heat the tank and kill everything...If you had two 100 watt heaters in the same tank,and one of them stuck on,It would take much longer for the tank to reach deadly temps,allowing you time to catch the problem....
 
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