when do i add the salt?
- Thread starter velocity
- Start date
mysticgal22
Member
Go to the grocery store and buy some RO water!! Do not use your tap water, its not good for your tank! I use a 5 gallon bucket to mix the salt, mix the water and salt and measure it to see if you have enough salt in it. I use a power head to mix the water and salt, do this if you have a power head. I hope this helps you out. good luck
dugan
Member
Don't use your tap water! Get some RO water to start with. I get mine from LFS. There are no meds that will make your water 'safe'.
Mix it in a bucket with the salt and put a powerhead in to aerate overnight.
Tap water can have lots of nasties in it that you do NOT want in your tank. Some people will tell you it's fine... but unless you have tested your tap water I would not use it.
My tank was a mess until I switched to RO.
Katie
Mix it in a bucket with the salt and put a powerhead in to aerate overnight.
Tap water can have lots of nasties in it that you do NOT want in your tank. Some people will tell you it's fine... but unless you have tested your tap water I would not use it.
My tank was a mess until I switched to RO.
Katie
mysticgal22
Member
reverse osmosis water
dugan
Member
RO=Reverse Osmosis
Reverse Osmosis
Basically a method of filtration that gets all of the nasties out of the water. It does also remove some good stuff, like calcium, but you can add the Ca back in and not have to worry about things like phosphates and nitrates polluting your tank... at least not from your water source.
Katie
Reverse Osmosis
Basically a method of filtration that gets all of the nasties out of the water. It does also remove some good stuff, like calcium, but you can add the Ca back in and not have to worry about things like phosphates and nitrates polluting your tank... at least not from your water source.
Katie
dugan
Member
Filtered drinking water isn't much better than tap... what's OK for us to drink isn't necessarily OK for our fish to live in.
Your LFS should be able to hook you up with RO water for cheaper than it's going to cost you to buy spring water or whatever from the grocery store. It's only like 30-50 cents a gallon and well worth it IMO.
Edited to add: if you aren't keeping inverts you don't need to add Ca... although it will help with your coralline.
Katie
Your LFS should be able to hook you up with RO water for cheaper than it's going to cost you to buy spring water or whatever from the grocery store. It's only like 30-50 cents a gallon and well worth it IMO.
Edited to add: if you aren't keeping inverts you don't need to add Ca... although it will help with your coralline.
Katie
dreeves
Active Member
Your filtered water probably will not remove the ions from the water which, some are not good for the marine environment...
I see in your ID you have FW tanks as well...the marine environemnt with the extensive lighting and nutrients is a breeding ground for nuisance algaes...unlike your FW, one cannot just add a herbicide type of chemical to kill the algae off...prevention is a very important key to a successful marine tank...
An acceptable method is the RO...the preferred is the addition of the deionization resins after the RO...this removes usually 99% or there abouts of both the negative and positive charged ions...this is dependent upon the resins used...once the water is stripped of the elements, we can add the good things back into it. thus reducing the amount of nutrients available to the nuisance algaes (microalgaes)...
I see in your ID you have FW tanks as well...the marine environemnt with the extensive lighting and nutrients is a breeding ground for nuisance algaes...unlike your FW, one cannot just add a herbicide type of chemical to kill the algae off...prevention is a very important key to a successful marine tank...
An acceptable method is the RO...the preferred is the addition of the deionization resins after the RO...this removes usually 99% or there abouts of both the negative and positive charged ions...this is dependent upon the resins used...once the water is stripped of the elements, we can add the good things back into it. thus reducing the amount of nutrients available to the nuisance algaes (microalgaes)...
toddpolish
Member
RODI water is even better!
look into buying a RODI unit.
look into buying a RODI unit.
dragracer
Member
Ok so here is my thinker Q. I hear alot of people say "No tap water" My question is.....are all the people who say this hooked up to city or town water? I did a comparison test with some RO water and my well water. Either I have incredible well water or the RO water was not good stuff, because the tests were almost identical. Tiny difference in ammonia. But I treated the tap water and the ammonia is fine now. Anyway....no city tap water or no tap water period?
dugan
Member
Velocity... this is not freshwater fishkeeping with salt added!! It is NOT the same. If it were that easy to treat tap water and have it work in a SW tank, don't you think that's what we'd all be doing??? 
Tap water can contain lots and lots of stuff. Some you can test for, some you can't (unless you have a supersize test kit, and I'm assuming you don't). You cannot treat out some things that could be in your tapwater.
If you have copper pipes, you are introducing copper into your system. You may be introducing phosphates. Silicates. Nitrates. Who knows what other crud might be in your tapwater.
Oh, and a 72 gallon tank is not going to require 72 gallons of water. Assuming you are going to have a DSB and 70# LR, it's probably half that.
If you aren't willing to pay for the 35-ish gallons of water, be prepared to pay in other ways... fish life, algae headaches, etc. Personally I'd rather buy the water than watch my expensive fish and inverts kick the bucket.
Katie
Tap water can contain lots and lots of stuff. Some you can test for, some you can't (unless you have a supersize test kit, and I'm assuming you don't). You cannot treat out some things that could be in your tapwater.
If you have copper pipes, you are introducing copper into your system. You may be introducing phosphates. Silicates. Nitrates. Who knows what other crud might be in your tapwater.
Oh, and a 72 gallon tank is not going to require 72 gallons of water. Assuming you are going to have a DSB and 70# LR, it's probably half that.
If you aren't willing to pay for the 35-ish gallons of water, be prepared to pay in other ways... fish life, algae headaches, etc. Personally I'd rather buy the water than watch my expensive fish and inverts kick the bucket.
Katie
armageddon
Member
You really never know whats going to be in any city/town water or well water. You can take the gamble or you could just buy an RO unit or get RO water from a store.
Andrew
Andrew
mysticgal22
Member
LMAO ong you guys. Your telling me that you are willing to spend the time and money on swf BUT you wont spend 35 cents a gallon for the RIGHT water?? Come on now. I spend an average of 40-50 a month on my fish...thats including water. When I spend 50 dollers on A SINGLE fish Im not going to gamble with tap water. So if you CANT stand to put the effort into buying ro water... than you might as well hand me your money...lol instead of spending it on fish that wont do to well and a tank that will end up being unstable. But if you are willing to throw your money away go for it. I have over 5,000 dollers into my tank and Id rather make the trip to the grocery store than to lose everything. If this is what you want to do than go with freshwater fish... DO RESEARCH before you get into swf.... and dont add fish for a few months ... not untill your tank has cycled and aged. I wish you luck and use your head get RO water.