Salinity

[twocute2b4u]

All,

I am reaching out again for some advice. My previous boss sold me his 34 gallon Red Sea this past weekend. He kept the live sand and rock wet so that the bacteria would still be in the system. I went to the LFS to get water to fill the tank. The bonehead was discouraging me from buying their water, he was trying to sell me salt and an RO system. Due to finances I asked to go ahead and fill my jugs. My roommate and I are new to the hobby and she has not read nearly as much as I have about tanks. So I was browsing the store while she had the jugs filled. I came home and put the water in the tank. On Sunday I tested the salinity with my hydrometer and found that the gravity was extremely high, so high that it was off the dial. I took some water out and put fresh RO water in, unfortunately I took too much out. As you can see this was an up and down situation. I put some salt in last night and let it circulate all night and day, I came home tonight and measured the salinity again, it was low. I put some more salt in and now its too high again. I am very frustrated with the store and will probably not go back to them again. I dont have anymore fresh RO left - does anyone have any suggestions? Should I just wait until I get the fresh RO tomorrow? It is registering in at 1.026 tonight. Will this affect anything? I really wanted to get some fish this weekend, and they certainly will not be from this place.

Any and all help is always appreciated.
Denise

 

[twocute2b4u]

andregarcia_73;218519 wrote: What are you planning on keeping? Some would say it is high but i keep m9ine at 1.030 in my 55. Anyway I would be frustrated also but try buying salt from a sponsor here ( i personally would reccomend aquabuys). I would say your spec gravity is fine. But i dont keep corals so Im not sure on that end. Congrats on your purchase and WELCOME! This site is great and people are so nice. So dont be afraid to ask away! Best of Luck. Let us know if we could ever be of some assistance.

I see you live in L'ville, where do you go for all of your tank stuff? I am still trying to find a nice, reliable store. I've been to several and some are just average and the others completely stink.

I am planning on making this tank my show tank, I want SPS and fish.

I appreciate the welcome and really look forward to meeting more people and learning. As with everyone else I am sure, I get antsy and want to buy fish, however I refuse to kill a fish intentionally or put it in a tank with poor parms. I have had fresh water tanks for about 10 years and love them, I have 4 tanks total, 2 fresh and 2 salt. The two fresh are 29 and 49 gallons. The 49 gallon tank has Angels. I was fortunate to get 2 breeding pair. I have not been able to raise the fry, those little buggers are tough

Thanks again, its a pleasure to meet people that have common interests and ultimately the goal to keep a small portion of the ocean in their home responsibly.

Denise

 

[twocute2b4u]

dawgdude;218520 wrote: I would suggest slowing WAY down. No fish until your tank has been set up for atleast 3 weeks and ALL your params are perfect. If you are having trouble with your salinity then you do NOT need to add fish and risk killing them. Also you do realize that 1.026 is correct.....so dont touch it!

I assume that your using the swing arm style. Those are very inaccurate so I would look into a Refractometer. You have to make sure that there are not ANY bubbles on it or it will be off. Also, salt is easier to use when you measure out how much you need to raise it and dose accordingly. Most salt will say that 1/2 cup will raise one gallon of water to X salinity. I would try that and aside from that......be patient and add it real slowly.

Dawg, so even if the bacteria was left in the tank you would not recommend any fish for 3 or so weeks? I am trying to figure out how to use the test kit that came with the tank, would you recommend one that tests everything that does not require a PhD? As far as the hydrometer, I am using the deep six which does have the swing arm. I will check out a refractometer. I am happy that you mentioned bubbles because my power head was foaming because of the water level.

I think that I am going to invest in an RO and Refractometer and live rock this weekend. I want to make absolutely sure that this tank is set up well.

Again, thank you for all of your wisdom and knowledge.

Denise

 

[ralph atl]

Welcome!
OK, for now this is what u should do. Buy some Reef Crystals salt (or just plain IO) for now. Until you get an RO/DI until buy your water from PUBLIX in their RO machine. Every time that I've tested their water, tds has been 10 or less. you can also pm me with any questions anytime. BUY a refractometer, & I can calibrate for u. Wait a couple of weeks until you add anything please. In the meantime, get your knowledge level up and ask questions, read books, whatever.
Ralph

 

[purplegorilla]

The closest LFS (local fish stores) that I recommend you since you live in Snellville would be Aquabuys (only hardwares, no livestocks) and Keen's Reef (livestocks, water, etc..).

 

[ralph atl]

purpleGORILLA;218534 wrote: The closest LFS (local fish stores) that I recommend you since you live in Snellville would be Aquabuys (only hardwares, no livestocks) and Keen's Reef (livestocks, water, etc..).

2 good choices.

 

[ralph atl]

dawgdude;218537 wrote: Yes, your tank will still cycle. I would suggest picking up the API SW master test kit. You need to make sure your readings are this for 3 weeks consistently:

0 Ammonia
0 Nitrite
0-5 Nitrates
8.4 pH
1.026 for a reef
1.019 for Fish only, however just pick one and stick with it, so if you want a reef and only have fish, still put it to 1.026.

Although I agree with you, however, since she's planning on stonys in the future, 1.026 or 35 should be maintained. And I know that API is very cheap & OK in most testing, api kits are hard to decipher between shades of yellow & shades of orange. If you have some funds, spring for ELOS right out the gate. That would have saved me a boatload of $$$. Otherwise, get API.

 

[soarin']

I have never been to Aquabuys, but Keen Reef is excellent, and I would highly recommend them.

Also, those plastic swing-arm hydrometers are junk -- every time I used one, I would get wildly different readings on the same water sample.

 

[ralph atl]

that's a great deal! You can also check the filter guys, and bulkreefsupply.com

 

[nickskains]

Or Air, Water, Ice. I got a 75gpd 5 stage from them for 150 shipped and it works great. And they give 10% discount to ARC members.:yay: