fishheaded
Fish Crazy
Yay! I'm going to head out soon to get my clean up crew,
Will the diatoms be gone when I put those guys in there?
Will the diatoms be gone when I put those guys in there?


So I asked him how I should bring it down and he said what kind of water I used. I told him distilled in which I did, and he said to change out about 5 gallons (I have a 10g tank) and put RO water. So I just purchased premixed saltwater from them.Prepare the Algal Demolitions Forces![]()
Where's SkiFletch when ya need him?![]()
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1) Is my tank cycled? (Params are ok, except ph)
2) If not is it ok to change out the water since my ph is too high?
After you do a water change - ck your parameters again.3) How should I lower my ph levels?
Yes.4) Will my clean up crew eat the diatoms off my substrate?
. It gets to 2:59am and then bam, its back to 2:00am (bars dont close till 4:00 here). And I had to represent the giant whoopie cushion costume (with a self inflating one strapped to my chest under the costume for added humor
pH doesnt get that high unless your clac/alk/mg balance is off the charts which I've never seen in a new tank. Usually you dont get up to 8.8pH unless you're dosing calc/alk/mg. I'd actually be more inclined to believe the test is inaccurate since I've never seen a new tank with a pH over 8.2. Heck, most new setups clock in at 7.9 or 8.0. I'd test again and double check the reading. Water changes may or may not bring the pH down. If your salt mix is bad, it wont help. I'd bring a sample of both freshy mixed salt, and your tankwater back to your LFS and see what they come out at before going forward.
Well when I tested it, it read 1.032. So then I thought that he had just given me RO water and not the premade. Well I grab my salt and add 2 cups and mix it up. Then I added it to the tank. Then I checked it again with my hydrometer, but it still read 1.032!
So I go and dab my finger in the left over water I purchased from my LFS and put it in my mouth, and there is absolutely no way RO water can be that salty.
So basically he really did give me the premixed SW, and there is way more salt then there should be since I added more salt that wasn't needed, and I realized the dumb hydrometer broke and now my aquarium is all cloudy, water spilt all over the place, and I now need to get a new hydrometer.
I would get a refractormeter, but I honestly can't afford it at the moment.
. Whats your current sg in the tank? Be prepared to suck out some water and replace it with distilled. At this point, you need to worry about your sg, not whether you're using RO or distilled.Wow, they sold you pre-mixed with an sg of 1.032?!?!?!? Are you sure there were no bubbles on your hydrometer arm? Thats off the charts high . Whats your current sg in the tank? Be prepared to suck out some water and replace it with distilled. At this point, you need to worry about your sg, not whether you're using RO or distilled.

. Well I did take out about 3 gallons out of the tank and added nothing but distilled water, and finally brought it down to 1.025
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