Moving 46 gal. Tank- Need Some Help

[Capnbob]

I'm buying a 46 gallon saltwater tank from a friend he's had it established for approx. 2 years and we'll be moving it across town (20 min drive) to my house later today.

I have a few questions that you expert marine fishkeepers could perhaps help me with

First off, I'm preparing about 25 gallons of new saltwater here using "Instant Ocean" salt mix. We plan on storing half of the current tank water and transporting it over to my place. The rest I'm making here. I'm trying to get the salinity correct- Will temperature make the salinity levels vary? Because right now I'm testing the water at room temperature.

Also, should I be adding any additional treatments to this new water?

How long should I wait after getting all of the water and equipment in the tank before adding the fish back in?

Lastly, he doesn't have a protein skimmer. Should I buy one? Most articles I've read suggest them, but he seems to be doing fine without one.

Any tips are appreciated!

-Bobby

 

[steelhealr]

Hey...will try to help here:

1) S.g. gravity will vary with temperature, HOWEVER, a few degrees difference is not going to make much of a difference

2) The new water doesn't need any treatments per se unless there are parameters that are way off. EG..if the salt water you are making is pH 8.2 and the tank pH 7.7, or, your tank s.g. is 1.025 and the water you made up is 1.022 . However, if you are going to add it to the tank and it has corals or livestock, like any fish/coral, you need to acclimate or add water extremely slowly. You don't want to add 50% new water in one dump.

3) The fish can go back in whenver you tank is reassembled, IF, there has been no reason for any dieoff to occur and a recycle start. Just make sure that you take your time to reacclimate to temp and water params. If there was no reason to have a recycle, you may just want to wait a day to let sand, etc, settle and make sure your pumps and heater are working well after reconnectin/reassembling.

4) With a 46 gallon, I personally would go with a protein skimmer. Look into AquaC and CPR Bakpak skimmers. They get good reviews. Good luck with the move. SH

 

[Capnbob]

Thanks for the tips. We just got everything moved and assembled. The water's looking pretty milky. I suppose that's to be expected.