Water Change

[sic0198]

Say I have a SW aquarium and I take 20 gallons of water out of it (I imagine that when I do this salt is taken out too) so I put 20 gallons of new water in it, how do I put the salt back in and get the salinity back to where it was before?

 

[TigerIssey]

You need to premix the salt water in a container with a heater and a powerhead. You get the water to the same temperature as the tank as SG varies with temperature (some refractometers will compensate for this).

Most of us will mix water for about 24hrs before using it for a water change.

 

[sic0198]

I just don't understand. What I wanna know is when I take some water out (I imagine I remove salt as well) then I put new water back in how can I get the salinity right in the new mixture?

 

[chr15_8]

yes when you remove water for water changes you will remove salt aswell (because its mixed)

then you put new ro water into a mixing tub and add some new fresh salt from the marine salt tub. You then test the new water in the mixing tub and make sure its the saltinity as the water in the main tank using a refractometer (measures how much salt is in the water)

the water in the generly left in the mixing bucket with a powerhead to mix the salt/water. A heater is also left in to bring the water upto tempreture. most people leave the mix's overnight.

Dont add to much salt at once to the mixing bucket as you wont get a true reading untill its all mixed.

 

[Trod]

The SG in the tank doesn't change when you take water out of the main tank it will stay the same, for example if it is 1.026 before taking water out it will still be 1.026 once water is removed.
So to keep tank stable when you add more water, as already said, what you have to do is mix and heat the new water you are going to add in a separate container, firstly heat to temp. (same as tank) then add salt, gradually, untill its SG is the same as the main tank, leave (with powerhead running, to add air) for around 24 hours re check the SG (if SG is to low add more salt if it is to high add more RO water) then if all is well, you can go ahead with your water change. Make sure you turn everything off in main tank before you start.

Hope this makes sense and is of help

 

[sic0198]

I understand.

Say I buy a clownfish, how would I acclimate to my tank?

 

[xxBarneyxx]

The most common way is to float it for 20 minutes (like you do with FW) to get the temp right then to "drip acclimitise" it for 2-3 hours. To do this you normally have the fish in a container below the tank then use a bit of airline with a valve on to slowly drip water from the tank into the container for a few hours (normally at a couple of drips per second).

For fish I also know of people that dont do this, they just acclimitise them the same as FW, float the bag, add water from the tank to the bag over the course of 30-45 minutes then release. I must admit I have done this with marine fish before and it worked ok (the fish looked more stressed in the bag than normal so I thought it better to get it into the tank ASAP).

For corals and other inverts though I would definetly say a slow drip acclimitisation is the best option.

 

[TigerIssey]

I do the drip acclimatisation as Barney has described, corals and sensitive inverts (snails especially) for 1.5 - 2 hrs. Fish I do the same way for about an hour.

The exception to this is if the fish seems very distressed, then it is often best to get them into the tank more quickly.

 

[sic0198]

So it'd be best to do it on a day that I was already gonna dom a water change.

Ok, so can you guys tell me how best to mix water + salt? Also can you tell me what a good skimmer to buy?

 

[chr15_8]

as said beofore best to mix the salt and water in a seperate mixing bucket/tank with a powerhead and heater until the SG and temp is the same (mix for around 24 hours beofore adding ot to the tank).

 

[TigerIssey]

Really when choosing a skimmer your budget will be your biggest constraint. If you tell us how much you are looking to spend on that piece of equipment, we can give you an idea of the best to go for in that price category. It will also depend whether you want new or second hand, there are many second hand bargains to be had at the moment.

 

[sic0198]

Really when choosing a skimmer your budget will be your biggest constraint. If you tell us how much you are looking to spend on that piece of equipment, we can give you an idea of the best to go for in that price category. It will also depend whether you want new or second hand, there are many second hand bargains to be had at the moment.

This is all a first for me so I wanna go as inexpensive as possible but I still wanna get some good equipment and I want it to be new.

Also I want a FOWLR setup, no corals yet (maybe later).

-sand
-salt
-water
-tank
-heater
-2 powerheads (one to mix the water and one for the tank)
-hydrometer or a refractometer (what does a refractometer do?)
-fish
-thermometer
-filter


That's what I need right? Anything else?

 

[Trod]

Also I want a FOWLR setup, no corals yet (maybe later).

-sand Get Aragonite sand don't waste money on Live sand
-salt Any good Brand will do, if possible buy a 25kg tub it will work out cheaper in the long run
-water You can start out with treated tap water for a FOWLR set up, but for water changes Id use RO (reverse osmosis) water
-tank What size are you looking at. Bearing in mind bigger is better
-heater Look at the rena smart heater, they are very good, size will depend on the size of your tank You will also need a spare heater for water changes
-2 powerheads (one to mix the water and one for the tank) Lots on the market, again depends on tank size as to which one you get, look at koralia or tunze
-hydrometer or a refractometer (what does a refractometer do?) I'd Recommend a refractormeter, forget the hyrometer. The refractometer measures the SG of the water
-fish Depends again on size of tank, you've mentioned Clowns any thing else
-thermometer Simple stick on one will be fine
-filter Your Live rock will be your filter
You will need some test kits too. start with Ammonia, NitrIte, NitrAte and PH. Most of us on here use Salifert


That's what I need right? Anything else?

Hope thats of help to you. Tell us what size tank you are looking to buy and we can help you more

 

[sic0198]

Also I want a FOWLR setup, no corals yet (maybe later).

-sand Get Aragonite sand don't waste money on Live sand
-salt Any good Brand will do, if possible buy a 25kg tub it will work out cheaper in the long run
-water You can start out with treated tap water for a FOWLR set up, but for water changes Id use RO (reverse osmosis) water
-tank What size are you looking at. Bearing in mind bigger is better
-heater Look at the rena smart heater, they are very good, size will depend on the size of your tank You will also need a spare heater for water changes
-2 powerheads (one to mix the water and one for the tank) Lots on the market, again depends on tank size as to which one you get, look at koralia or tunze
-hydrometer or a refractometer (what does a refractometer do?) I'd Recommend a refractormeter, forget the hyrometer. The refractometer measures the SG of the water
-fish Depends again on size of tank, you've mentioned Clowns any thing else
-thermometer Simple stick on one will be fine
-filter Your Live rock will be your filter
You will need some test kits too. start with Ammonia, NitrIte, NitrAte and PH. Most of us on here use Salifert


That's what I need right? Anything else?

Hope thats of help to you. Tell us what size tank you are looking to buy and we can help you more

I appreciate that, it was a big help.

I'm looking at maybe a 38 gallon. I don't know much about SW fish, but I am willing to learn. I really like clowns. But I want it to be pretty active looking. I want fish and inverts. Snails, shrimp maybe hermit crabs. Cleaners, gobys-anything active and colorful and hardy. I live in a place in the winter the electric goes off sometimes for 3 or so days and it can get pretty cold so I want things that can survive that.

 

[garry_boyd3]

HI & Welcome, First thing I suggest is read seffieuk/ trod journal on there experiences. Its a couple of hours of good fun but also good information. The two books I got to start with was "saltwater for dummies" & "The new Marine aquarium" (very good). The main thing is to ask questions on here. I have been running my tank for just over a month now & ths forum has helpalot. No questions is too silly/ daft.

Note that below they say bigger is better, that is correct, however they should say once you start a nano, yo will want to upgrade asap, which I want to now

All the best.