Got My Tank Set Up... Need Some Help

[new_world_disorder]

well. my tank has just been set-up. used the salt to water amounts shown on the salt bag. 1.4lb per 5usg. and the sg is reading at : 1.030... i understand it should be around 1.020 ? how do i attain this ? will it settle down after a few days of cycling ?? also. can i have wood in a coral tank ? as i was given 2 lovley bits of wood. haha. and the other thing is salt top ups.. do i need to top the salt up regulalry ? or not ?

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[Baldpoodle]

well. my tank has just been set-up. used the salt to water amounts shown on the salt bag. 1.4lb per 5usg. and the sg is reading at : 1.030... i understand it should be around 1.020 ? how do i attain this ? will it settle down after a few days of cycling ?? also. can i have wood in a coral tank ? as i was given 2 lovley bits of wood. haha. and the other thing is salt top ups.. do i need to top the salt up regulalry ? or not ?

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What are your water readings showing at the moment?

 

[new_world_disorder]

ph is 8.2
amonia is 0
nitrites at 0

is this good or bad ?

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[Baldpoodle]

It sounds okay but you must take things very slowly.

Are you going to be using live rock to aid the filtration?

You can also buy drops which will mature your filters quicker.

 

[new_world_disorder]

i have cycle. and bio-mature.
started dosing that. going to carry on for a week. then add live rock ( fijian ) £12 per kilo at my LFS.

 

[AndyS]

To lower your SG remove some of the tank water, then add fresh water (RO or distilled) and check your salt after a few minutes, repeat until the SG is around 1.023 - 1.025. Stop dosing and add your live rock, that will take care of the cycle, dont add anything else until your ammonia and nitrite are 0, and your nitrates are low (around 10). I wouldnt add the wood, mainly for aesthetic reasons, i have no idea if it will effect a saltwater tank, though it may buffer the PH and seep into the water.

You do not need to top up with salt, you need to top up with pure water, as salt does not evapourate and it will rise when the water does.

Andy

 

[mark7616]

wood will start to rot in sw

 

[kkyyllee]

you can lower the specific gravity to the 1.021-1.026 range by taking out tank water and replacing it with fresh water until its at the right SG, you do not need to top off salt regularly but you do need to add freshwater regularly do to evaporation to keep the SG right, your reading are at zero because you have nothing in ur tank yet, you will need to add some ammonia to start the cycle, i wouldnt start adding the drops until you get ur live rock, will ur LR be cure or uncured?

ohh and no on the wood in a reef

i guess i typed to slow andy post before me lol

 

[AndyS]

i guess i typed to slow andy post before me lol

Great minds think alike

 

[kkyyllee]

 

[AK77]

Just out of interest, are you using a refractometer or a Hydrometer/gravity meter to measure salt density? The gravity meters tend on the whole to be pretty inaccurate. I was using one and it said my SG was 1.019 and the refractometer read it at 1.026. Using a refractometer is the much better option.

On a side note, just remember when you top up the tank, use RO water ONLY. The salt will still be in your tank, its only H2O that's evapourated off. Adding salt water to top up will increase the SG. Likewise, when you do a water change replace with saltwater NOT RO on its own, otherwise you'll lower SG.

 

[new_world_disorder]

using a hydrometer. the ass at my lfs said it was what i needid. grrr. bumber on the rock. spent abut £40 on it . haha. RO water ? this is different to distilled water how ? can i distill my own water ? boil a big ass pan of it and keep it in a container for topping up

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THANKS for everyones help :

 

[AK77]

using a hydrometer. the ass at my lfs said it was what i needid. grrr. bumber on the rock. spent abut £40 on it . haha. RO water ? this is different to distilled water how ? can i distill my own water ? boil a big ass pan of it and keep it in a container for topping up

and

THANKS for everyones help :

You can use hydrometers, although the quality of them varies greatly and they don't always (as in my example) give an accurate reading. I'd definitely recommend going with a refractometer, preferably one with an ATC (Automatic Temperature Compensation) feature. These will give you a much truer account of the specific gravity of the saltwater.

RO water is reverse osmosis water. Its water, normally just plain old tap water, that is passed through a series of filters and membranes to remove 95% or more of the impurities. Distilled water on the otherhand is simply water boiled and then re-condensing the steam into another container, which leaves most of the contaminants behind. Either way its pure water or as near to it as possible.

Boiling water on its own will only kill bacteria and effectively increase the concentration of dissolved salts and heavy metals in the tapwater as the H2O evapourates. You'd need to collect and re-condense the water vapour from the boiling pan.

AK

 

[new_world_disorder]

ok well thats a problem.. haha . where can i buy ro water or distilled water ? what about bottled water from a supermarkets ?? i have seen Ro units .. but cant afford one at all

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the tank at the mo :

 

[AK77]

ok well thats a problem.. haha . where can i buy ro water or distilled water ? what about bottled water from a supermarkets ?? i have seen Ro units .. but cant afford one at all

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the tank at the mo :

Your LFS should be able to supply you with RO/DI water. Mine is 15p a Litre. Bottled water from supermarkets isn't pure either. Although free from chlorine and fluoride and the other crap that's added to tapwater, it still has salts and minerals dissolved in it.