New Tank

[Anguilla82]

RO water is essential otherwise u'll add a load of nasties like phosphates and you'll be overrun with algae all the time.

as for the salt mixing, yes your method is correct but as long as the salt is well dissolved there is no need to leave it overnight.

aim for an sg of 1.024-1.026 if you're gonna keep corals.

 

[danb_1985]

This thread is providing some great info so far, thanks all

Time for another question now. The lfs I got the tank and will be getting the live rock and fish/corals etc also sells saltwater quite cheaply and I was thinking of getting some to start off with, how long does it keep when stored?

I'd like to be able to mix my own saltwater as soon as possible really and would like to know if RO water is vital for saltwater or is normal de-chlorinated water ok? I take it the process is simple really, mix water and aquarium salt to until you get the specific gravity you want (1.021 - 1.024.) then leave it overnight before doing the water change?

dont know long it keeps but if ages it will go stagnent so ik would only get water when your ready to put it in.

 

[TigerIssey]

Make sure you use Marine Salt and not Aquarium salt.

 

[Wordy]

Ahh ok thanks for that, marine salt it is

Regarding the possible algae problems, I'd only be adding about 10 litres every week, would that amount of tap/saltwater mix cause algae problems?

 

[xxBarneyxx]

It depends on your tap water but yes possibly. In a marine tank (especially with corals, not so important in a fish only system) you need phosphate, nitrate, ammonia and nitrite to be zero (phosphate and nitrate may never hit zero but need to be as close to it is possible). Adding any of these to the tank will not be good.

Also if you have inverts (shrimp, corals, crabs, etc) then there is the possibility that you will add copper in with your tap water which would kill them.

 

[Wordy]

So if using tapwater is out then what would store longer, RO water or saltwater? and how long(Depending on conditions of course). 1 week, 2?

Also are there any RO units you can buy that don't need plumbing into your water supply?

 

[ben1987]

RO water will store for a while if in an air tight container in the dark, Salt water would probably store longer.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

I would have said RO water would store for longer as it is "cleaner" so less for bacteria and stuff to be able to eat (just a guess though).

All RO units will need to be plumbed in to some degree, however you can get a Y connector which goes on the cold water line of your washing machine, basically all you do to install it is unscrew the cold water supply to your washing machine, connect the Y adaptor and then connect your washing machine to one part and the RO unit to the other (no need to make holes in pipes and takes about 30 seconds).

 

[TigerIssey]

Not quite Barney. Concentrations of salt found in seawater are inhibitory to a wide range of bacteria. Apart of course from those bacterias that will colonise marine fish and corals. Salt water do not forget is used as an antiseptic mouthwash for many bacterial related oral problems.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

That is a very good point! hadn't thought about that.

 

[Wordy]

Some great responses so far guys, thanks alot

On to my next question now....Live rock. The place where I got the tank from not suprisingly sells the stuff, they've got what looks like a 12'x9'x'3 plastic pond in the shop with what must be a couple of tons of the stuff.

The guy who sold us the tank was pretty eager to show it off, and was talking at length as to how good it was. It was basically a huge marine tank, there must've been a few dozen fish swimming around in the tank. they'd got it setup like that to keep the filtration ticking over, and to show that it was cured and able to provide filtration.

The price though was £10 per 1KG. Is that a good price for cured live rock? is would I be better going somewhere else? Bearing in mind the quality of the stuff seemed very good.

Thanks

 

[VictorMeldrew]

£10 is the not a bad price for LR, i have seen it priced a few pounds dearer in some places, you can normally get an idea on how well its cured by smelling it, if its smells nice and abit like the sea then its pretty good but if it smell like rotten eggs then it proberly only semi cured at best. I payed £10 for my LR as i could not find it any cheaper locally, although I did see some recently in the local newspaper ad for £5 per kg from a large mature tank that was being broken down, it was in one night and they sold the lot, so you have to move fast. Do not be tempted to ever use water from the tap, i did my first fill with tapwater and suffered huge algae problems for months after.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Yeah £10/KG for decent LR is about right (its a bit more expensive down here).

The only way to really get it any cheaper is to look on aquatic classified sites and forums for people breaking down their tanks. Then you can normally get it for around £5/KG

 

[Wordy]

Alright chaps & chapettes, time for my next question:

I'd gone back to the LFS where I bough my tank to exchange the stand(they'd given me the wrong one by mistake). I was asking about protein skimmers and was told that Seachem Purigen would do just as good - if not better job than a protein skimmer. Is this true?

 

[rabbut]

Yes and No... Purigen does a better job at removing a broader range of organics and other toxins, but removes them slower than a skimmer. While skimmers remove almost all that they can remove that passes through them, first pass, you must remember that they cannot remove all types of pollutants, only the ones with a charge on them, or that can be charged up via frictional contact in the reaction chamber...

Really. which you choose to run is down to your preference. Some would have you run both, I'd stick to a lone skimmer, and the LFS would rather you call back regularly to give them cash for Purigen... The choice is yours Of cause, in a smaller system where regular large water changes are practical, you may opt to run neither...

All the best
Rabbut