Water Change

[Puddin]

i was wondering whether you can mix the salt when i do a water change in the tank with live rock in there, i have just setup the tank but i think that i have received uncured live rock as the water smells a bit.

thanks

 

[dilbert]

Normally, you don't mix the salt within the tank to not irritate the gills of the fish by not fully dissolved particles of salt.
If you think that this won't be case for the now presumably hidden or very small live rock dwellers, then I don't see a problem.

It depends also what sea salt you are using. I got at first a box of Ultramarine Synthetica that stood maybe a decade in the shelf as the cardbox looked like, that did not only dissolve very uneasy, it also raised the ph to over 9 and fell then back to 8.0 (it was brackish water).

I then used a no name product from an LFS that he said he'd be using it for all his marine tanks and that dissolves almost on its own and the ph doesn't get raised either.

 

[Adrinal]

That will likely make the live rock dead rock. The time you save on mixing sepperatly will be added to how long you need to cure the rock. You can mix the salt in the day before the rock gets there in that tank, however.

 

[1entra]

I wouldnt recommend doing a water change inside the tank as it may stress/cause harm to any hitchhikers in the LR.

Instead pre-mix the salt and water in a bucket or container, get it to the same temperature as the tank before adding it. Also try to use a powerhead or pump to diturb the water surface and cause watr movement, this will help oxygenate the salwater!

 

[Fatty]

Also do as many water changes as you can, as the amount of life you will save on the live rock is amazing, just from not letting the ammonia spike to high.

 

[Musho3210]

Normally, you don't mix the salt within the tank to not irritate the gills of the fish by not fully dissolved particles of salt.
If you think that this won't be case for the now presumably hidden or very small live rock dwellers, then I don't see a problem.

It depends also what sea salt you are using. I got at first a box of Ultramarine Synthetica that stood maybe a decade in the shelf as the cardbox looked like, that did not only dissolve very uneasy, it also raised the ph to over 9 and fell then back to 8.0 (it was brackish water).

I then used a no name product from an LFS that he said he'd be using it for all his marine tanks and that dissolves almost on its own and the ph doesn't get raised either.

No offence, but i would definately not say that ever again, since its wrong. Its the SG and parameter swings that are the biggest problems with mixing water in an established tank, the undissolved salt is a problem, true, but not the biggest problem.

 

[Lynden]

Newly mixed saltwater is corrosive, since the dissolved gases are not yet in equilibrium (right?), and that presents the biggest problem. SG swings aren't as big a deal as one would think (tide pools, reefs can swing drastically), but undissolved salt crystals can osmotically "burn" soft bodied creatures such as corals, nems and snails.

 

[Musho3210]

yes tide-pools swing crazily, but in the open reef, i dunno, i dont see how they would swing much..... And not everything we have comes from tide-pools.

 

[Puddin]

i just wanted to add that this tank has only just been setup so there is nothing in there apart from rock

 

[Lynden]

yes tide-pools swing crazily, but in the open reef, i dunno, i dont see how they would swing much..... And not everything we have comes from tide-pools.

Run-off and rain can cause some reefs to swing by as much as 1.027 and 1.013 daily. They are not anywhere near as stable as we would think, but fore reefs tend to be more stable than inner reefs.

Having examined many tropical tide pools first hand I can say that a large amount of normal aquarium inhabitants are found there, such as blennies, damselfish, gobies, dragonettes, shrimp, snails, crabs, hermit crabs, and even some anemones, plus the juveniles of many fish species.

 

[Musho3210]

i seriously doubt the swing can be that big in an open reef due to the immense currents that continually mixes it. Your gonna need A LOT of freshwater to make a swing of over 0.010 SG just from a shower...... Got any articles?

Not stable as we think, yes thats probably true, but a SG swing that high, just hearing it from a forum probably wont convince me.

 

[jeasko]

Have to say i would agree with lyden but also musho you have a very valid point, there are other reasons for swings in sg one such would be thermoclines, also more shelterd reefs that dont have to contend with currents can be affected, saying that I wouldnt know to what extent the actual sg changes, again some smaller reef fish such as humbug damsels are very tollerant to changes as often they can get caught in pools which are very open to evapouration and as we all know this ups the sg drastically especially in the hotter areas where the time difference between high and low tide are a substantial time appart.

 

[Lynden]

i seriously doubt the swing can be that big in an open reef due to the immense currents that continually mixes it. Your gonna need A LOT of freshwater to make a swing of over 0.010 SG just from a shower...... Got any articles?

Not stable as we think, yes thats probably true, but a SG swing that high, just hearing it from a forum probably wont convince me.

I was pretty surprised when I first read it, but here it is. My apologies in advance; I screwed up the numbers a little. I guess that won't help my credibility much.

German reef tank pioneer Peter Wilkens once described a reef flat in Sumatra with a heavy growth of Sarcophyton. Water temperatures varied between 24 and 40C during the day, with specific gravity fluctuating between 1.0235 and 1.0165, according to rainfall levels. To survive under such conditions, invertebrates need to be tough.

 

[Tommy Gun]

Water temperatures varied between 24 and 40C during the day, with specific gravity fluctuating between 1.0235 and 1.0165, according to rainfall levels

Shoot! I knew there was a reason to bring my reef tank inside! All this time it has been the rainfall that is messing up my water chemistry

 

[Lynden]

Water temperatures varied between 24 and 40C during the day, with specific gravity fluctuating between 1.0235 and 1.0165, according to rainfall levels

Shoot! I knew there was a reason to bring my reef tank inside! All this time it has been the rainfall that is messing up my water chemistry

Not quite sure what the point of that was; probably not a far cry from once again trying to make yourself look big.