Water Change

[Boro]

Now that my cycling is complete, will i need to do a water change? IF so how much and do i replace it with saltwater or normal de-chlorinated water?

Regards

 

[BigC]

Once you Ammonia and Nitrite levels are zero and your Nitrates are below 10 then go ahead and perform a good 50% waterchange with saltwater mix heated and to the same SG as your tank.

 

[Boro]

Now that my cycling is complete, will i need to do a water change? IF so how much and do i replace it with saltwater or normal de-chlorinated water?

Regards

Thanks for your time and reply

 

[Boro]

Now that my cycling is complete, will i need to do a water change? IF so how much and do i replace it with saltwater or normal de-chlorinated water?

Regards

Thanks for your time and reply

Just one more, if i am supposed to mix the solution 24-48 hours before adding to the tank how do i get the heat in it before i add it to the tank?

Regards

 

[BigC]

Just one more, if i am supposed to mix the solution 24-48 hours before adding to the tank how do i get the heat in it before i add it to the tank?

I change 12ltrs weekly and top up around 1 ltr evaporation (just RO water with additive) mid week.
I place around 13ltrs RO water in a bucket, then I weigh and mix in the salt to the correct SG (practice will tell you how much to use)
I place a spare heater and a spare powerhead in the bucket and leave for 12 hours.
Regards
BigC

 

[johnnyjtaylor]

I place a spare heater and a spare powerhead in the bucket and leave for 12 hours.

Most people allow at least 24 hours

 

[BigC]

Most people allow at least 24 hours

Well I havn't suffered any losses yet in over a year so with that in mind I would say 12 hours and one whole bucket of RED SEA CORAL PRO later and stats sitting pretty then 12 hours of mixing with a powerhead suffices for me. Why 24 hours anyway, seems a little extreme.
BigC

 

[johnnyjtaylor]

Apparantly freshly mixed saltwater is caustic(I have read several places), but I would say its more to make sure everything is dissolved properly and stabilised(ph,temp,proper aeration etc). There have been discussions about this on other forums(google will soon turn some up for you). Obviously its entirely up to you how long you mix your SW, if your happy carry on but I'll let mine mix for 24hrs.

 

[Boro]

Apparantly freshly mixed saltwater is caustic(I have read several places), but I would say its more to make sure everything is dissolved properly and stabilised(ph,temp,proper aeration etc). There have been discussions about this on other forums(google will soon turn some up for you). Obviously its entirely up to you how long you mix your SW, if your happy carry on but I'll let mine mix for 24hrs.

Is it essential that i use RO water?

At the moment i have been using de-chlorinated tap water,i my parameters are ok. Can i still use this till i get hold of an RO unit?

 

[Nalaundi]

using ro water is not essential... but you may find yourself running into all sorts of algae problems down the road... I would go ro water if you have the choice.

 

[SkiFletch]

Apparantly freshly mixed saltwater is caustic(I have read several places), but I would say its more to make sure everything is dissolved properly and stabilised(ph,temp,proper aeration etc). There have been discussions about this on other forums(google will soon turn some up for you). Obviously its entirely up to you how long you mix your SW, if your happy carry on but I'll let mine mix for 24hrs.

Freshly mixed saltwater is slightly caustic to organisms without skin (invertebrates/algae/corals) but not really to something with scales (fish). And even still with decent water movement during mixing, the "caustic" period of dissolving seawater mixes usually only lasts an hour or two. What lasts longer is what I like to think of as the ionic instability of the water. During the mixing process you can have a lot of areas of supersaturation of one or many ions in seawater (common problems are calcium, carbonate, and magnesium). This instability until the water is truly mixed can lead to precipitation reactions and wildly fluctuating pH. That pH instability and potential for precipitation reactions is the main reason to mix for a period of time. The faster you mix (read the stronger the powerhead you use) the faster you can add water though. I've used water prepared a mere 2 hours before. Then again it was in a 5g bucket with a 1500gph powerhead... 300 times turnover mixes the salt awful quick

 

[Nalaundi]

wow... I like that answer... that will make emergency mixing more convienient.. between my slow 24gpd ro unit and the 24hr mixing process that will cut my time in half... one day instead of a full two! lurking is fun :=)