questions bout marine salt ..

owl

owl

\m/ \m/
Jul 8, 2008
704
0
0
hi all . i slowly start to convert my 20g to saltwater ( maybe FO maybe FOWLR )
1-is it important to use only one brand of marine salt ? or i can use diffrent ones together ?
2-how can i check and control the density of mixed salt with water to know if i m doin it right (beside what on the salt s box says)? is there some kinda test for it ?
3-every day bout 2 liters of my 20g tank water vaporize ,should i add tab water only or add mixed salt/water to keep the level?
4-the LFS said they can bring me sea water , and said it s much better than any mixed water , are they right ? should i go for it ?( oh it s too expensive ! )
5-i was thinkin bout a 10g sump with an in-water skimmer in it and some areas for activated carbon ,rocks , ceramic rings , bio-balls and ... which media is better to use or i can use all together ?
6-the LFS said the out-water skimmers are better than the in-water ones , wich one should i go for ?
these are the most important Qs i have in mind till now ,any other suggestion and advice will be most welcome :)
:help: :help: :help:
 
1. For FO/FOWLR the salt doesn't really matter. Any name brand salt is fine, Instant Ocean, Red Sea, Ocean Pro, etc. If you run out of one and can only buy a different brand it is ok to mix a little.

2. Hydrometer is the cheapest method for testing and usually fine for FO tanks. A refractor is a more accurate method but cost around $50.

3. Top off with RO or RO/DI water only. If you have to go to a grocery store that has a water dispenser and use a 5G jug then do it. I did that method for many years before I finally got a RO/DI unit for my house. You can buy one for around $150. Do NOT use tap water under any circumstances. Too many "unknowns" in tap water and it usually leads to bad things in your tank, ie bad algae outbreaks.

4. Sea water is very expensive, it is much cheaper to mix your own. I don't know anyone that buys the boxed seawater. It is like $10 for 4 gallons if I remember correctly.

5. That would be great if you could do it, although it will be cramped trying to stick a skimmer in there with media and a return pump. I would do just a bag of Chemi-Pure and as much live rock rubble as you could fit along with some cheato macro algae. I would skip the ceramic and bio-balls. If you keep up on water changes you wont need those to control nitrates. Plus those fill up and when they do your nitrates start to spike in your tank, so you have to always test to know when they are full and need cleaning/replacing. More hassle than they are worth IMO.

6. It doesn't matter, in sump or external are personal preference. I went external (HOB-Hang On Back) with my skimmer because my sump is small and I needed all the room I could get. Biggest worry about HOB skimmers is if they leak or overflow the water is all over.. but I have never had had one leak. Stay away from Red Sea Prizm skimmer.. you will get many opinions on most other brands but it is pretty one sided when it comes to peoples opinions on that skimmer.
 
thnx a lot for answers ,
i m not english and answers no 3 and 5 dosn t clear it out for me that much :P can u explain them more :)
u said never to use tab water for vaporized water in the tank , if u mean i have to add mixed salt/water to it wouldn t it be too much salt ? can u explain it more ?
 
owl said:
3-every day bout 2 liters of my 20g tank water vaporize ,should i add tab water only or add mixed salt/water to keep the level?
Click to expand...

thnx a lot for answers ,
i m not english and answers no 3 and 5 dosn t clear it out for me that much :P can u explain them more :)
u said never to use tab water for vaporized water in the tank , if u mean i have to add mixed salt/water to it wouldn t it be too much salt ? can u explain it more ?
Click to expand...

Ace25 said:
3. Top off with RO or RO/DI water only. If you have to go to a grocery store that has a water dispenser and use a 5G jug then do it. I did that method for many years before I finally got a RO/DI unit for my house. You can buy one for around $150. Do NOT use tap water under any circumstances. Too many "unknowns" in tap water and it usually leads to bad things in your tank, ie bad algae outbreaks.
Click to expand...

To try and help elaborate on what Ace25 has already said..

3 - Just use plain water to top off the tank from evaporation, not saltwater. Adding saltwater will raise the SG / salinity of the tank water as a whole. WHen we refer to RO water, this is called "Reverse Osmosis" water...Its a very pure type of water. To get this, we can either purchase the "RO Water" from a local fish store, or we can buy an " RO Unit " which allows us to create our own water. Basically, an RO Unit is a big filter connected to our home water system, which water is forced through, and it has the impurities filtered out, leaving virtually pure water.

5 - A 10 gallon tank, i think, would be too small to house all the items you mentioned.
 
thnx , letsee if i get it right , i can use Distilled Water as well to top off , yeah ?
and is it better to use Distilled Water to mix with salt and fill the tank ? or i can go with tab water ?
 
owl said:
thnx , letsee if i get it right , i can use Distilled Water as well to top off , yeah ?
and is it better to use Distilled Water to mix with salt and fill the tank ? or i can go with tab water ?
Click to expand...


Using distilled is fine for the top offs.......Between tap and distilled, i would choose distilled to mix with your salt...
 
thnx a lot for replies :) i think i ll go for distilled instead of tap , see how much is it ...
 
it s may seems silly , but do i need the flow in my tank ? if yes can i make it with only a powerhead ?
 
thnx , i have a 470gph power head lyin around :) ,
another thing , is it safe (or good) to use Bactozym and NitrateMinus to control water changes and make th WC less ...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom