salinity question

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buzzbombtom

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Oct 11, 2007
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hello all i have a quick question or two for everyone. i am in the process of changing my 46 gallon tank over to salt. yesterday i got rid of all my fresh plant and fish and cleaned the tank.... i added my sand and my water tap water per the advice of my LFS and added reef salt it was a bag that was to make 50 gallons of water. i have not added all the salt by the way. my salinity is not right yet. and my tank is still a bit cloudy. here is the tec. stuff
46 gallon
my meter is reading 1.022 specific gravity and about 30 on the ppt salinity side.
i am using a aquaclear power head as well as a hydor powerhead. i have a reef ready cpr bak pak that is also not skimming any protine yet.

a second question i have is how low into the water should my skimmer be? and how do i fill the skimmer up with more water as it is only barly to the top of the dump tube.


thanks a lot
thomas:help:
 
Wish I could help but one thing I am suprised is that your LFS would tell ya to use tap water as I have learned not to use tap. You should use RO or distilled water. your salt level is okay to me i have learned that between 1.021 and 1.025 is good. someone correct me if I'm wrong.
 
should of stayed away from tap water, your LFS gave you bad info there, you need to start with RO
 
Additionally, it would do wonders to go ahead and invest in a refractometer and a good calibration solution. That reading you got may not be right at all.
 
i am using an instant ocean brand hydrometer is that not a good tool? my lfs told me to use the tap to get the tank started then we will do ro/store bought salt water from them, i get a really good deal so i dont worry too much about getting saltwater every week.
aslo my skimmer seems to be blowing a lot of bubbles back into the tank any idea how to lessen that?
 
I wish LFS wouldn't say that. The problem with doing that is that the damage is often already done. The rock is immediately able to absorb any phosphate, etc. from the tap water, making it a **** to get it out, which means algae problems in the meantime. Unfortunately, I think many employees are ignorant of this. The instant ocean hydrometers are often close to the value, but can still be "off" dramatically. there are too many factors that affect the readings on those types of hydrometers.

The skimmer will take time. Because the tank is new, it is not unexpected. Just let it break in.
 
well here is something else to concider that i suppose would be good info. there is nothing in the tank right now but sand. i opted not to put rock in quite yet. i dont know the reason he wanted me to put the tap in but he is a good friend and reefing has been in his family for years now. his mom and dad own the shop so i suppose that there was a reason for this. i will ask him tomorrow when i go to see him.

i have also read that it is recomended to scrub my bak pak as it is often times that oils from the plastic are on the skimmer. is this true?

any suggestions on how to get my skimmer to fill up more and make less bubbles?
 
If the backpak isnew, they do have a film covering the plastic from manufacturer which will inhibit skimming. If you strip the skimmer down and wash it all very well in warm soapy water, then rinse very well in cold running water, that will do away with the film. Hope fully you may get it skimmer better. However, as noted above, there is not going to be much at all in the tank to skim.

When do you plan on adding the live rock to the tank?

Welcome to Aquaria Central

Niko
 
thanks niko i have been lurking for some time though ;) but i dont know i am going off his recomendation so as soon as he says my tank is "relitively ok" i will add it. i am kinda going as the money comes in. so i may run just LR and the skimmer for a few weeks or so. i do not know when the fish will start coming in. any advice? i was told that the 2# per gallon was kinda bogus any thoughts on that? i know that you niko feel strongly about the 2# per gallon as i have read it a few times in post's of yours.

niko dont you run a bak pak? you cleaned it the way you said and it started to work right? how high did you start your skimmer cone at was it in the water or was it out of the water?
 
Hey mate,

In all reality, your tank is ready to add live rock once temp and SG are correct.

What sort of tank is this going to be? A Fish Only (FO), Fish Only With Live Rock (FOWLR) or a reef?

Its been shown that about 1 - 1.5lbs of live rock per gallon will provide a reef with adequate filtration so as to there be no need for extra filtratration via cannisters etc, and its the general rule of thumb for a reef. I dont believe it to be bogus as i ran my last two tank on that ammount of live rock and never had any need for added filtration, again with the little nano i am setting up, no filter, just live rock.

What needs to be thought about is the cycling of the tank. This is the process of getting a level of bacteria promoted in the tank that can deal with waste products, i.e the ammonia caused by fish excrement, rotting food etc. Its always best to get the rock in from the start, provide an ammonia source by a raw shrimp/prawn or pure ammonia and this will start the Nitrogen cycle off.

I wont be running a skimmer on my current tank, and my previous tank was only lighly skimmed too. Personaly, i have not had a backpack, but, i know others here have and let them pass on their own personal experience on using them. As for the cleaning, i always recomend this for any make/model of skimmer.

A couple of links here if would like further reading on the nitrogen cycle and cycling methods.

Hope this helps.

Niko
 
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