The Mother of all Newbie questions...(water changes)
- Thread starter LtSmash
- Start date
lfs42: i thought about that before i started getting it from him and he is the only one around me that sells water mixed or just filtered fresh water. he filters all his local water with very big poly-bio-marine filters in to a 500gal vat then only uses crystal-sea mix that he has a deal with that he orders 16,000# at a time to get a deal on it. I under stand crystal-sea is not the best mix but it has been working for me for over a year now with no problems that i can find.
starrs2001
starrs2001
Interesting reading! i'm not going to disagree on the temp thing, although to me personally i believe in keeping things stable! surely that cant be a bad thing, also remember cold wales is that at the moment. The posts that buy ready mixed at there LFS.......WHY.....would'nt you get more satisfaction at doing it yourself :?: Believe me i cant see lfs using the best salt.......can you :roll:
Once a week I change a gallon in my 35 or so gallon tank. I don't check salinity, temp, or anything. I tested them once to match the tank conditions and I just use the same amount of salt. No premixing, I just shake it up in a gallon jar by hand and dump it in 5 minutes later. I don't think such a small amount matters much. If I have to do a large water change, say 10 gallons or so, I match salinity with a refractometer. I've found newly mixed SW to have a pH higher than that in my tank. I hate to admit it, but I change 50 gallons in a 275 FO by pouring in water and salt at the same time and letting the flow from the hose mix the two :roll: :roll: . The fish don't seem to mind too much.
omigosh! i would never mix the water and salt in the tank itself. :?
i'm sure this is only redundant, but i'll share my procedure anyway. i have a 20 gallon rubbermaid trash can with lid that i use to mix my water. i add the salt first and then the water which i collect in 5 gallon water bottles from an ro/di source. i agitate the water by hand to get most of the salt to dissolve and add a small powerhead. i also add a heater because i believe in matching the tank's water as closely as i can. then i throw the lid on top (mainly to keep my 3 year old from throwing things in it). i let it mix for about 24 hours or so - unless i get lazy and in which case, it might mix for days.
i usually do a 5 gallon change for my 40 gallon tank. so when i'm ready to take out the old water, i just use a powerhead and hose and let it drain into the 5 gallon water bottle so i know how much to take out. then i use the powerhead and hose to pump the new water from the trash can top the tank. the actual process of changing the water takes me about 10 minutes from start to cleanup.
fwiw :wink:
i'm sure this is only redundant, but i'll share my procedure anyway. i have a 20 gallon rubbermaid trash can with lid that i use to mix my water. i add the salt first and then the water which i collect in 5 gallon water bottles from an ro/di source. i agitate the water by hand to get most of the salt to dissolve and add a small powerhead. i also add a heater because i believe in matching the tank's water as closely as i can. then i throw the lid on top (mainly to keep my 3 year old from throwing things in it). i let it mix for about 24 hours or so - unless i get lazy and in which case, it might mix for days.
i usually do a 5 gallon change for my 40 gallon tank. so when i'm ready to take out the old water, i just use a powerhead and hose and let it drain into the 5 gallon water bottle so i know how much to take out. then i use the powerhead and hose to pump the new water from the trash can top the tank. the actual process of changing the water takes me about 10 minutes from start to cleanup.
fwiw :wink:
When mixing salt you should not have anytime when the salt is super saturated because when this happen, some of the solutes, namely Ca++ and CO3-- will precipitate and will not re-dissolves again.coralshrimp":1a16nm2n said:
Because of this reason, you should add the salt into the water, not the other way around. Also, you should stir the water quickly because if you don't the same thing will happen. This is the main reason why some people report very low Ca and CO3 in newly mixed salt water using various brands of salt. In variably these people use a power head in a container and leave it for day or two instead of vigorously mix the water as they put salt into the mix container.
MInh Nguyen
I posted a reply but i do not think is posted any way. Lfs42 the water that i buy from my lfs is the same every time he only uses crystal-sea mix he buys and only stocks that brand. he gets 16,000 lbs at a time to get a good price on it. his water is filtered by very large poly-bio-marine filters system. I can buy pre-mix or by the pale but the price is the same . he mixes 500 gal. at a time. I know that crystal sea is not the best salt but it has been working for me for over a year now.
thanks: starrs2001
thanks: starrs2001
I agree, it sounds very wrong (kids don't try it), but I've had a Majestic Angel in there for over 14 months now and it doesn't seem to mind. It's not like I dump in the whole bag, then fill with water. I trickle in both. I should probably spring for a 50 gallon bucket, but there's really nowhere to store it at my bar.
Nothing wrong with mixing it up with different salt mixes.
Heck, they probably come out of the same factory in differnet bags :wink:
Just, some people are touchy that way.
i had a guy that would buy the pre-mix water becuase it was at 1.023 and he said his tank was at 1.022.
Guess he didn't know that he could add water :lol:
Jason,
I think we need to make a training video of what not to do when mixing salt for Wombat :wink:
Heck, they probably come out of the same factory in differnet bags :wink:
Just, some people are touchy that way.
i had a guy that would buy the pre-mix water becuase it was at 1.023 and he said his tank was at 1.022.
Guess he didn't know that he could add water :lol:
Jason,
I think we need to make a training video of what not to do when mixing salt for Wombat :wink:
Wombat thats definatly not good practise! 8O you want to be glad there's not a salt mix police :? I know you say you'v been doing it for a while but how can the majestic tell you differant :?: he cant exactlly give you thumbs up, or down in this case. that really is a no no,which an experianced reef keeper should know better 
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