sagent3000
Reefing newb
i have finally gotten my tank set up and running. the problem i am having is the water is cloudy. is that normal? i checked the ph and it is at 8.4. should i wait a couple of days beofre doing something about the cloudyness?
Finally
- Thread starter sagent3000
- Start date
simply put yes. test every other day and record your readings for amonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, hardness, calcium. your ph is excellent what specific gravity are you using? or salinity. congrates. oh and what temperature are you running at? IF YOU HAVE ADDED LIVE ROCK TAKE A TURKEY BASTER OR SMALL PUMP WITH TUBING ON END AND AFTER THE SYSTEM SETTLES DOWN BLOW OFF THE ROCK AND STIR THE SUBSTRAIT WITH WATER GENTLY TO GET THE FINE PARTICLES BACK INTO SUSPENSION SO THE PROTIEN SKIMMER AND OR FILTER CAN PICK IT UP. DO NOT ADD ANY ANIMALS AT THIS POINT.
Last edited:
sagent3000
Reefing newb
here are the test results from today
pH - 7.8
temp - 76.7F
Alkaliknity - 80
NO(2) - 0
NO(3) - 20
water is clearing up slightly
pH - 7.8
temp - 76.7F
Alkaliknity - 80
NO(2) - 0
NO(3) - 20
water is clearing up slightly
new tank setup water parameters
1. Temperature should be around 78
2. pH should be 8.2
3. Alkalinity should be at least 125 ppm or 2.5 meq/L
4. Salinity should be 35%
5. Nitrates NO3 are a bit high (do 10% or 20% water changes once a week
to lower this item below 5ppm. you can do water changes every three
days smaller amounts or weekly larger amount but no more than 25% at
one time. this is before adding animals.
It appears you are a little weak on the salt, so, check salinity, and increase to 35% and see if your other parameters do not imporve. also you did not indicate amonia and nitrite levels. good luck and keep us informed on your progress.
Remember to premix you salt in a container at the same temperature as the main system for at least 24 to 48 hours before adding to the main system to give the salt a chance to stablize. good aireation is also required during the mixing process. do not add too much salt to the water at one time or you may parcipitate out carbonate buffers and thereby lower the ph of the salt. so have water ready and pump running to mix and then slowly add salt to water and test for correct salinity. hope this helps.
1. Temperature should be around 78
2. pH should be 8.2
3. Alkalinity should be at least 125 ppm or 2.5 meq/L
4. Salinity should be 35%
5. Nitrates NO3 are a bit high (do 10% or 20% water changes once a week
to lower this item below 5ppm. you can do water changes every three
days smaller amounts or weekly larger amount but no more than 25% at
one time. this is before adding animals.
It appears you are a little weak on the salt, so, check salinity, and increase to 35% and see if your other parameters do not imporve. also you did not indicate amonia and nitrite levels. good luck and keep us informed on your progress.
Remember to premix you salt in a container at the same temperature as the main system for at least 24 to 48 hours before adding to the main system to give the salt a chance to stablize. good aireation is also required during the mixing process. do not add too much salt to the water at one time or you may parcipitate out carbonate buffers and thereby lower the ph of the salt. so have water ready and pump running to mix and then slowly add salt to water and test for correct salinity. hope this helps.
Last edited:
sagent3000
Reefing newb
does anybody know if these work as well as a RO/DI
http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...older_id=2534374302026306&bmUID=1130724791370
http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...older_id=2534374302026306&bmUID=1130724791370
I picked up the Typhoon III from Walter at airwaterice.com. It is a little more expensive at 199 but it is a five stage ro/di with everything you need. It includes a pressure guage, auto shut off valve and a tds meter which you have to buy seperately with the majority of the ebay units. Also it has a refillable 24 oz resin chamber which will help save money in replacement di containers. Another thing about a lot of the ebay units is they come with a 100 gpd membrane that has a 90% rejection rate and requires a higher psi to put out 100 gpd, versus the dow 75 gpd memberane with a 98-99% rejection rate. The better membrane helps cut down on resin use and ultimately cost.
sagent3000
Reefing newb
my tank is 75 gallons
1. how many stages does my RO/DI need to be?
2. with the GPD production does that mean i cut it on the night before i do the water change?
1. how many stages does my RO/DI need to be?
2. with the GPD production does that mean i cut it on the night before i do the water change?
You can use your ro/di to top off the tank, or you can use your ro/di to fill a container to mix your new salt in, or, both. the number of stages depends on what you want to do and the contamination you want to remove from the water. check out the articles section and I will try and post more on ro/di filtration and the basics. oh less i forget i will be running a 5 stage ro/di system and a three stage with a whole house filter ahead of all of that. i want the purest water i can get. so your system should be staged adequately to remove the different substances that are in your water that you do not want to put into the tank. (simply put.) check out the articles section in a couple days.
I don't know how many it needs to be but the 5 stage usually does the trick. Mine is set up so that stage one is a ten micron sediment filter, stage 2 is a 5 micron carbon block filter, stage 3 is a 1 micron carbon block filter, stage four is the membrane, followed by the di chamber. The graduated sized carbon filters helps keep the filters from clogging as well as removing as many impurities as possible before the membrane. The di chamber removes any impurities left in the water after it passes through the membrane leaving you ultimately with 0 tds(total dissolved solids.) The trick is to remove as many impurities from the water as possible before the di chamber, or the faster the di resin gets used up and the faster you have to replace it.
Hope that made sense. I'm sure jhnrb will have some great articles also.
Hope that made sense. I'm sure jhnrb will have some great articles also.
sagent3000
Reefing newb
my set up is going well my salinity is 1.023 with a temp that flucuates from 78-79 F. NO2 and NO3 is 0 and buffer is 250. my live rock will be here friday, i will let it run with just the rock for a week. what should my first inhabints be? i was thinking of the following
Hermit Crab
Blue Linckia Starfish
Queen Conch Snail
White Sand Starfish
if have left anything out of the cleanup crew let me know
Hermit Crab
Blue Linckia Starfish
Queen Conch Snail
White Sand Starfish
if have left anything out of the cleanup crew let me know
reasearch each animal you add and make sure you understand their needs. do not add any more clean up crew than the available food source can support. go slowly here as well. once your rock is in test and watch for the cycle. cleanup crew when you have a need for them would be your next step after the live rock and cycle is completed. good luck (initial list looked ok as long as you do your research on each animal.)
sagent3000
Reefing newb
next question cause i really want to get his right and not spend more money than need be. after i put the live rock in what should i be looking for or how long should i wait before adding the clean up crew?
bkv1997
Reef enthusiast
I guess that depends on if you are buying cured or non cured live rock.
The best answer I can give is to keep an eye on the Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate for atleast a week i would probably go two just to make sure you don't have alot of die off on the rocks.
The best answer I can give is to keep an eye on the Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate for atleast a week i would probably go two just to make sure you don't have alot of die off on the rocks.
sagent3000
Reefing newb
the rock is cured
bkv1997
Reef enthusiast
that will help alot, but you always have some die off still.
Just keep an eye on the parameters and wait for things to level out before going to the next step.
My :twocents: on the clean up crew:
1) Don't go with the starfish from the start.
2) I wouldn't (my personal opinion) use hermit crabs, had way to many pull snails from the shells, blue leg, red leg they will do it if they want a bigger shell.
3) What I would and do do is use a mixture of different type snails. Depending on the type they will eat different things. Some eat hair algea, some eat film algea and cynobacteria, some eat fish waste and extra food, some even will stir up the sand bed.
Again just my two cents others do differently and it works for them. If you want I can get more specific on different types of snails for you, but didn't want to go off on that long tangent if you weren't interested.
Good luck and remember whatever you do add them slowly... it is appealing to get the 20 at a time because they are cheaper in quantity, but you might then end up with 20 snails that dont have anything to eat and all die causing spikes in ammonia etc... slow is always better.
Brandon
Just keep an eye on the parameters and wait for things to level out before going to the next step.
My :twocents: on the clean up crew:
1) Don't go with the starfish from the start.
2) I wouldn't (my personal opinion) use hermit crabs, had way to many pull snails from the shells, blue leg, red leg they will do it if they want a bigger shell.
3) What I would and do do is use a mixture of different type snails. Depending on the type they will eat different things. Some eat hair algea, some eat film algea and cynobacteria, some eat fish waste and extra food, some even will stir up the sand bed.
Again just my two cents others do differently and it works for them. If you want I can get more specific on different types of snails for you, but didn't want to go off on that long tangent if you weren't interested.
Good luck and remember whatever you do add them slowly... it is appealing to get the 20 at a time because they are cheaper in quantity, but you might then end up with 20 snails that dont have anything to eat and all die causing spikes in ammonia etc... slow is always better.
Brandon
