Now What??

M

mm2meyer

Reefing newb
Ok, I leave to do some yard work at my parents house, I get back and my wife has the tank full of water. Saltwater, she mixed it up in small batches but never let it sit before filling the tank, also....she used water out of the shower and just put water conditioner in there. I was happy to see her help but now what??

please help I'm lost as to what to do about it.
 
Is there any livestock in the tank? If not, I'd say drain it and get some RO water from walmart, pet store, anywhere, and mix a new batch of salt with it. Make sure the salinity is within the correct range using a hydrometer. If you mix it directly in the tank, make sure you wait a good couple of weeks before adding ANY livestock. HTH
 
If she didn't let it sit before putting it in the tank, I bet it's not at the right salinity anyways. It usually takes a day or so for the salt to completely dissolve and the salinity to stabilize. You are better off just draining it and starting it with RODI water if that's a possibility. If you stick with the tap water, you are likely to have much worse algae problems than if you started the tank with RODI.

Maybe make the switch while she's at work or something so you don't hurt her feelings :)
 
ulgh allllll that salt. and no it's the first time this tank has seen salt water. Biff is that the only problem I will have is algae??? I just finished reading that algae scrubber and thinking about running that. Any other problems besides algae???
 
ohh forgot to add. From my freswater tank we used regular tap and never had an algae problem whatsoever. you guys think It will be the same?
 
Well,You've got to cycle the tank anyway before you can add any livestock.And salts expensive.
It'd just make sure the salinity was right,and get it started cycling.Just use RO water from here on out.
 
oh yeah RO all the way from here on out. ok here's the salinity reading as of 2..3...4...seconds ago 1.022 sg and and about 31ppt. no sand or rock yet. That'll happen hopefully tuesday
 
Man, take it from me, forget about the relatively small cost of salt wasted compared to the potentially year long algae battles. Your tap water is most likely loaded to the gills with phosphates and nitrates, the former beingthe toughesty to get rid of. Take it from my mistake, it will be cheaper in the long run to just empty the tank and start over with RO. You would have to make a whole lotta water changes with RO to get that tap water watered down.
Also, speaking from 3 yrs FW experience, major difference in algae situation from SW to FW. FW actually needs conditioned tap water for its mineral content. For SW, you want the purest water possible to start with, as your salt mix will contain the necessary minerals your tank will need.
 
yep i aggree tap water a big no no suggest you do more research before keeping marines obviously ou are your wife dont have a clue what your doing your gonna have big problems with algea that will cover the tank and the tap will be awfull for the fish slow down and do some research or you will be putting alot of money down the drain
 
Last edited:
ckckck said:
yep i aggree tap water a big no no suggest you do more research before keeping marines obviously ou are your wife dont have a clue what your doing your gonna have big problems with algea that will cover the tank and the tap will be awfull for the fish slow down and do some research or you will be putting alot of money down the drain
Click to expand...

ckckck...Obviously he has a clue or he wouldn't be concerned about the tap water! He knows what he needs to do, but was just hoping that we would all say it was okay! Wishful thinking, is what we call it here :mrgreen:.
 
ckckck said:
yep i aggree tap water a big no no suggest you do more research before keeping marines obviously ou are your wife dont have a clue what your doing your gonna have big problems with algea that will cover the tank and the tap will be awfull for the fish slow down and do some research or you will be putting alot of money down the drain
Click to expand...

Here's a suggestion for you: I've noticed in several of your posts that you tend to be quite rude to people. The above quote is just one example. Here are others:

ckckck said:
well in my opinion if you can only afford a 20/30 gallon tank you should not keep marine/reef AQUARIUMS
Click to expand...

ckckck said:
ur tank is a disaster mandarin fish need a well matured aquarium with plenty copepods ur tank is way to small your local fish shop must be an idiot a 20 gallon tank is to small start again mate and take things slowly ive noticed lately people set up marine tanks not realising the cost and time involved keeping a reef tank healthy is a full time job and very exspensive
Click to expand...

Since you only joined a couple days ago, I decided to let things go and see if you settled down. But you haven't. Tone down the nasty attitude. There is NO NEED WHATSOEVER to be so condescending! Unless you have somehow mastered the art of time travel, it's probably accurate for me to assume that at one point you were a beginner to this hobby as well. Everyone started somewhere and nobody started off as an expert.
 
Last edited:
you go BIFF!!!!!!!!!!! Glad you told him because you did at lot nicer than I would of. But one thing dealing with people has taught me is that sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut than say whats on your mind. Especially in my profession. With some of the people I deal with you almost have to be a saint to keep your mouth quiet...that or the thought of loosing your job and landing yourself a really BIG lawsuit. I have decided to drain my tank. and just about done with that. I found a screamin deal on craigslist I was able to pick up a life reef vs2 skimmer for 50 bucks as well as a refactometer for 25 and a mag 12 for 30. Refactometer works great, dude told me the mag drive was getting water into the housing wich I thought no big deal until I plugged it in and it pumped for about 10 seconds before completely dying on me(oh well), and although the skimmer looks like crud should work just fine in a sump. I blew into the venturi and had suction from the top so not worried there so much.
 
Ohh yeah just for gp's checked the sg of the water in my tank before I drained it with the refractometer, 35 ppt and 1.026 sg, a little high but ok for now.
 
well when the bottom of your tanks has a film of what I'm assumiong is dust (just water no rock or sand) and the water never quite got clear you tend to wonder...that and my wife said she wanted to drain it to clean it before we put anything in there.. YES R/O water ONLY!!! I think she felt bad for using tap water but I lover her just the same.
 
Bifferwine said:
Here's a suggestion for you: I've noticed in several of your posts that you tend to be quite rude to people. The above quote is just one example. Here are others:





Since you only joined a couple days ago, I decided to let things go and see if you settled down. But you haven't. Tone down the nasty attitude. There is NO NEED WHATSOEVER to be so condescending! Unless you have somehow mastered the art of time travel, it's probably accurate for me to assume that at one point you were a beginner to this hobby as well. Everyone started somewhere and nobody started off as an expert.
Click to expand...


i did not mean to be rude but i said he did not have a clue because he was using tap water any website or similar when say NEVER use tap water for a marine aquarium its just basic research in my opinion hes going 3 steps backwardxs and 1 step forward using tap water basic research would have told him. this sorry if i sounded rude it was not meant manythanks
 

Similar threads

Mike
Software Updated
Replies
0
Views
410
Mike
Mike
Mike
We're Back!
Replies
0
Views
695
Mike
Mike
J
PULLING-OUT MY HAIR!
Replies
0
Views
2K
Jeff P.
J
M
Novice needing advice!!
Replies
0
Views
1K
montgrl99
M
L
Blue tang lost colour and unwell
Replies
0
Views
2K
Leeleonaallen
L
Back
Top