trouble with water mix

M

Meg

Reefing newb
Hi,

I'm very new to this. This is my second water change - or at least my attempt. I have a biube pure 9 gallon tank and it comes with instructions on how to mix my water.
1) add 2 gallons of lukewarm water (approx 74 F ) to a clean bucket
2) add 250 g of their reef salt - stir continuously until salt is dissolved
3) add the sachet of stress coat
etc..

Now, I got in trouble with step 3. I added the sachet of stress coat after it looked like the salt had dissolved but once I added it, it formed a bunch of insoluble particles. It will not dissolve and I'm not sure what I did wrong.

I need to change my water soon and I don't have more stress coat. I could go out and buy more and try again but I wanted to do it today and I was wondering what my other options were?

Could I use distilled water instead? and if I do, do I still need to use stress coat?
I was thinking of buying RO water if I can, how is this different from distilled water and do I need to add stress coat to that as well?

Also, if I use distilled water or RO water, do I need to wait 24 hrs like the instructions tell me to do when I use tap water with stress coat?

Let me know you're thoughts. BTW - I know you all are probably saying NO TAP water. Like I said, I was following directions. :)

Thanks. I could use your help.
 
stress coat is not needed. also tap water is bad for salt tanks unless you like alage and other problems that can come of it. just buy distalled water and a bag of salt from the lfs no need to buy their special salt. and yes you are supost to mix the salt and let it sit for at least a few hours salt can hurt the fish and corals if not dissolved all the way.
 
Thanks for the reply.

So no stress coat for distilled water. Any distilled water I get from the supermarket will due I suppose?

Thank you!
 
Yep, you can buy the water at the grocery store or Walmart, just make sure the label says it's prepared using reverse osmosis (which includes the distilled water).
 
The stress coat is supposed to neutralize the harmful chemicals in tap water, but depending how bad your City's water is it may or may not eliminate all those things. Everyone is correct, you don't need it if you use RODI water.
 
thank you all! I got my ro/distilled water and feel much better about it. I imagine this maintenance thing gets easier with time??!! :)

This will also be my first time changing the filter. Wish me luck!

btw - do you guys use gloves when you clean the tank or go barehanded?
 
Only pussies wear gloves!!!

Haha. Just kidding. But I don't wear gloves. Some people do, because some people are extra sensitive to the critters living in the rocks, or the salt water. Since you don't have corals, you don't have much to worry about. Corals will excrete toxins that bothers some people, but if you just have fish and rock you should be fine.
 
LOL

bare-handed it is!

just one more question before I get started -
my instructions says to put in stress enzyme as well. since I'm afraid to add anything to my salted water now (after what happened with the stress coat) - I'm wondering if I need to add the stress enzyme. Maybe need is not the word - SHOULD I add the stress enzymes?

thanks.
 
Well...finished with this month's maintenance. It wasn't easy! I can't imagine it gets easier. I made a mess on my son's carpet. I found a dead emerald crab. Don't understand what happened to him - he was fine yesterday. I had to take out/move around all the rocks in order to change the filter - all while trying not to harm the other little guys around. I changed less water than I meant to - miscalculated. I have all this extra salted water now. I have to decide if I should change more tomorrow.

Aahh..and I'm tired and stressed out now. I'm upset about the emerald crab. I liked that little guy and don't understand what could have happened. Do these guys die so quickly? I just had him for 3 weeks now. I did notice he was hiding more than usual these past few days, but he was coming out and eating. This is so much more stressful than I could have imagined.
 
I stand by my original opinion that the size of your tank, and the type filtration you are using, as well as the tap water and rocks on the bottom, is not conducive to keeping saltwater inverts. Sorry, I know you are following the directions on your all-in-one setup and you are doing what the package says, but it's just not a good setup for saltwater. Saltwater is very different from freshwater, and what you have is a freshwater tank and equipment that they are making money off of by saying you can turn it into a saltwater setup, and it's just not that easy. You can't just add salt to a freshwater setup and be able to keep the animals you want. I'm not criticizing you, I just think that tank is a bad design (undergravel filter with rocks and instructions to use tap water).
 
I think if you start using RO water instead of tap water, that's a good start. Tap water contains a lot of things that are harmful to inverts like your crab, and it's stuff that the Stress Zyme that you're adding cannot neutralize. Tap water usually contains a lot of heavy metals. You can still follow the same process that your kit tells you, just use a jug of water instead of tap water.

I also think that if you keep up the maintenance like you have been, things may be okay. The type of filters the tank comes with are tough to maintain for saltwater, because they need to be kept clean constantly, or your water quality will suffer.

I'm surprised it says to do a water change once a month. Once a week or every two weeks is a better plan, especially for such a small tank.

Also, when you're doing the water changes, try to not move the rocks around. Moving the rocks will kick up all sorts of crap that will then be suspended in the water. Better trapped in the rocks than in your water.

I'm sorry if I sound down on it, I just don't like to see people being ripped off :( You sound frazzled and frustrated, and this is a hobby that should be enjoyable and fun. It doesn't have to be difficult, and it doesn't have to be stressful, but I just see a lot of things in that kit that are probably making your job harder than it needs to be, and I am frankly having a hard time understanding why they would market such a tank for saltwater, when what they are selling seems to go against common practices and knowledge of this hobby.

If anything, take a break, enjoy your clown, don't sweat the emerald crab, and have fun watching your tank. Don't get down on yourself and think of throwing in the towel, because the last thing I want to happen is to see people get discouraged when they start out.
 
I had a emerald crab for about 3 days. He was so cool I have thought about getting another now that I think I know what I am doing. Sorry to hear about yours. Mine would put up his claws anytime a fish would come near him. I always though he was saying "come on I will pinch the :pooh: out of you" Stupid how you can get attached to something that quick. I have 4 green chromis (use to be 5) and they just dont do it for me.
 
Biff, no worries, I understand where you're coming from. I do get stressed about it because I want to make sure I'm doing it right and I don't like to see anyone die. The most stressful part is the maintenance. My only gripe with the biube is that the filter is at the bottom so I have to move all the rocks around each time I change the filter. I find it crazy having to check where everyone is, move everyone around, and at the same time try not to make a mess on my son's carpet. However, the water quality is great so far - crystal clear and have had perfect numbers each time I've taken the water for testing. Let me emphasize, so far - I've only been up and running for 9 weeks now. The biube boasts that it is the easiest to maintain. As far as the water quality is concerned, it has been easy.

FYI,
The Biube starts off as an acrylic cylinder shape tank with nothing in it except for a round slot left open in the middle for their filter. In the marine aquarium kit, they have a brand new filter (completely different than their freshwater filter) for saltwater.

They also provide us with ceramic media for the bottom of the tank which sits AROUND the filter, not on top - so technically, the filter is not undergravel. :D
Supposedly, the filter and the ceramic media is suppose to help keep the water quality at optimal levels.

It was very expensive! So yes, I hate to get ripped off. I bought it because it looked nice and more importantly it boasts that it's the easiest to maintain. Time will tell. If all goes well and I get more comfortable with all of this, I do want to upgrade.

I really do appreciate everyone's help on this site.
 
btw - thanks for the last part - I did need that break. We miss the little guy but is very soothing to watch the clownfish and the cleaner shrimp moving around. They "play" around together a lot and appear happy. We enjoy them.
 
Eh, if it makes you feel any better, sometimes emerald crabs will turn violent and start killing fish. Maybe you can just tell yourself that it's okay that he died, since he might have eventually gone after your clown anyways? :)
 

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