Two Questions????

andersoned14

Reefing newb
1) How long do you wait to add water after you add the salt for a waterchange??
What I have been doing is getting my RO water pour in a bucket, get it up to temp of tank, add salt to the proper SG. Then do the water change right away. Is this ok, what happens if I do it like this?

2) When feeding your fish, how long do you thaw the food??
What I do is take food out of freezer, take a small cup of water from tank, cut a small peice and put it in the cup. With in a 5-10 min span I pur the cup of food and water into tank.
I am asking these things because I am trying to figure out what when wrong in my tanks over the holiday weekend. I lost two fish and two more are sick and are in the QT now being treated.
 
It's best to wait at least a day to do the w/c after mixing the salt.

No time limit really, just as long as the frozen cube is loose enough for the fish to eat it.
 
1. Before you add the water, do you check your salinity? and 1 day is generally the best amount of time to wait.

2. I put mine in a cup, put some water in, swirl it around till each peice is seperated and throw it in the tank.
 
Yes I check salinity with a hydrmeter B4 I add it is good. Any problems with doing it right away or just best to wait. Normal w/c is 20% weekly.
 
I would say buy a refractometer, they are more accurate. but ifyou dont wait you may not be getting correct readings from your checks. This is just to make sure salt has mixed properly,
 
It can take up to 24 hours for the salt to fully dissolve and mix in. If you are checking your salinity immediately after adding in the salt, I bet your salinity readings are off. And as reeffreak said, freshly mixed salt water is dangerous to fish and corals. It is best to let the water sit for 24 hours after adding the salt.
 
I got my refractometer for $25 and it works great, there's a link to it in my tank thread. IMO those two things probably aren't the issue going on with your tank. I have read about quite a few people who just wait approx. 3 hours and when the water looks clear before doing their waterchanges and they have kept successful tanks for years. Although, I would agree it's best to wait a day to be precatious and do so myself. I don't know much about effects of feeding food that is not fully thawed but would guess it shouldn't be a big deal.
 
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