salt

[Rpalt1]

I think i may have made a mistake! I set up my tank with instant ocean sea salt and this weekend my lfs was out of it so i went with reef crystals. mixed it properly had same salinity reading {refractometer] and added to tank yesterday. Today ducan frag is all curled up! Can switching salts upset corals?

[Tom@HaslettMI]

Potentially. Any sudden changes in water quality are bad. What percentage of the tank was the water change?

Tom

[dputt88]

If you are keeping coal you can't use instant ocean, you need to be at last using reef crystals, though that is a low end salt that i only use on my task that is soft corals only.

[Rpalt1]

I did a 10% water change. I never realized instant ocean salts werent that good. What salt should I use?

[MizTanks]

Reef Crystals is a great salt! Been using it for 4yrs and my tank thrives :)
Like Tom said though. Any sudden change be it salt or temp can upset even the hardiest of corals. Keep an eye of it. Check your parameters. All of them.


Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1).

[Rpalt1]

Thanks miz thats good to hear I checked my water {API kit} amm 0 nit 0 ph 8.0 Nitrates 60 Nitrates are the reason for water change The nitrates were up to 100 when duncan was first put in tank so at least i;m getting them down It has to be the new salt because my zoo frags are doing great. I must have high nitrates in my tap water I only feed about 1/4 of a cube mysis a day to my fish and thats plenty for them The duncan is a little better today I'll just keep an eye on it. Is api a decent test kit?

[binford4000]

Thanks miz thats good to hear I checked my water {API kit} amm 0 nit 0 ph 8.0 Nitrates 60 Nitrates are the reason for water change The nitrates were up to 100 when duncan was first put in tank so at least i;m getting them down It has to be the new salt because my zoo frags are doing great. I must have high nitrates in my tap water I only feed about 1/4 of a cube mysis a day to my fish and thats plenty for them The duncan is a little better today I'll just keep an eye on it. Is api a decent test kit?

10% is not to much of a water change to change salts. It is best to slowly change your salts. Doing it by water changes is my favorite method. Instant ocean is mainly used by fish only people but is also used by some if alk or calcium gets to out of control. Reef crystals has grown more reef tanks then any other salt out on the market. When they changed ownership a few years ago they had some issues but seem to have resolved them. The biggest key is to chose one and stay with it. It will pay big dividends in the end. I personally prefer neo marine others like other brands for their own reasons. It is best to choose your salt by what is easily available to you . Test kits like salt can cause great debates !! API is considered a lower end test kit but also are very easy to use. Same advice for test kits as for salt,constant behavior is key in this crazy hobby! If your keeping softies and a lite bio load API will do just fine. Wen you get really addicted and start stuffing the glass box tell seams split it would be a good idea to look at the better kits lie sal fert or Hanna . If you know your nitrates are high then concentrate on reducing it,probably the real reason the Duncan is reacting like it is. Water quality is everything in this game ! Good luck. :oldman:

[jimsflies]

Rpalt1 please post some details about your tank in our Member's Reef forum. I'm sure the gang here would like to see it and may be able to offer some advice to lower the nitrates.

[pinhigh1886]

I have always used Reef Crystals mostly because it is easy to get. I see all kinds of other brands in Coral magazine and wonder if they are better? Do you mix your saltwater and then just pour into the tank right away? It is recommended that you make it the night before and let it really mix and dissolve before you pour into the tank. This allows it to get at least to room temp before pouring in. 10% won't bother tank much but freshly mixed salt and cold water hitting a Duncan might cause it to close up for a little. I have 15 gallons of saltwater always available and heated to the temp in my display. I also have a circulation pump to keep it mixed well. You can always throw and old power head in a five gallon bucket too!

[Rpalt1]

I mixed the water in 5 gal pail with an old maxi jet for 8 hrs and then added to tank water was within 5 degrees of tank. I am ordering a salifert nitrate kit because the api im not cofident in. The instructions say to wait 5 minutes for the correct color but i noticed that the longer the vial sits it just keeps getting darker! Then the color is offf the chart. I checked nitrates 3 times and from what i can tell it apoears to be around 80 reading ph,nitrite and amm is ok but the nitrates are a pain to read! If i look at vial after 1 minute its at 40 ppm argh! I can't afford a hanna so i'll try salifert. Would using nitra sorb help until i get a good routine down? And should i do another w/c this weekend? Kind of nervous about doing another w/c right now but nitrates are high

[Rpalt1]

My duncan tonite is starting to open up again Whew! It's still a little unsettled but at least its open this is what it looked like before water change

[binford4000]

I mixed the water in 5 gal pail with an old maxi jet for 8 hrs and then added to tank water was within 5 degrees of tank. I am ordering a salifert nitrate kit because the api im not cofident in. The instructions say to wait 5 minutes for the correct color but i noticed that the longer the vial sits it just keeps getting darker! Then the color is offf the chart. I checked nitrates 3 times and from what i can tell it apoears to be around 80 reading ph,nitrite and amm is ok but the nitrates are a pain to read! If i look at vial after 1 minute its at 40 ppm argh! I can't afford a hanna so i'll try salifert. Would using nitra sorb help until i get a good routine down? And should i do another w/c this weekend? Kind of nervous about doing another w/c right now but nitrates are high

Sounds like they're pretty hi! If I may make a suggest ,you should look into creating a good biological answer to the issue. I use pro bido Bio Digest,does wonders and feed it Britwells Bio reef. Both products Are developed to start the nitrifying process and to keep it going, this is the best way to control No3 in my book,along with a good skimmer. There is other products like Microbacter7 that will also do a very good job! I have used nitrate reactors bio pellete's you name it ! Changeing my thought processes and showing some patience truly paid off ! I have a more then heavy bio load and feed huge amounts of my frozen homemade food and still maintain undetectable levels ! I don't think you have a bad test kit honestly just new tank issues that are normal for everyone . Honestly the API test is much easier to read then the others IMHO,it's just hard to sit and watch it get darker by the minute! But man does it feel great when you watch it turn clear yellow and stay there !! Good luck. :oldman:

[Rpalt1]

This is what it loks like today

[pinhigh1886]

Old Man do you use microbactor7 by itself or with a bio pellets reactor running. I have been thinking about using it but wasnt sure how it worked. My nitrates tend to get up there because I target feed my corals. My skimmer, GFO, and carbon keep the tank looking pretty clear but the nitrates not always great. How does the Microbactor7 work?

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

[Rpalt1]

Thanks Binford I'll look into it:big_grin:

[binford4000]

Old Man do you use microbactor7 by itself or with a bio pellets reactor running. I have been thinking about using it but wasnt sure how it worked. My nitrates tend to get up there because I target feed my corals. My skimmer, GFO, and carbon keep the tank looking pretty clear but the nitrates not always great. How does the Microbactor7 work?

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

Microbactor 7 like bio digest is just biological bacteria that thrives on No3,Po4 and waste it creates a ntrafying and denytrfying processes. I use bio reef for a carbon source to feed the strain. It is much safer then vodka and is also a bacteria source. Both products give excelant instructions of how to get the ntrafying process started then how to keep it going. I doase the bio reef daily and the bio digest every fifteen days. I have never seen polyp extension like I have now. One thing you must do before doing this is be committed to testing daily while getting this started. Once it kicks in they drop very quickly and then you will want to change to maintaing doase levels. Once you get to that point it is so easy you will slap yourself ! If you need help or want to swing by and see what I am talking about shoot me a PM. Hope that explained it some .

[MizTanks]

I think your first problem is.....your using tap water!!! Tap water can be very high in TDS, Phosphates & Nitrates.
If at all possible switch to using an RO/DI unit for filtering your tap water or find out if your LFS sells this water or buy RO from your local grocery store.


Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1).

[binford4000]

I think your first problem is.....your using tap water!!! Tap water can be very high in TDS, Phosphates & Nitrates.
If at all possible switch to using an RO/DI unit for filtering your tap water or find out if your LFS sells this water or buy RO from your local grocery store.


Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1).

Good catch Miz ! I read right over the tap water ! Distilled water is also an alternative if R/O is not obtainable.

[pinhigh1886]

Oh yes tap water not good! Do you have algae issues?

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

[Rpalt1]

No algae issues yet. But i am sure its coming. I cant get ro/di water so ill get distilled watertoday. When should i do another w/c? I dont want to kill off to m
uch bacteria

[MizTanks]

You wont kill off the BB. 2x weekly partial wc until those nitrates come down to at least below 20ppm. You may want to consider running some PhosGaurd to remove the phosphates.
Keep us posted :)


Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1).

[Rpalt1]

Thanks miz I bought distilled water and am mixing now:big_grin:

[MizTanks]

Thanks miz I bought distilled water and am mixing now:big_grin:

Bet you see a big drop in Nitrates & Phosphates over the next couple weeks.
Check the sellers threads for an RO/DI unit. I've seen plenty out there under $100. Way worth the investment! Mine was gifted to me (Bindford4000) and has been the best gift ever :)


Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1).

[dputt88]

RO-DI at the house is too convenient to pass up i would look into one. also going back to the salt topic as i have been absent for some time. i wasnt saying you can use reef crystals but you cant use instant ocean for corals. it doesnt have the all of the elements corals need and that salt is higher is phosphate and nitrate as it is designed for fish only tanks.

yes you can use reef crystals i use it for a frag tank that is all zoas and other softies, though for my main tank that is all SPS and a few LPS i use Salinity. i really like that salt, it has a guaranteed analysis for every batch made and when i keep up on my bi-weekly water changes i dont have to dose as often. there are many other salts out there that are comparable to salinity though but i have no interest in trying them because i have found something that works for me.

[Rpalt1]

Gotcha dpuutt, I'm goingto stick with reef crystals because its readily available. I was given a ro unit by my brother that came from sears.I havent had time tonite to check it out but will tomorrow. It only says ro reverse osmosis filter so its got tobe better then nothing. Right now with holidays coming i really have to watch my budget I'm sticking with info from the forums for now on. The workers at my lfs are unkowledgable or are more concerned about sales then doing things the right way. Their the ones recommending regular instant ocean.I'll keep posting on tanks progress. I'm letting salt mix for a day just to make sure

[Rpalt1]

this is what i obtained for free lol got to be better than tap water. I have to mod it alittle to make it work without 2 gal storage tank but shouldn't be to bad

[Rpalt1]

spec on unit

[binford4000]

Better then tap but you would be better off with distilled water for your tank and use that for your drinking water.

When your budget allows you or you want to shop to save here is some websites to look at

Best by far is spectrapure.com. They have refurbished units from time to time

2nd bulkreefsupply.com

3 filter direct.com

These are just off the top of my head. You could also look at the sponsors section on CR and find others. Stay away from E Bay unless you know exactly which unit your looking for. You want a unit that has at least one sediment filter,rough filter,fine filter,membrane and a DI. You product water should have 100% of all TDS and additives removed from it. CR has a section on just water quality,might want to do some reading so you can educate yourself.

[Rpalt1]

ok bin i will thks

[jimsflies]

binford4000 do you mean DI (deionized) water? Just checking because that's different than distilled water. DI water is easier/less costly to make at home with an extra stage after RO.

Also if I could point you to one of our sponsors, AquaFX (http://www.aquafx.net/) who also make very nice RO/DI filters.

[Rpalt1]

Thanks jim, Now all i have to do is sell my 175w mh pendant and put money towards ro/di unit hello graigs list lol

[MizTanks]

Check with 2FarNorth (Jim) a reefer U.P. here just tore down his setup and may have a unit to sell. Post your lights in our selling thread too! Maybe you could trade your lights for a RO/DI unit.


Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1).

[binford4000]

binford4000 do you mean DI (deionized) water? Just checking because that's different than distilled water. DI water is easier/less costly to make at home with an extra stage after RO.

Also if I could point you to one of our sponsors, AquaFX (http://www.aquafx.net/) who also make very nice RO/DI filters.

No I did mean distilled water. Reefer has no means to get R/O DI and has been useing straight tap. Recommended distilled tell R/O unit can be purchased.

[jimsflies]

Rpalt1 be careful buying used RO/DI units typically you'll need replacement filters to get them running properly.

[Rpalt1]

Update 2 water changes later and a dosing of microbacter 7 and nitrates are down to 80ppm

[Rpalt1]

update: 12/2/13 tank at 40ppm nitrates I've been doing 10% water changes and using microbacter 7 with reef builder. It's definately showing results. Thanks all.