Brand new to salt water- day 1

[SBlisters]

As others have said, the best thing at this point, at least in my opinion, is to gradually bring the salinity up to make up for the 3g of distilled. Given your circumstances, I would agree you have to learn fast but that doesn't mean you have to be in a hurry! The only things that happens fast in this hobby are typically negative. Slow and steady and consistency/stability wins the salt race!

I mixed some salt water per the directions and then checked the salinity of it. It's only 1.018. Should I raise the mixed water to 1.025? My tank salinity is still 1.022 after adding the top off last night of the 1.018 mixes water. PH is still 7.8. So no discernable changes. Clown has no signs of ick. Big question is if I should increase the salinity of the water going in or leave it at 1.018. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[SBlisters]

Welcome to R2R. Very nice tank. The stand blends well.

TY! It was an amazing prize, especially for someone who never wins anything!

 

[Mpierce]

Nice win! Welcome to the hobby. I hope you have lots of $$ you want to throw into a glass box full of water haha! As others have said, go slow, don't make any drastic changes. Most of the corals are of the hardy variety so I am sure you will do just fine. Look into buying a RO/DI water filter. I personally really like "Bulk Reef Supply" for my tank needs, they are very helpful and everything ships for free. ENJOY YOUR TANK!

-Matt

 

[SBlisters]

Thank you! This is such a friendly forum I'm almost a week in now. My salinity is up to 1.024 now and I just fed my coral for the first time.
Everybody is still alive! Whew. I'm still slowly working on bringing my salinity up a smidgen. I just gave my clownfish some live Brine Shrimp today, which he seemed to like equally to the mysis pellets I've been giving him. A tiny starfish appeared in the tank!

 

[SBlisters]

Yay! My pH is at 8 and salinity at 1.026. It took a little over a week, but I'm snow starting week 2 of the tank with correct water parameters

 

[SBlisters]

Welcome to R2R! We're very glad you're here! That article linked above is a great place to start. It will give you a great base knowledge to work from. Adding the 3 gallons of distilled water is probably the biggest of your problems. It dropped your salinity quickly after an already stressful time for your animals. Remember, this hobby is all about consistency. You don't want to make changes in anything quickly, everything should be nice and slow. Good luck!

I'm happy to report that my salinity is at 1.026 now. I've taken the tank through a water change (this time using salt water) & managed to keep the salinity stable this time.

 

[melypr1985]

I'm happy to report that my salinity is at 1.026 now. I've taken the tank through a water change (this time using salt water) & managed to keep the salinity stable this time.

Nice!

 

[SBlisters]

Nice win! Welcome to the hobby. I hope you have lots of $$ you want to throw into a glass box full of water haha! As others have said, go slow, don't make any drastic changes. Most of the corals are of the hardy variety so I am sure you will do just fine. Look into buying a RO/DI water filter. I personally really like "Bulk Reef Supply" for my tank needs, they are very helpful and everything ships for free. ENJOY YOUR TANK!

-Matt

I'm 2mo in now, and have a better sense of what my water needs are. I average 1/3 g top-off per day. For the RO/DI, I would want something portable, since I'm not in a good place to install something. I appreciate the suggestion of the BRS version. Have you noticed a discernable time commitment difference between like a 50, 90, etc. version? Has it been easy to get replacement filters? I was looking at systems that come with a TDS meter too. Is there a reliable brand. I've got way too many questions about RO/DI...

 

[Uwharrie]

wow that is a sweet tank! If you don't have all the test kits you could take a sample to your LFS and see if they will test for you. I am still new to Saltwater/ Reef tanks. I have found this forum and Nano-Reef.com very helpful. Folks seem to welcome newbies. I started out with the API test kits which I understand while not the best are better than nothing. I have slowly added some individual Safrit and Hanna kits.

 

[Jason mack]

Hello! I just had the surreal experience of winning a salt water tank last night. it is 30gal and has a variety of coral, live rock, a few types of snails, 2 Peppermint Shrimp and a young Clownfish. I was able to set it up last night with 90% of the original water and added 3gal of distilled water to top it off. Last night the coral was very angry from travel.
This morning, I fed a pinch of food to the clownfish and assessed where I seem to be at. The trumpet coral is still upset. Only half has fluffed back up. Everybody else seems no worse for wear, which is kind of amazing to me. My salinity may be too low though. The hydrometer I borrowed says I'm at 1.018. I probably should have added salt water instead of distilled to replace what was lost in transit. I'd like to do this right and keep everyone alive. Ordering a Refractometer so I can get a more accurate salinity reading. IDK how to take care of this water. I'm in crazy research mode now and trying not to screw up while I get caught up to speed. Hoping I've not already done terribly with that 3gals...

Hi .. firstly welcome too R2R , what a gorgeous tank you won .. your a the right place for help and advice .. don't panic your situation isn't that bad ... but you will need some test kits .. but I'm sure you've realized that by now .. not sure of something ask on here .. no matter how silly you think it might be .. ooh and in this hobby patience is a virtue !!!! Happy reefing !!

 

[Jason mack]

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[Mpierce]

I'm 2mo in now, and have a better sense of what my water needs are. I average 1/3 g top-off per day. For the RO/DI, I would want something portable, since I'm not in a good place to install something. I appreciate the suggestion of the BRS version. Have you noticed a discernable time commitment difference between like a 50, 90, etc. version? Has it been easy to get replacement filters? I was looking at systems that come with a TDS meter too. Is there a reliable brand. I've got way too many questions about RO/DI...

The replacement filters are very standard, and they all ship free from BRS. The actual RO membrane will last several years (I usually get about 5 out of mine) I replace my carbon blocks annually and the sediment filter ~6 months. The DI resin gets changed when it mostly turns from blue to tan/brown. I would just start with the basic system because you can always add things on, extra canister, tds meter, etc etc. They are easy to hook up, you just attach it to your sink faucet, no plumbing required. http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-4-stage-value-ro-di-system-75gpd-2.html

 

[Scurvy]

I'm not in a position for any kind of semi permanent RO/DI system either. I found a counter top RO system and added on the DI canisters after the fact for 0 TDS readings. They're easy enough to pull out and put away as needed if space is at a premium and the faucet adapter doesn't even require a wrench so it's simple and well worth it.

 

[Mpierce]

Well most any RO/DI unit doesn't need to be mounted, it will just set on a counter while you use it and then you can put it away when you are done. They just come with mounting brackets so you can "install" it if you want.

 

[SBlisters]

Well most any RO/DI unit doesn't need to be mounted, it will just set on a counter while you use it and then you can put it away when you are done. They just come with mounting brackets so you can "install" it if you want.

I really appreciate your advice & the timing. I was worried about a model phasing out and not finding filters for it. It sounds like that won't be an issue, which is great. Thanks!