The people at the lfs screwed me and my clowns :(

[Vahanyos]

true. When you do water changes do you not have to have your mixing water at the same temp as the water in the tank? I thought this was necessary because otherwise it would spook the fish? Also people on reddit told me to buy another heater for this reason...Also does the salt not have to be 100% mixed for like 3 hrs with an electronic or is just enough to be clear fine?

It doesn't have to be an exact match, but close is fine. I drive my water home for 15 mins from my lfs, let it sit for another 10, then so my wc after. The key thing is do it SLOWLY! Do not just pour the water in there. That scares the heck out of your fish lol. I use a little pvc thing I built attached to a pump to pour the water in there slowly for me gradually..

As far as the salt, as long as you don't see any particles of salt you're fine. It has to be mixed completely.

 

[Vahanyos]

Is it just me that finds the levels of the water in the test tubes are extremely off from where the 5ml mark is on the tube? Not having enough water or to much water in the vials amd using the correct amount of test fluid I think would obscure the test results.

I would think it would have to be at the water line or it'll be off. You add specific amount of drops that are calculated based on that water line

 

[Riley Pasha]

It doesn't have to be an exact match, but close is fine. I drive my water home for 15 mins from my lfs, let it sit for another 10, then so my wc after. The key thing is do it SLOWLY! Do not just pour the water in there. That scares the hell out of your fish lol. I use a little pvc thing I built attached to a pump to pour the water in there slowly for me gradually..

As far as the salt, as long as you don't see any particles of salt you're fine. It has to be mixed completely.

what temp do you think is acceptable? like 75 or so or even less?

 

[Vahanyos]

what temp do you think is acceptable? like 75 or so or even less?

To be honest I don't check my temp. The lfs keeps it aT 79(I think) and I do my wc like 30 mins after I buy it I'm sure it drops a few degrees.

I always add it slowly and it seems to work great. Barely any change in temp I guess it blends in by the time I'm done with all the water. I have a 60g and I do 10g water changes every week or two

 

[Vahanyos]

The key thing I've learned in this hobby is patience!! Everything needs patience and tenderness...

Increasing or decreasing temp? Do it slowly over time!

Increasing salinity or ph or anything else? Do it slowly over time!

Water change? Do it slowly vs just dumping your bucket of water in the tank

 

[Riley Pasha]

I assume you buy their RO/DI water. I wish I had access to my RO unit but unfortunately its broken for some reason (fixing it this weekend), so for the time being I have to use tap + conditioner.

 

[domination2580]

edit: in the first sentence I meant the live rock was sitting in there for 3 weeks and the fish was added later....the fish and rock were not added at the same time....

I would suggest doing your tests again. The water has to be at the water line on the test tubes...or else the test will be off.

 

[Vahanyos]

I assume you buy their RO/DI water. I wish I had access to my RO unit but unfortunately its broken for some reason (fixing it this weekend), so for the time being I have to use tap + conditioner.

Are you getting good results with the tap/conditioner? What are you using?

 

[Riley Pasha]

I would suggest doing your tests again. The water has to be at the water line on the test tubes...or else the test will be off.

the one test that was off simply spilled after measuring it but I will make sure to measure it after my water change I will do before I go to sleep. My water is about 80 degrees rn so perfect. Ill go mix in the salt in a bit and the water conditioner and retest after my wc. Is it true that 1/2 cup per gallon will yield a 1.025 gravity? if so thats what I am aiming for .

 

[DLHDesign]

My water is about 80 degrees rn so perfect.

Note that lower temperatures will contain more oxygen. So if you are seeing fish breathing heavily and don't have a skimmer running (which does a great job of adding oxygen into the tank, among other things), you might want to consider lowering the temperature of your tank some (72-80F is generally acceptable; 78F is "normal") to help.

Is it true that 1/2 cup per gallon will yield a 1.025 gravity?

The ratio of salt-to-water depends upon which brand of salt you are using; every one is slightly different. But as a general rule-of-thumb; 1/2c per gallon is about right. It's a good idea to have some way to test the salinity rather than just hoping that your mix is correct. A refractometer will save you a lot of time and headache (and heartache) over the life of your tank.

 

[Riley Pasha]

Are you getting good results with the tap/conditioner? What are you using?

stress coat works pretty well (tap + conditioner is ok for clowns). I def wish I had RO/DI though and will get a system in the future.

 

[Riley Pasha]

Note that lower temperatures will contain more oxygen. So if you are seeing fish breathing heavily and don't have a skimmer running (which does a great job of adding oxygen into the tank, among other things), you might want to consider lowering the temperature of your tank some (72-80F is generally acceptable; 78F is "normal") to help.


The ratio of salt-to-water depends upon which brand of salt you are using; every one is slightly different. But as a general rule-of-thumb; 1/2c per gallon is about right. It's a good idea to have some way to test the salinity rather than just hoping that your mix is correct. A refractometer will save you a lot of time and headache (and heartache) over the life of your tank.

i used a hydrometer to get my mix to my target 1.025 before adding it to the tank, def helped a lot because for some reason with the 1/2c rule I ended up with 1.030 at first lol before changing the ratio and getting my 1.025.

 

[Riley Pasha]

Note that lower temperatures will contain more oxygen. So if you are seeing fish breathing heavily and don't have a skimmer running (which does a great job of adding oxygen into the tank, among other things), you might want to consider lowering the temperature of your tank some (72-80F is generally acceptable; 78F is "normal") to help.


The ratio of salt-to-water depends upon which brand of salt you are using; every one is slightly different. But as a general rule-of-thumb; 1/2c per gallon is about right. It's a good idea to have some way to test the salinity rather than just hoping that your mix is correct. A refractometer will save you a lot of time and headache (and heartache) over the life of your tank.

would something like this be ok? https://www.amazon.com/SC-Aquariums...3&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=protein+skimmer&psc=1.

I wish I knew how sumps worked :/ wouldn't have 90 things hanging off my tank. Idk why they seem so complicated to me for some reason, maybe after research I can get it for my next tank.

 

[Vahanyos]

would something like this be ok? https://www.amazon.com/SC-Aquariums...3&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=protein+skimmer&psc=1.

I wish I knew how sumps worked :/ wouldn't have 90 things hanging off my tank. Idk why they seem so complicated to me for some reason, maybe after research I can get it for my next tank.

Do you have something breaking the surface water?

 

[Riley Pasha]

Do you have something breaking the surface water?

I have a powerhead that is aimed slightly at the surface which def gets the top water. Just curios, why is that something recommended often?

 

[MmmmBalf]

I have a powerhead that is aimed slightly at the surface which def gets the top water. Just curios, why is that something recommended often?

Gas exchange at the water surface is vital to oxygenate the water. Without it, there will be not enough oxygen in the water and the fish will die (breathing heavily could be a symptom of this). For effective gas exchange, the water surface needs to be agitated. You want the water surface to be rippling, not flat & still.

Another cause of fish breathing heavily is ammonia in the water. Ammonia burns their gills, causing them to gasp.

I hope all goes well with your tank, great to see you doing everything you can to save them.

 

[Vahanyos]

I have a powerhead that is aimed slightly at the surface which def gets the top water. Just curios, why is that something recommended often?

Helps maintain ph - your tank needs to reach equilibrium and this is one key component

Flow, surface agitation, stable temp, stable water level, stable salinity, etc... stability

 

[mcarroll]

Great feedback so far!

Is it true that 1/2 cup per gallon will yield a 1.025 gravity? if so thats what I am aiming for .

i used a hydrometer to get my mix to my target 1.025 before adding it to the tank, def helped a lot because for some reason with the 1/2c rule I ended up with 1.030 at first lol before changing the ratio and getting my 1.025.

1/2 cup per gallon is the base formula I believe and should get you in the ballpark every time. Some salts are heavily fortified with Ca, Mg and alkalinity components and perhaps other things too, so I'm sure this will alter the S.G. in some way since it alters the relative volume of all the other salts.

That said, measuring by volume is a pain in the neck to do accurately. Must be careful and be especially consistent in the way you do your scoops. Ideally you buy the salt packed in the correct size for single-serving usage – no questions about settling or scoop size or spoilage, etc, etc.

But that tends to be expensive so almost everyone buys in buckets or large boxes and deals with or manages the minor side effects as best they can.

 

[mcarroll]

Ammonia + high temperatures isn't a great combo. Hopefully not too much damage is happening!

You do know to use your ammonia treatment (Stress Coat, Prime, water changes, etc) to keep you ammonia test reading ZERO ALL THE TIME, correct?

Any significant amount of ammonia in the water for an extended period will probably be lethal.

 

[Riley Pasha]

Ammonia + high temperatures isn't a great combo. Hopefully not too much damage is happening!

You do know to use your ammonia treatment (Stress Coat, Prime, water changes, etc) to keep you ammonia test reading ZERO ALL THE TIME, correct?

Any significant amount of ammonia in the water for an extended period will probably be lethal.

Yes. Although I need to pick up some prime, don't have that yet.