Going to do my 1st water change.

[dasteve003]

My tank is 4 and a half weeks old and my clown has been in for 12 days and seems healthy just maybe a little lonely. I need to do my 1st water change, I just didn't know I had to heat the water and let it mix with some kind of blower for several hours first.

Essentially as long as the water is within a degree or 2 of the tank water and the salt has mixed throughly and is the same salinaty am I ok? I have a gravel vac pump to get the existing water out. Is there anything I should make sure I do or don't do and how soon can I add another fish or 2 after the water change? (I plan on doing a 20% water change on my 50 gallon once a month.)

 

[cymonous]

It is best for newly mixed saltwater to be mixed for 24 hours. Even though it may appear to be mixed after an hour or so, it may not be evenly mixed. If this was for an emergency quarantine, then ok. But, for your main tank I would just make sure it has had enough time mixing with a pump or powerhead.

I usually start a mix around early to mid-day the day before my water change. The next morning, I put in a little heater to warm up the water.

I would suggest to quarantine all new fish. If a new fish has any type of disease or parasite, you are introducing that to your main tank.

If your tank is a fish only(no coral), then 20% a month should be fine with a light bioload. But if you do decide to go with corals and/or a heavier bioload, you will want to do water changes more often.

 

[HiddenUser]

It is best for newly mixed saltwater to be mixed for 24 hours. Even though it may appear to be mixed after an hour or so, it may not be evenly mixed.

Depends which salt he's using. Red Sea Salts have you mix for 15-30 minutes, then heat, then do the water change. Otherwise if you mix for too long it will precipitate out. Where as Instant Ocean suggests the following...Always add the salt mix to the water, not the other way around. Adding water to the salt mix briefly creates a highly concentrated solution that can lead to precipitation of some ingredients. Always allow newly mixed salt water to circulate with a powerhead or airstone at least overnight before use. This allows the carbon dioxide in the aquarium water to reach equilibrium with the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which normalizes pH.

I would check the salt brands website for proper mixing instructions. You really want to match the salinity, temp, and ph as close as possible of the new saltwater with the tank water. Some livestock can be sensitive to ph swings.

As mentioned, make sure you QT your fish...If they're coming from a QT, I don't see any issue with adding them a day or so after the water change...This would allow for the new saltwater to thoroughly mix with the existing water in the tank.

20% once a month may be fine, but I'd recommend testing your water at least once a week at first to make sure you're not seeing where nitrates are insanely high.

If you're siphoning water into buckets, then dumping them...save the last bucket until after you've refilled the tank with fresh saltwater...This way if you didn't make enough water to refill the tank completely, you'll be able to top off with the remaining bucket of old water.

 

[dasteve003]

What do I use to quarantine new fish? I don't have another tank and can't afford to buy all new filters and pumps and everything for an additional tank. Is putting a fish in a tank that's just filled with salt water over night with no filters or anything but just a heater running good enough?


Also it is instant ocean salt.

 

[Bad Company]

How big is your tank, and how many fish do you have? You do not have to quarantine. But if you do not, you risk infecting your current livestock when you add new ones. If you are planning on keeping two clowns, it doesn't make much sense to quarantine the second. Obviously the risk/reward changes if you are adding a Chromis ($5 fish) to a system that has hundreds of dollars of fish already. Common sense needs to apply.

I have about $300 in fish, and have 9 of them. I have added fish from respected suppliers, and have had no issues despite not quarantining them. But I am taking a risk doing that.

 

[Dalmatia]

Depends which salt he's using. Red Sea Salts have you mix for 15-30 minutes, then heat, then do the water change. Otherwise if you mix for too long it will precipitate out. Where as Instant Ocean suggests the following...Always add the salt mix to the water, not the other way around. Adding water to the salt mix briefly creates a highly concentrated solution that can lead to precipitation of some ingredients. Always allow newly mixed salt water to circulate with a powerhead or airstone at least overnight before use. This allows the carbon dioxide in the aquarium water to reach equilibrium with the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which normalizes pH.

I would check the salt brands website for proper mixing instructions. You really want to match the salinity, temp, and ph as close as possible of the new saltwater with the tank water. Some livestock can be sensitive to ph swings.

As mentioned, make sure you QT your fish...If they're coming from a QT, I don't see any issue with adding them a day or so after the water change...This would allow for the new saltwater to thoroughly mix with the existing water in the tank.

20% once a month may be fine, but I'd recommend testing your water at least once a week at first to make sure you're not seeing where nitrates are insanely high.

If you're siphoning water into buckets, then dumping them...save the last bucket until after you've refilled the tank with fresh saltwater...This way if you didn't make enough water to refill the tank completely, you'll be able to top off with the remaining bucket of old water.

Don't know where you get your info! Never mix for 3hrs and add! Just wrong. Your salt will hardly mix in and hardly get aerated!
24hrs to be on the safe side.
And instant ocean tells you to fill your water first just cause if you put in salt first, you'll prob be adding 45g to a barrel instead of the 50g recommended. But don't forget, instant ocean salt is mixed at 1.024, so if you want it at 1.025 you'll make less water (not 50g but maybe 46-47 gallons with a 50g bag)

 

[Dalmatia]

What do I use to quarantine new fish? I don't have another tank and can't afford to buy all new filters and pumps and everything for an additional tank. Is putting a fish in a tank that's just filled with salt water over night with no filters or anything but just a heater running good enough?


Also it is instant ocean salt.

You only need a small used tank, heater and you can make a filter out of a plastic bottle and a powerhead, that's all you need and can cost as little as $20-$40

 

[Pete polyp]

You only need a small used tank, heater and you can make a filter out of a plastic bottle and a powerhead, that's all you need and can cost as little as $20-$40

You should definitely create a diy thread for this. I have not seen the bottle filter thing before.

 

[dasteve003]

So how long would I need to keep it in this QT tank? Also I don't plan on adding another clown, instead maybe a flame fish and some kind of sand sifting goby or something. I know I want a star and a wrasse but heard it is a good idea to put wrasse's in last or close to end because if they're in first will become territorial to new fish, and the star wont really be much to look at so I figured I'd get my clown (Mr. Fins) 1 or 2 swimming buds and the wait a couple weeks before adding anything else so tank can catch up.

 

[dasteve003]

Would it be ok to add another fish or two and then a day or 2 later do my 1st water change or would it be better for the fish to do the water change and then add another fish or 2 a day after the water change or does it matter? Also how long would I have to quartine a new fish for before adding to my tank? Is it good for it to sit in the quaratine tank with a poor mans filtering system for very long?

 

[Dalmatia]

You should definitely create a diy thread for this. I have not seen the bottle filter thing before.

Just might do it. But come on,, I can't recored my self
Too camera shy. Can take a pic of one that I made for a qt

 

[HiddenUser]

Don't know where you get your info! Never mix for 3hrs and add! Just wrong. Your salt will hardly mix in and hardly get aerated!
24hrs to be on the safe side.
And instant ocean tells you to fill your water first just cause if you put in salt first, you'll prob be adding 45g to a barrel instead of the 50g recommended. But don't forget, instant ocean salt is mixed at 1.024, so if you want it at 1.025 you'll make less water (not 50g but maybe 46-47 gallons with a 50g bag)

I get my information from the instructions regarding mixing Red Sea Coral Pro. So I'm going to repeat my original statement...It depends on the brand of salt...

Oh and here too --- http://youtu.be/UlIHJ02NaKk --- Per their recommendations mix and use as soon as the salt is disolved.

 

[Dalmatia]

I'm still skeptical and he's got mixed reviews? And what if you have to do a bigger wc than 10%? They don't recommend a bigger change cause you'd need a heater?? I guess it could be done, personally I'd never do it and I've certainly never had cloudy water

 

[Pete polyp]

Maybe I'm wrong by the way I change my water.... I will let it mix for about 10 minutes, pull the powerhead out of the water enough so that it will draw air for a minute or two and dump it in. Sometimes I just use a gallon jug and shake it for a few minutes, let it rest, shake it again and repeat for about 20 minutes. I use room temperature water around 70-75 degrees and don't heat it prior before adding.

 

[tigerdragon]

this right off a bucket of red sea coral pro in case anyone is interested. Everyone has a way that works best for them

 

[dasteve003]

The way I did mine was get my RODI water in a big bucket, Put the Salt in and let it mix with a blower for 24 hours that I heated it for about 30 minutes until temps were close, then added a little more water to get salinity close and then I added to the tank. Does this seem like overkill or even bad for the fish? (I waited until it was ready before removing any water from the tank.)

 

[Dalmatia]

The way I did mine was get my RODI water in a big bucket, Put the Salt in and let it mix with a blower for 24 hours that I heated it for about 30 minutes until temps were close, then added a little more water to get salinity close and then I added to the tank. Does this seem like overkill or even bad for the fish? (I waited until it was ready before removing any water from the tank.)

It all looks proper to me but others that use "Red Sea salt" may have a different opinion
I use instant ocean reef crystals and don't have any complaints

 

[Dalmatia]

Maybe I'm wrong by the way I change my water.... I will let it mix for about 10 minutes, pull the powerhead out of the water enough so that it will draw air for a minute or two and dump it in. Sometimes I just use a gallon jug and shake it for a few minutes, let it rest, shake it again and repeat for about 20 minutes. I use room temperature water around 70-75 degrees and don't heat it prior before adding.

Sounds like a little tank to me? I cure 50g at a time,, so a jug is out for me lol

 

[Pete polyp]

Sounds like a little tank to me? I cure 50g at a time,, so a jug is out for me lol

Yeah, 29 gallon. I usually do 4 gallon changes

 

[Dalmatia]

Yeah, 29 gallon. I usually do 4 gallon changes

Your the best!!!
Get a 500g
You deserve it man