Hey guys new here and have questions

Dennis84 · Jul 10, 2016

So I set up a tank foolishly listened to a "professional on how to start my 30h... I measured out the salt and poured in the water like he said and now the salinity is of because he didn't explain that the crushed coral and what not would raise the water level... should I wait until the cloudiness of the water to go away before trying to adjust my salinity?

Dennis84 · Jul 10, 2016

Any tips and suggestions will be very helpful

Pruett-nc · Jul 10, 2016

What is your salintity now and what are you measuring with .

Dennis84 · Jul 10, 2016

Hydrometer and it's off the charts.. I wanted to premix and do it by the book. Went and got 30 gallons of rodi and measured the salt accordingly but put in the crushed coral and have a 5 gallon bucket of rodi that's not in the tank so it's 2 and half cups too much salt

Dennis84 · Jul 10, 2016

Should i siphon water out now even tho it's cloudy and replace with fresh rodi

Pruett-nc · Jul 10, 2016

Yes you have to adjust it with fresh to di water .

JackDE · Jul 10, 2016

No need to wait you can do a water change for fresh water now.

Pruett-nc · Jul 10, 2016

The cloudy is coming from your crushed coral .

Pg513 · Jul 10, 2016

I assume there is no livestock in the tank yet? If that's the case, just add fresh rodi to bring the salinity down.

Also, ditch the hydrometer and get a refractometer.

I would just let the cloudy water settle. It's probably from the new sand.

Dennis84 · Jul 10, 2016

Should i do it now or after the cloudy water clears a bit?

Pruett-nc · Jul 10, 2016

Do you have your tank full of water already .

Dennis84 · Jul 10, 2016

Almost all the way

Pruett-nc · Jul 10, 2016

Drain out about 5 gallons and slowly add fresh ro/di water and keep checking the salinity til it hits the target you want . Then mix what you took out to the same level by adding fresh to it til the tank is full . Add the fresh to the tank first .

Dennis84 · Jul 10, 2016

Thank you very much

Dennis84 · Jul 10, 2016

JackDE said:
No need to wait you can do a water change for fresh water now.

Thanks I appreciate it

Taduga · Jul 10, 2016

Take water out and top off with RODI water. No need to wait to clear up. And I can also just give you the tip, get a refractometer.

Pruett-nc · Jul 10, 2016

That's what we are all here for to help fellow reefers and learn ourselves. Your welcome . Ask when unsure .

sheepdog76 · Jul 10, 2016

You should get in the practice of mixing you salt in a bucket and testing that water before you add it to your tank. With no live stock it is no harm but after you have living things this could be catastrophic. Doing water change now will help with the cloudiness a bit because it will remove that dust from the coral.

Salty1962 · Jul 11, 2016

It should be mixed before you place in tank moving forward. You would ,at some point in the future, want to invest in a Refractor, swing arms are not accurate as a FYI. You don't want to mix in tank when you have livestock in it. Oh yeah,
Welcome to R2R!

sil40sx · Jul 11, 2016

First make sure you're not getting a false reading. Make sure there is/are no bubble(s) attached in the hydrometer's arm. Tap it couple times to remove any bubbles if any. It's a "common" issue.

Even if you're off couple of tens of mg of salt, you shouldn't be getting that much off reading.

Edit: I read your post #4,.. I agree, 2 1/2 cup of salt in 5g of water is too much. LOL But still, make sure your hydrometer is giving you correct reading