Newbie struggling with water parameters

[1112-425XL]

 

[zheka757]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Solo McReefer]

People put salt on meat. Cake it on meat

It makes it impervious to bacteria

It just plainly lysis their cell membranes, and die

So how is there a product called probiotic salt. There is no living bacteria in anhydrous

My guess, an archea maybe might could can live in anhydrous salt. Needs research

I wonder, is it gluten and transfat free? zero carbs?

 

[tharbin]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[imhyder]

Welcome
I suggest better kits such as Salifert and Hanna brands and also refrain from many additives and allow tank/bacteria to take its course. Use RODI water in lieu of tap water

Thank you and definitely do agree next time will invest into a better kit.

And I just came to realise through this about the additives.

 

[imhyder]

Just so you know a meet and greet thread probably won’t get you answers as most will post some welcome gif/picture. I would make a separate thread on general reef discussion for more detailed answers to your questions.

Thanks for the heads up will try and post all my future questions in the place

 

[imhyder]

I agree with what @vetteguy53081 said, refrain from the additives at this point. A pH of 7.8 is a little low, but don't chase numbers. When you calibrate your refractometer, used distilled water. As a backup and sanity check, use a floating hydrometer. Throw in a few chromis, etc. to start some ammonia production and "test the waters" so to speak.

Hey any recommendations on which brand of floating hydrometer to go with ??

And sorry what’s chromis ??

Did you mean the fish?? Can I add clown fish at this stage if not why chromis just curious

 

[imhyder]

Welcome. You can get your refracto calibrated and dialed in using a tiny bottle of salinity calibration fluid. Most LFS "should" have them in stock. I have a small bottle that reads 1.026 on the bottle. I calibrate using a few drops of that, then check it against a cheap hydrometer. Also, I have had refractometers go out of calibration somehow, so I calibrate mine a few times a year when I think of it. Good luck

So this salinity calibration fluid is it like an actual brand product or just some water from LFS’s tank ??

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey any recommendations on which brand of floating hydrometer to go with ??

And sorry what’s chromis ??

Did you mean the fish?? Can I add clown fish at this stage if not why chromis just curious

Chromis:

 

[imhyder]

People put salt on meat. Cake it on meat

It makes it impervious to bacteria

It just plainly lysis their cell membranes, and die

So how is there a product called probiotic salt. There is no living bacteria in anhydrous

My guess, an archea maybe might could can live in anhydrous salt. Needs research

I wonder, is it gluten and transfat free? zero carbs?

This is all a bit too technical for me lol.
I just bought what the LFS said I needed.

Should definitely have asked here first

 

[imhyder]

The first thing I would suggest is not to rely on the local fish store for testing and quarantine.

Secondly, I would suggest that you post your questions here first. We have nothing to gain by helping you out except the satisfaction of knowing that we've helped a newbie along their path of reef keeping.

The local fish store padded your bill. You went in for RODI and look at all the extra junk you spent money on.

Please ask here first and have some answers before going to the LFS. This way, you have the information to know if they were guiding you in the right direction or just making money.

Yeah just realized that now I wish had found this forum earlier.

Btw do you know if any of this stuff will actually be useful for my tank or was it all just waste of money ?

 

[kileki]

hello amazing people!!!

A intro about me and my experience to date:

I had been wanting to get into this hobby for years now and finally have managed to buy my very first saltwater tank.

The tank I have bought is a Red Sea MAX Nano Peninsula G2. It was bought second hand due to being so very expensive from Facebook market place and is in excellent condition.

The tank itself is great and all its accessories and parts work perfectly fine.

However there are some issues that I currently am facing and I am not sure if it’s something I am doing wrong or how silly/dumb these may sound to you guys so please bear with me as I would love to learn from your experience and knowledge.

My tank currently has live sand from the previous owner who had put the sand from his other bigger aquarium into this one and some brand new rocks (not live) but now been in the tank for about 4-5 weeks.

Overall the tank looks great and appears to be running fine.

On the day I bought the tank I went to my local fish shop to buy some RODI water and was advised by the shop owner to purchase some additional stuff to help me prep the tank for live stock, currently there is nothing in the tank accept for water, rocks and live sand.

On shop owners recommendation these are the things I bought:

-Mixed Macro Probiotic Salt™ -reef essentials
-Stability - seachem
-Prime- seachem
-reef buffer- seachem
-saltwater master test ki
-salinity checker

Now the issue I am facing is the PH and salinity.

So my ph has remained at about 7.8 and it fails to rise even with the buffer so not sure what to do, i was advised to get a co2 scrubber but i have seen so many videos of people running the same exact tank with only what comes in the box and that’s what I’d like to do too unless there is no other option.

The second issue is salinity, so when I checked my salinity it showed to be 1.024-1.025 but I had forgotten to zero it using tap water or rodi water at the time.

So I took the water into the shop to have it tested to see if it’s ready for fish but the shop said it was 1.021 and suggested to increase it before putting in any fish I took some of his water home to cross check my results against his and this time I was very careful so washed the checker than zeroed it using rodi water and checked my water and it did come out to be low as he had advised at around 1.021-1.022 but when I checked the water from his tank it was showing at 1.029 or 1.030 and according to the shop they are running at 1.026.

Now this has left me so confused and doubting myself whether it’s me doing something wrong or is it the checker that’s broken

I would love to hear what you guys have to say and sorry if all this information was unnecessary but I thought I’ll give you guys a full picture

Hey man, I am also new to the saltwater world, started my tank in November last year. My best suggestion, buy a Hanna salinity checker, digital, easier, and affordable! Saves you a lot of time and grief. I'm sure you could find one easy secondhand on the market forum on here. Definitely worth the money!

 

[KrisReef]

Beware of the help at the LFS.

The first thing I would suggest is not to rely on the local fish store for testing and quarantine.

Secondly, I would suggest that you post your questions here first. We have nothing to gain by helping you out except the satisfaction of knowing that we've helped a newbie along their path of reef keeping.

The local fish store padded your bill. You went in for RODI and look at all the extra junk you spent money on.

Please ask here first and have some answers before going to the LFS. This way, you have the information to know if they were guiding you in the right direction or just making money.

This may be the roughest "WELCOME" to Reef2Reef I can remember in a long time.
I totally agree with it and hope the OP will be open to our advice and suggestions going forward.

We just want you to succeed and not waste money on stuff you do not need. The hobby is plenty expensive just buying the things that you do.

I would also recommend taking back any unopened product to the LFS and ask for your money back. Their response can guide you on doing more business with them, ime.++

BTW, you got off easier than many of us who have gotten spending tips from Fish Store Persons. I should know, because I used to be one of them

 

[imhyder]

Hey man, I am also new to the saltwater world, started my tank in November last year. My best suggestion, buy a Hanna salinity checker, digital, easier, and affordable! Saves you a lot of time and grief. I'm sure you could find one easy secondhand on the market forum on here. Definitely worth the money!

Hey thanks man will definitely look into buying one of those thanks for the advise

 

[imhyder]

Beware of the help at the LFS.

This may be the roughest "WELCOME" to Reef2Reef I can remember in a long time.
I totally agree with it and hope the OP will be open to our advice and suggestions going forward.

We just want you to succeed and not waste money on stuff you do not need. The hobby is plenty expensive just buying the things that you do.

I would also recommend taking back any unopened product to the LFS and ask for your money back. Their response can guide you on doing more business with them, ime.++

BTW, you got off easier than many of us who have gotten spending tips from Fish Store Persons. I should know, because I used to be one of them

Hahaha, glad I found you guys before making any further trips to LFS to get ripped off even more.

Thank you

 

[kileki]

Hahaha, glad I found you guys before making any further trips to LFS to get ripped off even more.

Thank you

I wish I found this forum much earlier, I just found it last month and have been getting robbed by my LFS for the last 6 months

 

[kevgib67]

Welcome, glad you are here!

 

[KrisReef]

Hey thanks man will definitely look into buying one of those thanks for the advise

I actually use a cheap swingarm, and I have a cheap floating hydrometer. Both work fine, if you are careful and know how to use them. I can match my tank salinity easily, which is generally what we need to do. I have taken my swingarms on vacation to many reefs just to see how they measure up and they work in nature just as well as my garage. Is the number indicated by the scale exactly what the ocean salinity is? It good enough, and repeatable which is the challenge of all these measuring methods. Get one that works for you and stick with it. Practice with what you have until you get the same numbers each time (the tank water doesn't change that fast) and then work to keep the water in your tank stable, vs a precise number.

I used to take my swingarm into the LFS and eventually they would ask me if they needed salt or freshwater top off after a day of sales. My measuring technique was more repeatable then the meters that require calibration, but I have been doing it for a long time. Welcome again!

 

[imhyder]

I actually use a cheap swingarm, and I have a cheap floating hydrometer. Both work fine, if you are careful and know how to use them. I can match my tank salinity easily, which is generally what we need to do. I have taken my swingarms on vacation to many reefs just to see how they measure up and they work in nature just as well as my garage. Is the number indicated by the scale exactly what the ocean salinity is? It good enough, and repeatable which is the challenge of all these measuring methods. Get one that works for you and stick with it. Practice with what you have until you get the same numbers each time (the tank water doesn't change that fast) and then work to keep the water in your tank stable, vs a precise number.

I used to take my swingarm into the LFS and eventually they would ask me if they needed salt or freshwater top off after a day of sales. My measuring technique was more repeatable then the meters that require calibration, but I have been doing it for a long time. Welcome again!

Hey so what exactly is a swing arm sorry ??

Is it another device for checking salinity ??
If you can be post the picture of the devise or actual brand and name I can do some research on it.

 

[CO2TLEY]

Hey so what exactly is a swing arm sorry ??

Is it another device for checking salinity ??
If you can be post the picture of the devise or actual brand and name I can do some research on it.

I think this style of hydrometer is what he’s referring to