Preparing Salt Water.

[chris489]

Apologies if this is a silly question but here goes! I've been looking into using ro/di water for when I start my new reef aquarium. From what I can find out online, the water needs to be remineralised. So my question is do I need to use some sort of remineralising powder or will the salt mix already contain the relevant minerals?

 

[mrcoffee2]

Yes the salt will contain the majority of the minerals.

 

[Reefing Madness]

Whatever salt mix you use, is all you will need for your tank, minus maybe Alk, Mag, or Cal and such. But for beginners, Instant Ocean being the lowest on the mineral and trace list, is more than plenty for your tank.

 

[chris489]

Thanks for the replys. So you'd recommend instant ocean salt then?

 

[SloppyJ]

I think the majority use reef crystals.

 

[EW_Fish]

Everyone is going to use different salt and everyone has their own reasons for doing so. IO Is a good salt. (Its not the salt that makes your aquarium look good, Its the maintance/effort you put into your aquarium.)

 

[mrcoffee2]

I use reef crystals as well. Very cheap and good quality imo

 

[chris489]

Ok, when topping up, can I add ro/di directly to the tank?

 

[*SENSI*]

i add ro/di straight to the sump for topping off

 

[chris489]

So there's no need to remineralise just for topping off?

 

[*SENSI*]

i do 10% water changes every week, an top off ro/di once maybe twice a week depends on if the wifey messes with the thermostat

 

[SloppyJ]

If you add salt to the top off, you will increase your salinity because only "fresh" water evaporates. So when that water evaporates it will raise the salinity of your tank. You need to add ro/di to counteract this.

 

[Dalmatia]

So there's no need to remineralise just for topping off?

No,,, only the water evaporates so by topping it off your keeping your minarets in check. If you didn't top off everything will go up (alk., cal., mag., salinity.......). So pretty much you'd have too much minerals if you didn't top it off.

 

[mfinn]

So there's no need to remineralise just for topping off?

You just want pure clean water for topoffs.

 

[antsbumblebee]

*crashes thread, apologies*
At what point would you be adding your treated (instant ocean, etc) versus regular water? Like if you do 10% changes every two weeks would it be the treated water or just regular fresh water?

Sorry I literally have no experience with saltwater tanks, mine is not even set up yet and I'm trying to learn as much as I can!

 

[chris489]

You add regular water just to top up your tank. Salt water when doing water changes.

 

[chris489]

When you need to top up due to evaporation, only water is lost, salt does not evaporate. So in effect the salinity is increased. That's why you top up with regular/rodi water to restore the correct salinity.

 

[DontMakeNoSense]

The best salt imo is the ESV Seawater. It's a 3 part mix but I had no salt left in the bottom of the trash can like I have with the other brands. It cost a little more but we'll worth the extra $20.

 

[StikHedRon]

IO is a good salt for a beginner, its cheap and provides the necessary minerals to keep easier coral alive. Once you get more advanced and learn more and decide exactly what type of coral you like and want and know their demands and needs. Then at that time you may decide that a different salt brand will provide you what you need to be successful. But for now just use IO to get started and read everything you can and take it all for a grain of salt and make your own decisions with your tank. All tanks are different and all opinions are different and may or may not work for your tank. Welcome to the addiction, good luck and feel free to ask any questions as there is tons of knowledge on this forum!