What is done and what type of water that is used for set up and water changes is critical to a long term, stable and algae free aquarium. I have seen people who are converting from fresh water to salt think that using tap water with a conditioner and mxing salt with water sof a few minutes by hand is sufficient for the water in a salt tank.
This could not be further from the truth. It is important to use propery filtered water and to make sure that the salt mix used is competely disolved before live stock is exposed to it.
RODI filtered water is bar far the best way to go, RODI filters are affordable and have a lot of options for water input incuding a sink adaptor making them very easy to use. Reverse Osmosis DeIonized water will produce 0 Total Disolved Solids (TDS) which is needed to keep a marine tank stable and algae free. Treated tap, welll and charcoal filtered water are not at 0 TDS, some cont. are removed but many other additives and issues remain.
Algae control is vey difficult when using treated tap water, the additives found in most water systems create higher phosphate levels which causes algae ourbreaks of hair and other problem algaes.
There are tons of salt mixes out there, I personaly use Coralife and have had a lot of success with it, other good mixes are Kent, Reef Crystals and Instand Ocean to name a few. It is important to mix per the directions on the bag and make sure it is completely disolved before using. I mix my water for 24 hours before use. I use a 32 gallon Rubbermaid Brute garbage can with a couple power heads and a heater.
Remember natural seawater has a specific gravity of around 1.026 or 35 ppt. This is going to be a little lower in warmer waters. My tanks are kept at 1.024(33 ppt). The reason it is suggested to keep you salinity a little lower(usually between 1.020 and 1.023 or 27-31 ppt) in your home aquarium is due to the fact that the small amount of water you are keeping evaporates at a faster rate than the ocean(of course) and therefor your salinity will reach harmful levels quicker if kept at a higher salinity. As long as your salinity is no higher than 1.026 or 35 ppt you are okay. You may still want to bring it down but it is not something you have to worry about doing all at once. Do it gradually and over time.
If you dont have an RODI filter, most LFS sell it either straight or already mixed, usually around $.50 per gallon straight and around $1 per gallon pre-mixed and is well worth is compared to a battle with algae or worse loss of live stock or a system crash, when it comes to a succesful long term tank, water is not just water......
This could not be further from the truth. It is important to use propery filtered water and to make sure that the salt mix used is competely disolved before live stock is exposed to it.
RODI filtered water is bar far the best way to go, RODI filters are affordable and have a lot of options for water input incuding a sink adaptor making them very easy to use. Reverse Osmosis DeIonized water will produce 0 Total Disolved Solids (TDS) which is needed to keep a marine tank stable and algae free. Treated tap, welll and charcoal filtered water are not at 0 TDS, some cont. are removed but many other additives and issues remain.
Algae control is vey difficult when using treated tap water, the additives found in most water systems create higher phosphate levels which causes algae ourbreaks of hair and other problem algaes.
There are tons of salt mixes out there, I personaly use Coralife and have had a lot of success with it, other good mixes are Kent, Reef Crystals and Instand Ocean to name a few. It is important to mix per the directions on the bag and make sure it is completely disolved before using. I mix my water for 24 hours before use. I use a 32 gallon Rubbermaid Brute garbage can with a couple power heads and a heater.
Remember natural seawater has a specific gravity of around 1.026 or 35 ppt. This is going to be a little lower in warmer waters. My tanks are kept at 1.024(33 ppt). The reason it is suggested to keep you salinity a little lower(usually between 1.020 and 1.023 or 27-31 ppt) in your home aquarium is due to the fact that the small amount of water you are keeping evaporates at a faster rate than the ocean(of course) and therefor your salinity will reach harmful levels quicker if kept at a higher salinity. As long as your salinity is no higher than 1.026 or 35 ppt you are okay. You may still want to bring it down but it is not something you have to worry about doing all at once. Do it gradually and over time.
If you dont have an RODI filter, most LFS sell it either straight or already mixed, usually around $.50 per gallon straight and around $1 per gallon pre-mixed and is well worth is compared to a battle with algae or worse loss of live stock or a system crash, when it comes to a succesful long term tank, water is not just water......
