Water Condition

[louislkl]

Hi everyone ... im sorry as im new to this hobby ... Currently having a 2ft by 1ft by 1.5ft main tank and a 2ft by 1ft by 1ft Sump tank ...

I realised that what ever i put into the tank all end up dead ... Stuff like Zoas , Boxer Shrimp , Red Feather SartFish and even liverocks ( worms on the rock start moulding ) I think my tank is super unstable and i have some test kits with me ... below are the readings , can pros here help me out on some qns like is the reading too high or low , how can i increase or decrease the reading and what other test kits that is a must in order to stablize my tank water condition ... Something to add , i hope to have a water condition good enough to hold zoas and some very low end corals and some shrimps as im not intending to have too much fishes ( maybe one - two small clown ) ...

KH = 8*dhk

PO4 = 2mg/l

MG = 900mg/l ( ppm )

Pls help me out with this ... Anyone having some test kits that i missed out and wanna sell can let me know too as i think i need to do alot more testing ...

Thanks alot pple ...

[desideria]

can we have a bit more info? HOw long have you been cycling the tank? Where did you get your Salt water from? You made it? NSW?

What's the Salinity level? Temperature?

your phosphate reading seems odd... it should be in PPM ( Parts per Million).. which test kit are you using?

By any chance is this a freshwater setup converted to marine?

[Rukas]

can we have a bit more info? HOw long have you been cycling the tank? Where did you get your Salt water from? You made it? NSW?

What's the Salinity level? Temperature?

your phosphate reading seems odd... it should be in PPM ( Parts per Million).. which test kit are you using?

By any chance is this a freshwater setup converted to marine?

2 mg/l should be equivalent to 2ppm right?

[sherman]

How long you cycle your tank?

What is your SG?And temperature now?

[CFOh]

2 mg/l should be equivalent to 2ppm right?

Yes, correct..

[louislkl]

can we have a bit more info? HOw long have you been cycling the tank? Where did you get your Salt water from? You made it? NSW? What's the Salinity level? Temperature?your phosphate reading seems odd... it should be in PPM ( Parts per Million).. which test kit are you using? By any chance is this a freshwater setup converted to marine?

Ive cycled for abt a month without rocks , i just recently added the rocks and it doesnt seems to be doin very good ... Salt water is using Marinium Reef Sea Salt and mixed with tap water ... Salinity level , i used a floating hydro meter and its within the green portion but after that i use 2 more hydro meter to try and its giving me diff reading ... ( total i use 3 hydrometer , one states within the green prtion , one states below the green portion which means too much salt and lastly the 3rd shows above the green portion which means not enough salt ... ) so im a little confused ... Tempt is ranging from 28c to 30c as im using big fan for it ... phosphate reading i actually base on the write out on the test kit which states as mg/l ... Brand of test kits im using SERA ... what do u mean by converted from freshwater to marine ? The tank was used as freshwater when converted i have changed the water totally using marine salt and tapped water ... Lastly , thx for the reply ...

How long you cycle your tank?What is your SG?And temperature now?

Hi , i have cycled for a month and tempt is 28c to 30c , btw wat is SG ? Thanks for the reply ...

2 mg/l should be equivalent to 2ppm right?

Thanks for letting me know ... i blur blur on the units to be used man ... = )

Yes, correct..

Hi boss , is 2ppm a correct reading ? Regarding the nitrate reactor i enquired earlier on , pls gimmi some time to consider ... meanwhile if someones wans it den do let them take it ... thanks alot in advance ...

[louislkl]

Oh ya , something to add ... i do not know it the salt i using ... i have actually prepare a pail of salt mix ( same thing used Marinium Reef Sea Salt + tapped water ) , currently its in the pail with an ATMAN pump of 4000l/hr ... I wanted to use that for water change cux i tot it was my water issue but somehow its been like 4 days and the mix looks very milky ... Is that normal ...

[pokmingsheng]

you might want to change your brand of salt..

do check out brands like DD H2Ocean, Tropic Marine, Marine Environment.. etc..

dont use those hydrometer, get a refractometer.. as you can tell, 3 different hydrometers give u 3 different readings.. haha..

and do not use tap water as it contains elements like chlorine, silicates that will be "harmful" to your tank in the long run...

do use DI or RO water instead... you can either purchase them, or you can invest in a RO/DI Water Filter instead... no amount of test kits can help if some of the fundamentals are not adjusted right...

starting off on the right foot will save you alot of unwanted trouble in the long run in future.. you wouldnt want to purchase your favourite fish or coral only to see it die off because of the mistakes that you've failed to correct right from the start... dont learn it the hard way, im sure many experienced reefers here would be more than willing to help you...

Happy Reefing

[CFOh]

Hi boss , is 2ppm a correct reading ? Regarding the nitrate reactor i enquired earlier on , pls gimmi some time to consider ... meanwhile if someones wans it den do let them take it ... thanks alot in advance ...

Hi, Bro, you shld monitor on nitrogen cycle parameter first (NH3, NO2 & NO3) for the first month tank cycling...

pls find below some useful info from bro Lemon on tank cycling....

You may consider adding LR's or some rock scape for fishes & invertebrate to hide. Also, mitigate the aggression in tank..

Your tank looks very clean... and also your bio home also did not suggest trapping significant detritus after a month? Did you see any algae grow during water cycle? Try add a layer of fine wool on top before bio home. Remember clean tank not necessary healthy tank..

btw, SG = Specific Gravity, Salinity level in our case.

Cheers & Happy Reefing...

[desideria]

agree with CFO and kiko.

Do get Distilled water and not from the tap as tap water has chlorine which will kill your livestock. SG = Salinity . I echo the use of a refractometer. It's expensive compared to a Hydrometer but it's far more accurate and no headaches of whether the reading is right or not. I had a hydrometer before and it kept on giving me different readings.

The milky salt water could be due to there is way too much salt in the water...if I recall correctly it has to do with the salt has turned into carbonate if a large volume of salt is mixed with water too quickly. My chemistry sucks but I remember one should not add too much salt but add it slowly so that it all gets dissolved properly and not solifidy. Do make another batch of salt water with the brands that Kiko has suggested.

good luck

[superior1]

Oh ya , something to add ... i do not know it the salt i using ... i have actually prepare a pail of salt mix ( same thing used Marinium Reef Sea Salt + tapped water ) , currently its in the pail with an ATMAN pump of 4000l/hr ... I wanted to use that for water change cux i tot it was my water issue but somehow its been like 4 days and the mix looks very milky ... Is that normal ...

Bro,

I think too much salt liao,... try to redo another pail of saltwater mix,

first of all anti-chloride yr tap water, then slowly add in the marine salt, making sure to take salinity level and stir well...

happy mixing

[superior1]

Bro,

I think too much salt liao,... try to redo another pail of saltwater mix,

first of all anti-chloride yr tap water, then slowly add in the marine salt, making sure to take salinity level and stir well...

happy mixing

By the way, dont' think your biological baterial is sufficient, try to add more ceramic rings and use live rock to cycle the water

thxs.

[superior1]

By the way, dont' think your biological baterial is sufficient, try to add more ceramic rings and use live rock to cycle the water

thxs.

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My new tank after 4weeks cycling...

Actually put in a cheap starter nemo during the 1st week of cycling, to actually kick start the ammonia process...

thxs.

[superior1]

My new tank after 4weeks cycling...

Actually put in a cheap starter nemo during the 1st week of cycling, to actually kick start the ammonia process... (do not want to get the water smelly of using dead prawn)

thxs.

[superior1]

[Rukas]

My new tank after 4weeks cycling...

Actually put in a cheap starter nemo during the 1st week of cycling, to actually kick start the ammonia process... (do not want to get the water smelly of using dead prawn)

thxs.

Bro, can explain Starter Nemo? i hope its not the fish. If it is 1 week cycling is too early right?, my humble request dont do that to living thing no matter how cheap it is. Even if we get it free life is priceless, sorry if i offended you or got it wrong.

[superior1]

Bro, can explain Starter Nemo? i hope its not the fish. If it is 1 week cycling is too early right?, my humble request dont do that to living thing no matter how cheap it is. Even if we get it free life is priceless, sorry if i offended you or got it wrong.

sorry did not explain very well here.

yes with a starter nemo but used live sand / cured live rock and seachem stablity (bacteria) to kick start the nitro-cycle for a week, b4 adding in the fish

Sorry for the mis-info.

thxs.

[superior1]

sorry did not explain very well here.

yes with a starter nemo but used live sand / cured live rock and seachem stablity (bacteria) to kick start the nitro-cycle for a week, b4 adding in the fish

Sorry for the mis-info.

thxs.

New member of my marine fish family, takes quite a while to show-up, pls kindly be patience... (bi-color angel)

thxs for viewing...

[ostrovr]

Hi kikobananas,

Am new to this hobby, actually friend sold a tank, pump, protein skimmer, some lightings & chiller to me.

Tank size is 2ft x 1.5ft x 1.5ft.

I bought another additional tank, so now have a top & bottom sump tank.

Have actually mixed water with salt & added sand & let the system run for a week.

Would appreciate if you could guide me by coming down to my office to have a look.

Appreciate the help.

Edmund Hp: 90215906

[finind]

Oh ya , something to add ... i do not know it the salt i using ... i have actually prepare a pail of salt mix ( same thing used Marinium Reef Sea Salt + tapped water ) , currently its in the pail with an ATMAN pump of 4000l/hr ... I wanted to use that for water change cux i tot it was my water issue but somehow its been like 4 days and the mix looks very milky ... Is that normal ...

ya looks like too much salt

I prefer to use airstone + stirring

[louislkl]

desideria & CFOh & kikobananas

Thanks for the advise ... I have gave up on that salt ... Preparing to get Tropic Marine Salt instead for the next water change ... regarding salinity , i have borrowed a refractometer from my fren to test it out ( haven collect ) , will update again ...

superior1

Nice fish there man , too bad my tank too small for fishes ... it must cost a bomb right ?

finind

Dunno izzit the Brand of salt prob le ... even when cycling in my tank , i add salt bit by bit to monitor salinity , i oso face the same prob , looks like calcium powder that is not dissolved ... anyway i tried Tropic Marine salt be4 and seems not bad ... for next water change will try to use that ...

PS. Sorry bros , what is DI or RO ? are they disstilled water , where can i get them ? Anyway something to add ... i have got 2 bottles of seachem denitrator and currently using a BOYU canister filter ( looks like Eden 501 ) with the denitrator in it ... Flowrate is onli 150L/h ... as i have heard from pple saying that intially the tank water will smell bad and slowly when nitrite form and converted to nitrates , the smell will start to go away ... currently no smell , in fact smells good ... but one of my rocks seems to have alot of mould on it , its normal ?

[Rukas]

DI/RO = Distilled and Reverse osmosis water

You can get a filter to produce this or purchase this as there are many drinking water that has completed the process

[iskay]

Hi Respect Law,

Please read up the articles in our forum regarding starting of the marine aquarium. You need to understand the basics like Nitrogen Cycle, Filtration, recommended water parameters, lighting, etc... Otherwise, you'll end up killing livestocks. Old birds and experience members have put in very useful and informational articles on how to properly start a marine tank for one purpose - For newbies to find and read so that they don't need to commit the same mistakes that had previously been encountered. So please do your part, read their articles.

Even the most helpful and patient folks will get bored answering the same questions over and over again!

I can see that you have some Zoas in your tank. It's too early for any livestock - fish, corals, inverts, etc... Cycle your tank properly and you'll have less headaches later. Dying livestock because of improper cycling is not only money down the drain but also is disrespectful to life itself. Yes, you can start the cycling WITHOUT any fish or livestock.

Hydrometers are made to a particular calibration. The glass hydrometers you have needs to be used in water of temparature that it is calibrated with. Besides looking at the top green portion, your water should be in the temparature range of the bottom green portion. Having said this, Hydrometers are not precision instruments. Like what many others here have said, Refractometers provide a more precise measure but do note that they also are calibrated for specific purposes. If you want to know the details check this out. My opinion is that it is okay to have small variations in your SG. SG variation does exist in nature - Rain dilute the sea water where it falls although the variation is extremely minute.

What you should pay attention to the nasty elements in the water - Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate, Chlorine, to name a few. They should be kept the below recomended levels. Here's some details on the recommended parameters.

[louislkl]

Hi Respect Law,

Please read up the articles in our forum regarding starting of the marine aquarium. You need to understand the basics like Nitrogen Cycle, Filtration, recommended water parameters, lighting, etc... Otherwise, you'll end up killing livestocks. Old birds and experience members have put in very useful and informational articles on how to properly start a marine tank for one purpose - For newbies to find and read so that they don't need to commit the same mistakes that had previously been encountered. So please do your part, read their articles.

Even the most helpful and patient folks will get bored answering the same questions over and over again!

I can see that you have some Zoas in your tank. It's too early for any livestock - fish, corals, inverts, etc... Cycle your tank properly and you'll have less headaches later. Dying livestock because of improper cycling is not only money down the drain but also is disrespectful to life itself. Yes, you can start the cycling WITHOUT any fish or livestock.

Hydrometers are made to a particular calibration. The glass hydrometers you have needs to be used in water of temparature that it is calibrated with. Besides looking at the top green portion, your water should be in the temparature range of the bottom green portion. Having said this, Hydrometers are not precision instruments. Like what many others here have said, Refractometers provide a more precise measure but do note that they also are calibrated for specific purposes. If you want to know the details check this out. My opinion is that it is okay to have small variations in your SG. SG variation does exist in nature - Rain dilute the sea water where it falls although the variation is extremely minute.

What you should pay attention to the nasty elements in the water - Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate, Chlorine, to name a few. They should be kept the below recomended levels. Here's some details on the recommended parameters.

Thanks alot for the advice ...