120 gallon tank salt to high

[SilverSnow]

i have a 120 gallon tank and the salinity using a refractometer is 1.031 which i believe is to high and im not sure how much water to take out i don't have a R.O. system yet so im using tap and dechlorinate there is nothing in the tank except 2 live rocks i just got today rocks and its currently only 3 days running i also used a bottle of quick start "measured out" both products by API

i used instant ocean salt a 200 gallon box came with 4 bags and i ended up using 2 and a 1/2 bags water temp 79*F

 

[Fish Fan]

Welcome to Reef2Reef from the Canandaigua area!

Was your refractometer correctly calibrated?

 

[SilverSnow]

i just did it using distilled water

 

[SilverSnow]

Welcome to Reef2Reef from the Canandaigua area!

Was your refractometer correctly calibrated?

I calibrated it first using tap and it was low then i got distilled water today and re calibrated and it was high i also put phosguard in my filter about an hour ago cause im using tap water

 

[Fish Fan]

i just did it using distilled water

That's good, though better would be to use a calibration solution that's the same as where you want your tank.


But let's assume your refractometer is fine for now. I can't tell you how much water to remove and replace, maybe someone can, or maybe there's a calculator, but I wouldn't over think it. You don't have any delicate livestock at this point, so take some water out, add in some dechlorinated freshwater, let it mix a few minutes, and check your salinity again.

What are you plans for this tank? Fish only, or do you want corals too?

 

[SilverSnow]

That's good, though better would be to use a calibration solution that's the same as where you want your tank.


But let's assume your refractometer is fine for now. I can't tell you how much water to remove and replace, maybe someone can, or maybe there's a calculator, but I wouldn't over think it. You don't have any delicate livestock at this point, so take some water out, add in some dechlorinated freshwater, let it mix a few minutes, and check your salinity again.

What are you plans for this tank? Fish only, or do you want corals too?

im planning on doing a reef tank with few fish

 

[Fish Fan]

You're going to need more rock in your tank for sure. You want the tank to be the main biofilter for your tank. Typically about 1 pound/gallon is a goo starting point, with some recommending even more. Arguably best would be to use a premium live rock from some place like Tampa Bay Saltwater or a quality Local Fish Store (I've been to a couple out your way). You can use dry rocks, in time they become "alive", but you can expect more of what they sometimes call "the ugly phase" of a new tank.

 

[SilverSnow]

You're going to need more rock in your tank for sure. You want the tank to be the main biofilter for your tank. Typically about 1 pound/gallon is a goo starting point, with some recommending even more. Arguably best would be to use a premium live rock from some place like Tampa Bay Saltwater or a quality Local Fish Store (I've been to a couple out your way). You can use dry rocks, in time they become "alive", but you can expect more of what they sometimes call "the ugly phase" of a new tank.

money is limited atm so my plan was to add live rock slowly over the next 4 to 5 months i have another 15 lbs ibut i have to clean it first

 

[Fish Fan]

money is limited atm so my plan was to add live rock slowly over the next 4 to 5 months i have another 15 lbs ibut i have to clean it first

I fully understand being on a tight budget and building tanks slowly. You can do that, just know that your tank really won't be ready to go for fish until you get a fair amount of rock in there. Sand would go a long way too, it's even more porous and offers more "real estate" for bacteria, and sand is cheap.

I have an RO filter you can have if you want it and want to make the drive to come get it. It's just an RO filter, so you'd need to add a DI canister or two, but they are not too expensive.

 

[bobnicaragua]

Take some saltwater out and add back fresh water to replace it. Test and repeat.

Unless you have unusually pure tap water, you will need an RODI. Regular dechlorinated water will have contaminants that will grow a ton of algae and probably won’t work for a reef.

 

[SilverSnow]

I fully understand being on a tight budget and building tanks slowly. You can do that, just know that your tank really won't be ready to go for fish until you get a fair amount of rock in there. Sand would go a long way too, it's even more porous and offers more "real estate" for bacteria, and sand is cheap.

I have an RO filter you can have if you want it and want to make the drive to come get it. It's just an RO filter, so you'd need to add a DI canister or two, but they are not too expensive.

i have a friend who has a spare they are getting rid of but thanks for the offer the sand was defenetly the next step i was probably gonna buy 50-80 lbs of crushed coral and the rest live sand

 

[SilverSnow]

thanks for the help yall i definitely appreciate it.
i removed 10 gallons and its down to 1.026

 

[Fish Fan]

Good score on the RODI unit, that will help a lot!

Good idea to add some sand. What do you mean by "live" sand? Is this something wet from your local store, or are you talking about the CarrabSea bagged sands? These are not really "live" the way the wet stuff is (even though it's bagged "wet"). EDIT: Nothing wrong with the CarribSea sands, you're just not getting a lot of bacteria, in my humble opinion. I'd just use all dry sand if on a budget.

I reread your original post, and I've never used the API Quick Start product, but most of us here don't think too highly of their products in general. If the first couple of rocks you added were good, wet live rock from your fish store, technically that's all you'd need to "seed" your tank with bacteria, though adding more live rock will help the process go faster.

If you need a "bacteria in a bottle" product, I like the Dr. Tim's One and Only and a lot of people swear by Fritz TurboStart, which is said to establish a biofilter very quickly.

 

[SilverSnow]

Good score on the RODI unit, that will help a lot!

Good idea to add some sand. What do you mean by "live" sand? Is this something wet from your local store, or are you talking about the CarrabSea bagged sands? These are not really "live" the way the wet stuff is (even though it's bagged "wet").

I reread your original post, and I've never used the API Quick Start product, but most of us here don't think too highly of their products in general. If the first couple of rocks you added were good, wet live rock from your fish store, technically that's all you'd need to "seed" your tank with bacteria, though adding more live rock will help the process go faster.

If you need a "bacteria in a bottle" product, I like the Dr. Tim's One and Only and a lot of people swear by Fritz TurboStart, which is said to establish a biofilter very quickly.

that makes sense, yeah thats the sand i meant but if its not really "live" just regular sand then.

api is just what i had on hand so i figured i didnt wanna waste it but fritz or tims was the next bottle was thinking of, a lot of people recommend it so far ive seen.

 

[Fish Fan]

that makes sense, yeah thats the sand i meant but if its not really "live" just regular sand then.

api is just what i had on hand so i figured i didnt wanna waste it but fritz or tims was the next bottle was thinking of, a lot of people recommend it so far ive seen.

I mean, if you're on a budget, I'd just get all dry sand. I like the look of those CarribSea sands, I have used them for sure, I just don't think you need to pay extra for them if your expectation is for them to be "live". Cheap dry sand, and a bottle of Dr. Tim's does gives you the same thing, in my opinion.

 

[SilverSnow]

I mean, if you're on a budget, I'd just get all dry sand. I like the look of those CarribSea sands, I have used them for sure, I just don't think you need to pay extra for them if your expectation is for them to be "live". Cheap dry sand, and a bottle of Dr. Tim's does gives you the same thing, in my opinion.

yeah ill probably just get cheap sand then lol the live rock should be enough specially if its just gonna sit with no corals for a while i wanna make sure i get used to water changing and keeping water steady before i start adding stuff i know stuffs gonna die and algae is inevitable. been keeping my lights off to reduce algae and there is nothing that really need it to my knowledge and if i dont end up getting the ro system i can just use fish store water i think they said its 1.50 a gallon so its not terrible for a 30 gallon water change just a lot of hauling

 

[TARHEEL78]

@SilverSnow If your salinity is at 1.031 you need to replace 17.79 gallons of saltwater with RO water and your resulting salinity will be 35PPT.

 

[Fish Fan]

yeah ill probably just get cheap sand then lol the live rock should be enough specially if its just gonna sit with no corals for a while i wanna make sure i get used to water changing and keeping water steady before i start adding stuff i know stuffs gonna die and algae is inevitable. been keeping my lights off to reduce algae and there is nothing that really need it to my knowledge and if i dont end up getting the ro system i can just use fish store water i think they said its 1.50 a gallon so its not terrible for a 30 gallon water change just a lot of hauling

I think that's all a solid plan.

If you ever need it, for freshwater (to top off your tank, and to make saltwater) you can use distilled water that can be found at your local Mega-Lo-Mart or really any grocery store or pharmacy:

Robot or human?

Keep your lights off, no need to run them right now, all they would do is feed "the uglies" at this point.

Looking at your photo again, looks like you have some long air stones and one circ pump? Do you have a plan to add more circulation? Maybe some hang-on-back gear like a skimmer or refugium?

EDIT: Your air stones will move some water, and technically would be fine as you cycle your tank, but be prepared for A LOT of salt creep lol!

 

[SilverSnow]

I think that's all a solid plan.

If you ever need it, for freshwater (to top off your tank, and to make saltwater) you can use distilled water that can be found at your local Mega-Lo-Mart or really any grocery store or pharmacy:

Robot or human?

Keep your lights off, no need to run them right now, all they would do is feed "the uglies" at this point.

Looking at your photo again, looks like you have some long air stones and one circ pump? Do you have a plan to add more circulation? Maybe some hang-on-back gear like a skimmer or refugium?

EDIT: Your air stones will move some water, and technically would be fine as you cycle your tank, but be prepared for A LOT of salt creep lol!

yeah im gonna get more pumps once i start getting more rocks i was actually gonna like 2-4 circulator pumps eventually the plan is to have a flow that goes intermittently one way for a while maybe a couple hours idk and then switch to the other way but im not sure on that yet and i will probably add a sump when i can or wave makers

 

[Fish Fan]

yeah im gonna get more pumps once i start getting more rocks i was actually gonna like 2-4 circulator pumps eventually the plan is to have a flow that goes intermittently one way for a while maybe a couple hours idk and then switch to the other way but im not sure on that yet and i will probably add a sump when i can or wave makers

You can do that with inexpensive timers and it works well