Also RO system is not always needed u can call your local water company (alhambra) they all use RO systems and just ask for plain purified water NO Extras

Awesome thread Steve. Great contribution!

Typically, how high do you fill your tank? I've heard about an inch shy of overflow but don't know for sure. First timer here.

Water height is very custom to every tank. There is no set rule on distance from the edge.

Although most tanks have a surface skimmer, so water height is specific to that tank to allow the skimmer to work properly. Too high and it will not surface skim, too low and you may starve your filtration pumps of water.

In my tank (RSM) I have my water about 1/4" below the molding. The molding is about 1" tall.

If you have no surface skimmer than I would set the water level about 1" below the top of the tank. This allows for flow not to splash on your floor and snails/inverts not to climb out of the tank.

Keep the water level constant as when it goes down, salinity is rising. Also keep it the same after every water change.

Thanks StevieT!

I purchased the hagen ac surface skimmer and returned my AC110 for an AC70 (for fuge mod). I'll hopefully have that installed by next weekend. Right now I just have a powerhead and heater going. Should I be removing the foam that collects on the surface? I mixed all my water in my main and added the salt earlier in the week but the water is still super cloudy. I can see salt residue on the glass and equipment but I'm just going to continue to let it mix.

http://i39.tinypic.com/rbjx45.jpg
Pic for reference.

Yes you should be collecting the surface film build up with the surface skimmer.

That is why you should never mix salt in the tank, always in a bucket. Becuase it looks like new tank just knock it back into the water and mix really well.

this is a great guide thanks for donating your time to educate us noobs
as I went through it I had questions by the time I read all of it they had been answered awesome job!

I am glad it was helpful to you! Thanks for reading.

Would you want to use RO/DI water for not only the initial fill, but also for water changes and top-offs? Seems like that would produce a cleaner water than just using RO.

Yes, but an initial fill for leak testing you can use tap water, but you drain this off. After that RO/DI only especially for top offs and water changes

RO vs RO/DI is about 4 TDS

Inna 8g pica, changing 1 1/2g how much should be allowed for back? I mean I take out 1 1/2 of water, put back 1 1/2 yet still need to top off.

I am a bit confused. If you take 1.5 gallons of saltwater out you have to put 1.5 gallons of new saltwater back in.

You need to be topping off the tank before a water change otherwise you will raise the salinity if you put more saltwater in vs what you took out.

Hi everyone, new to this forum but not to aquaria. Was wondering about the suggestion to clean the tank with Windex - I have always heard not get anywhere near a fish tank of any kind with that kind of cleanser as it is highly toxic. Is this wrong? I don't want to start a flamewar or anything, this is a great thread!

Most clean their glass with windex. If you spray it on the glass and not in the tank it won't be a problem. To be super safe spray it on the towel first or use RO/DI water to clean the glass. I will try and find a recent thread on this subject for you.

I prefer windex in my tank, which is open top. Have used it on all other fish tanks as well.

here you go

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=200958

I use sprayway glass cleaner. It works wonders! Just spray it on a paper towel and then use it to wipe off your tank. As with any glass cleaner, be it windex or just plain old vinegar, never spray directly onto your glass or you risk getting it in your tank.

This is such an AWESOME thread!!! I am glad that I found this place. Steve, I love the way you explain things. So easy to understand!

I am a complete newbie to the marine aquarium. I have a 55 gall fresh water tank for 7 yrs., so not new to the aquarium hobby. But the Marine aquarium just seems like a complete different ball game. I have just embark on this journey with a Cube-master 14g, it was a gift to me. It is being cycled for a week so far with 10lbs of Carrib live sand and a live rock from LFS (I assume that's Local Fish Store??). Everythings seems to be okay so far. Here're my questions regarding water change.

1. I am planning to get my salt-water from the LFS until everything starts to run well. Hence, I do not have any RO water at home that is not salted. For top offs, can I just used normal distilled drinking water?

2. The back compartments contains a) white fine sponge black coase sponge and c) bioballs and a bag of carbon, d)pump. Are these sufficient? I will be adding a tank heater this weekend. Currently, the tank water is stable at 80deg. F. I assume the tank heater goes in the pump chamber?

3. I have heard that I should only change 10% of water per week. So, I should be changing 1.5 gal?

4. I have not done a water change yet, and will be this weekend. Noticed that there are some mostly "transparent" "flakes" on the water surface. I try to get rid of it buy skim the water top with a paper towel, but not very effective. I have never seen that on my fw tank. How should I get rid of that?

Thank you so much for all your help!!!

Grace

1. I am planning to get my salt-water from the LFS until everything starts to run well. Hence, I do not have any RO water at home that is not salted. For top offs, can I just used normal distilled drinking water?

Use distilled water, usually people do not drink it because it has no taste. 0 TDS is the goal with water and a reef

2. The back compartments contains a) white fine sponge black coase sponge and c) bioballs and a bag of carbon, d)pump. Are these sufficient? I will be adding a tank heater this weekend. Currently, the tank water is stable at 80deg. F. I assume the tank heater goes in the pump chamber?

Ditch the bioballs and sponges. Use chemical media (chemi pure) and filter floss. You can also create a fuge with chaeto. Heater can go in any area that it fits, flow is important so is tank temp stability.

3. I have heard that I should only change 10% of water per week. So, I should be changing 1.5 gal?

10-30% is fine. The more the better actually.

4. I have not done a water change yet, and will be this weekend. Noticed that there are some mostly "transparent" "flakes" on the water surface. I try to get rid of it buy skim the water top with a paper towel, but not very effective. I have never seen that on my fw tank. How should I get rid of that?

Flow pointed to the top or a surface skimmer. Is this like an AIO tank that has rear filtration chambers? If so it should have some kind of water intake that acts as a surface skimmer.

One week is a very fast cycle. Make sure you are testing before adding any livestock and take it slow.

Stupid Question. What is this filter floss you speak of. Do you have a link to one I can buy?

thanks

i asked the same question. dont worry no questions here are stupid. you can try poly fill for your filter or order some off of intank.. thats what i did and im waitin for my order to come

I think I saw a bag of poly filter at Petco for $3.99 today. I'll give it a shot. thanks.

You can buy filter floss almost anywhere, just ask your LFS for some usually its about $1 per sqft. I usually get about 50 sqft of it for about $25. Stevie awesome guide for salt mixing. I do just about the same thing except I have preheated water in a 55 gallon tub with aged RO water with a pump constantly moving the water. It takes me about 15 minutes to make a 2 gallon salt mix as the water is already preheated. Its best, if everyone else can store RO water in a storage tank that way its dispensable when needed, that and it will always be the right temp rather than having cold RO water come out of the tap for mixing.

If you look back in this thread it is talked about many times

Steve, et al...

I just realized that I should have posted in the forum and not on the sticky... I am going to start a new thread with picture of my tank. Thank you so much and I appologized posting on the wrong place.

Here's the new thread: Link to Noobie thread


Grace

No problem, don't think it really mattered overall.

Thanks Stevie. I read ALL the pages and came upon the answers I needed. I also have a Cube Masters aquarium I want to try as a reef tank. Thanks for the answers for the questions. I am sure I will have some asking about the fuge in the back compartment very soon.

Thanks.... STICKIE for sure!

it is a stickie

I'm new here, what is a sticky?

Thanks all

Phil

The important topics bookmarked at the top of each individual forum

Excellent thread. I'm another one that's been reefing a while and not making my own water. Sounds simple enough. Thanks for the info.

Stevie, so I have read this entire thread, very helpful thanks. One question though, I have the same tank and was following your procedure to the tee. However, when I mixed the salt I used 4 gallons of water and 2.5 cups of red sea coral pro salt and got a salinity of 1.030? This is without injecting any air into the water? I had to add an extra gallon of water to get the salinity down. Do you mix with 4 gallons or more with the 2.5 cups?

I estimate it at 4 gallons and I fill the measuring cup to the top, then estimate the 1/2 cup. So it isn't an exact literally measurement. It works for me but again I am not actually measuring out 4 gallons, using a natural line on a bucket.

Find what works for you, use less salt next time or more water. Air injection will not effect salinity. If you also had evaporation over the time of mixing and testing it may have effected it as well. I know if I let my water sit over night I have to add fresh RO to it or use less salt before hand to accommodate.

i read some where that u shouldnt siphon the sand bed? is that true? ive been doing this to my tank for the longest time and never saw anything wrong with it

I think they mean just siphon the top of the sand bed. Disturbing the lower, deeper parts of the sand bed messes up the already established nitrogen cycle. Siphoning the entire depth of the bed negates the effect of having a sand bed as another filter in the system.

On the plus side. Your sand bed has got to be nice! Although a properly maintained tank with good turnover rates will keep a sand bed pretty clean. Snails will do the rest.

I was wondering where to get RO water and had not considered looking at the large prebottled stuff. Probably be much cheaper than buying the premade salt water from my LFS for $1/gallon.

Your best long term option is to make your own and purchase a RO/DI machine

While I'm just running my 8g, I think I'll take the easier route and make my own with some RO water and a bucket. Once this one get's going and moves to my office, I plan on starting a 30-40gallon to keep here in the house. 10% water changes might get pricey at that point

I have my own RO/DI system.

what is RO water is that just tap but you know conditoned and with salt. please help me im a begginner

No, it is filtered water to remove total dissolved solids from tap water

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_osmosis

How much do you spend a month on supps. I am guessing Im around 200 or so. I use no products, multivitamins, creatine, about ten pounds of protein powder, currently on anabolic halo, and bcaa and essentials as well. What do you guys take?

I do massive amount of chemi-pure elite. I am up to about 3 bags a day now, I need to cut back soon.

Lmao.

I made up 5 gallons to start my tank, but only needed about 3.5. It'll be a while before I have to do a water change (waiting for cycle). Should I just discard the remaining water? Will it be okay in the bucket? For normal water changes, is it best to make up water fresh each time or does it matter?
Thanks!

Overall it doesn't matter you can store water. Just make sure it is covered, having it move with a pump is best. For that small amount I would just dump it, not worth the trouble. If you store water there will be evaporation so you will have to add fresh RO to bring the salinity back down before the change.

You could dump it in some kind of small sealed container if you like. Just mix, reheat and check salinity before you use.

Yeah, I ended up dumping it. I had the bucket sealed, but when I checked it just now it didn't have the freshest smell. I don't want to risk it with such a small water volume. Thanks for the advice!

Nice guide StevieT

also, i found you can use a siphon to suck water back into your tank without making a mess...
but its not needed..

Hi great thread... noob here with a noob question...when I'm siphoning am i supposed to be cleaning the sand bed also or stay above it and just siphon out water?

You don't have to siphon the sand bed, but you can siphon detritus that's lying on top.

HEAD ON APPLY DIRECTLY TO FOREHEAD

HEAD ON APPLY DIRECTLY TO FOREHEAD

Thank you Stevie!!! Great information for a newb like me! your pictures were a HUGE help too!!