want to start a 10g coral/invert tank

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salinity, you'll want a refractometer not a hydrometer. More accurate, less to go wrong.
 
nxb161 said:
salinity, you'll want a refractometer not a hydrometer. More accurate, less to go wrong.

ikno that much but all the salt brands and how are they diiffernt etc its confuseing

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Yeah, I've used two kinds, to be honest I'd have to go in the back room to tell you what I use now :p I think there is thread on this forum right now asking about which is the best. It'll come down to picking one, and if your livestock is thriving you'll keep with it. 1.026 is a good reef level. Basically you'll add 1/2c for every gallon (for mine at least to get 1.025) and adjust accordingly. Did anyone mention R/O DI water? I have my own filter, just got done "making some water" a little bit ago. I store mine in 5G jugs until I'm ready to mix it. You'll use a heater and PH to allow your salt to mix for 24hours. I've been known not towait 24hours, but you really should. Also top offs, you'll need to keep your level up to keep your salinity stable. Top offs are done with R/O DI water, not saltwater.
 
nxb161 said:
Yeah, I've used two kinds, to be honest I'd have to go in the back room to tell you what I use now :p I think there is thread on this forum right now asking about which is the best. It'll come down to picking one, and if your livestock is thriving you'll keep with it. 1.026 is a good reef level. Basically you'll add 1/2c for every gallon (for mine at least to get 1.025) and adjust accordingly. Did anyone mention R/O DI water? I have my own filter, just got done "making some water" a little bit ago. I store mine in 5G jugs until I'm ready to mix it. You'll use a heater and PH to allow your salt to mix for 24hours. I've been known not towait 24hours, but you really should. Also top offs, you'll need to keep your level up to keep your salinity stable. Top offs are done with R/O DI water, not saltwater.

r/o reverse osomosis is it nessacsry whats wrong with tap water?

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I learned to always dip the corals even at LFS you can pick up flatworms or red bugs. I went to a house last week the guy had 3 wrasses in it and a dragnet. That told me he probably didn't have flatworms I got some sps and I was able to see if there was anything in the tank that might be bothering them like red bugs. I didn't see any aiptasia either. No algae in his DT since he had a fox face. I was able to ask about the SG, dosing and about anything else I could think of. For me his tank had to many fish but it didn't effect the quality of it.

If you are going to go with a reef tank get something made for reef tanks like Reef Crystals. Most are the same. I got this really expensive brand to try on one tank just to compare and it didn't change anything in the tank so I am back to buying Reef Crystals.

Use RO water when you start your tank too. Top off with fresh RO water to. That will help keep the algae down from the begging.
 
Test your tap water. Most contain ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, copper, phosphates, other metals. All are bad for your reef. You'll end up with lots of algae issues from excess nutrients, and the other stuff will help crash your system in time.
I've never dipped anything, but that's just me.
 
nx if my water has no copper is it ok to use? i understand algae may b a issue but just scrape it off becaude isn't R/O expnsive

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Hey, its up to you, but it is more than scraping it off the glass, it will cover your sand, rocks, crowd your coral. Cyano bacteria & Hair Algae is not fun....
Don't let anyone fool you into thinking there is a magic CUC that will take care of the algae either. It is cheaper to buy your own system to filter the water then buying the RODI water in the long run.
I don't know what all you'd want to test, it'd be more than just copper.
 
It depends on what you want to spend, mine was $150 from P U R E W A T E R C L U B

You'll have to test now and again to see when you need to replace the filters as well.

I actually just tested my RODI water today. Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate all zero still :)
 
Can you clarify? I don't know if you mean buying the water vs. the filter to make it yourself. Also I should note that for every 5G I make, I waste about 10G. I think that depends a lot on your water pressure. I try to use mine for watering plants and such, but during the winter I end up putting a lot down the drain :(
 
I really don't know what it costs. I know my LFS sells it, and I see a lot of customers buying it as well. I just don't like the hassle of transporting it. That's just me.
 
In my areas RO water is about 50 cent an gallon. You might also want to test the RO water you get. There is a store near me that must over use their filters because it always have nitrates in it. For a 10 gallon tank you figure about 15 gallons or so a month for top off and salt water. It is a hassle to get water I have a friend that gets premixed saltwater and gets RO water from me. If you do that make sure you test the SG before using it.
 
Good luck, I think there is something called a TDS meter. So you can do your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate testing, and then TDS. I don't know if petco or petsmart could do that for you.
 
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