correct way of doing water changes.

[ericosuave]

what is the correct way to do a water change? I have never done one before and i need some help. thanks!

 

[reefobsessed]

You should be using only R/O water. It is best to let it sit for at least 3 days before adding to your tank. You should also have a power head & heater in the water to ensure complete salt mixture and that the temp going in is exactly the same as going out. Thats pretty much it... Everyone does this a little different... The key is never add anything you cant test for this includes water..

 

[jackdp]

I get RO water from a store machine, take home, put freshwater in a bucket with a powerhead and heater. Add my salt mix, fire up the PH and heater and let the salt mix for about 24 hours with the PH aerating feature hooked up. Test the water's specific gravity to be sure it is close to that of the tank water. Siphon out the tank water and pour in the new saltwater. I slowly pour in the new water using a cup. The first few times with a new salt mix I test for pH, alkalinity, nitrate, calcium and phosphate just to be sure those levels are within acceptable ranges but once I've used the salt for awhile I only test specific gravity. Its a good idea to do a full bout of test every time you get new salt just to be sure nothing is wonky with it.

 

[HoopsGuru]

Mix the water, I would not wait 3 days but aerating for 24hrs at least is a good idea. Reason being, RO water is very low in dissolved oxygen and if added in large amounts could potentially cause a big problem. There are also a few chemical reactions occurring in newly mixed water, although there effects if added even immediately after mixing are normally not detectable. I would be sure to verify the same PH, temp, salinity, and also alkalinity in the new water before adding it to the tank. I then siphon out the amount and siphon back in the mixed water.

 

[HoopsGuru]

The first few times with a new salt mix I test for pH, alkalinity, nitrate, calcium and phosphate just to be sure those levels are within acceptable ranges but once I've used the salt for awhile I only test specific gravity.

Glad this topic came up actually, I recently experienced the downside of this. I always test the first few batches of new salt for quality and then assume things will be normally as well. This proved fatal for my 55g tank in the last few days. Something, as of yet undetermined, happened to my salt in the past few weeks and when I did a large water change and went to bed, but by morning something was very wrong. I immediately thought some form of contamination and used a new bucket and hose doing another immediate water change. Little did I know I made things worse.

Soon after by recommendation I tested for alk and learned that the salt which was producing and alk of around 10dkh was now not even registering on my test kit. The tank went through a massive alk spike and the resulting PH crash and calcium precipitation. I lost every single coral in my tank, luckily my fish were stressed but survived.

I'm still working on finding the cause of the problem with the salt, but it is safe to say that anyone using buckets of salt should consider testing every few water changes to ensure the proper parameters. My bucket was stored as I have been for years, tightly sealed and in a small coat closet away from chemicals, etc.

 

[reefrunner69]

I'm still working on finding the cause of the problem with the salt, but it is safe to say that anyone using buckets of salt should consider testing every few water changes to ensure the proper parameters. My bucket was stored as I have been for years, tightly sealed and in a small coat closet away from chemicals, etc.

When I was having problems with IO, it was suggested to me that it could be settling. That the salt should actually be mixed dry before each use as the smaller grains will work their way to the bottom, kinda like mixing sand grain sizes. Which will cause an uneven distribution of elements. My bags always tested consistantly high in alk throughout the bag, but you might experience a greater effect on a bucket. It was actually suggested to me to mix the entire bag at once and then use the water, but I don't have anywhere to store 50g of water for the 5 months it would take me to use it, LOL.

As for waterchanges...This thread has a few different methods for changing water. I don't think it mentions it, but I do agree with testing the newly mixed water before use.

 

[HoopsGuru]

Interesting Kevin, I used to take the cup I used and mix around the salt out of some weird habit....but I doubt I ever really mixed up more than a few inches at a time. Is this to your knowledge a possible IO issue, or do you think it holds for all salt brands?

The alk produced was beyond "high" for me, as I literally stopped at 50 drops (translates to dkh) before I used up the whole test kit. I may contact Aquarium Systems directly to get some theories.

 

[ericosuave]

8O wow.. im kinda confused.. but i think i got it. i should basically just mix some salt with some RO water and make sure the specific gravity is the same.. than let it sit for 24hrs with a power head in it.. than mix in slowly the next day.

 

[HoopsGuru]

Fine....but I would also make sure temp is the same, and that PH and Alk are at proper levels.

 

[ericosuave]

how can i test for alk? i dont think i have a tester to test this..

by the way.. thanks for all your responses!

 

[reefrunner69]

The alk produced was beyond "high" for me, as I literally stopped at 50 drops (translates to dkh) before I used up the whole test kit. I may contact Aquarium Systems directly to get some theories.

There was a noted issue with ALK and IO a few months ago. It was dicussed for sometime on Randy's forum at RC.

Is this to your knowledge a possible IO issue, or do you think it holds for all salt brands?

I would think this would hold true for all brands. and I would think the effects would be more pronounced in a bucket, than in a bag.

 

[reefrunner69]

how can i test for alk?

purchase an alkalinity test kit, salifert makes a good one that is easy to use and very accurate.

 

[OhTheHumanity]

What is good ALK level?

 

[reefrunner69]

a good alk level depends largely on your CA level.

Solving Calcium and Alkalinity problems[/url]]
Recommended Ranges

Before getting into problems and solutions, let’s first define what constitutes a problem and what does not. Based on published studies3 involving the calcification of corals and other organisms, I recommend the following:

Alkalinity2 (due to bicarbonate and carbonate but not borate, so those using Seachem salt must raise this value substantially to accommodate the borate being counted in standard alkalinity tests)

2.5 - 4 meq/L or 7 - 11 dKH or 125 - 200 ppm CaCO3 equivalents

Calcium:

380 – 450 ppm calcium ion or 950 - 1125 ppm CaCO3 equivalents

If you are anywhere within these ranges for both parameters, you do not need to perform any correction on your tank chemistry, though you may choose to do so for other reasons. In this sense it makes no difference what the relationship is between the two values. If alkalinity is 4 meq/L, it is not inherently any “better” for calcium to be at 380 ppm or 450 ppm. Also, these ranges are somewhat arbitrary, especially at the high end. In fact, the primary reason for having a high end at all is that it is often difficult to keep one of these parameters above the minimum end of the range if the other is over the top end. So if one of these parameters is slightly above the high end, and the other is OK, that is not a problem worth worrying about.

One of the reasons that you may find compelling to adjust values even when within the recommended range (or outside but close to it) relates to test kit errors. All measurements of calcium and alkalinity have some uncertainty associated with them. Even if the kit is a reliable one, you may still want to strive to be in the center of the range to make it less likely that you are actually outside of it and only appear to be inside of it due to uncertainties in the measurement. This issue is especially important at the low end of the ranges, and not so important at the high ends.

 

[MadManMac]

This may be a stupid question considering where I come from, but which version of dKH do you use? I see that there is an english version a german version and at least one other. So which one is commonly referred to, I assume the english?

 

[steve-s]

What English version are you refering too or do you mean GH?

The two main standards are typically mequivalents per litre (mEq/l) and degrees of Karbonate Hardness (DKH)

1 mEq/l = 2.8 DKH

Cheers
Steve

 

[jackdp]

Hey Hoops, just a suggestion, have you checked your kit against your tank water just to be sure the kit reagents haven't gone funky on ya..just a thought.