Yet another newbie

[liquidice79]

Hi all,

I am another one making the change from FW to SW. I have done heaps of research but am still a bit confused about some things so please forgive any daft questions. To start, it will be FOWLR, reef comes later. The tank is 48x18x18 which is about 67gal (I think, in Australia we use metric system). On with the q's.

1. When topping up (not a water change), I know freshwater should be used. Is plain tap water ok or should it be treated with a water conditioner like for FW? Or any other treatment for that matter?

2. Is SG the same as salinity?

3. I have a Coralife Colormax F36 T8 light at the moment, is this ok for FOWLR or should I buy a different light? (I know I'll have to change when I start putting corals in)

Thanks in advance More silly q's later

 

[darb2]

welcome
1 treat your fw top up with chlorine reducer if neseccary. Ro/Di water is better, but that can come later, or be purchased at a local store
2 technically, no. But basically yes. the salinity should be 35 ppt or the sg should be 1.025. They are about the same.
3 i'm not familiar with that light, but it is probably fine for a fowler.

 

[liquidice79]

thanks darb

next q:

I can get seawater from my LFS is this ok or should I mix my own with synthetic sea salt.

 

[indy]

You'll probably save money mixing your own, and you'll already know whats in it so no surprises. Some LFS "seawater" is whatever they pull out of their own tanks. Rather than use chlorine treatements, just let the water sit overnight so the chlorine evaporates naturally. The fewer chemicals you add, the better IMO. For the lighting, depending on what type of algae is growing on it, try for 40w at a bare minimum. More will be better.

SG is the Specific gravity of the water, or more simply, the density. This measures all disolved solids in the water including the salt (pure water has a SG of 1). Salinity is only the amount of salt in the water. They are different, but used interchangeably. Just make sure you're using the right scale.

 

[malkore]

chlorine will evaporate, but chloramine will not. check with your water company and if you have chloramines, you MUST treat the water.

 

[Atari]

I can get seawater from my LFS is this ok or should I mix my own with synthetic sea salt.

I would suggest buying the seawater until you get your own water purifier. The tap water may be safe after using a chloramine remover but it could still contain large quantities of nutrients which will give you all kinds of algae problems.