bumblebee1976
Aquarium Advice Regular
Thank you Thincat - I have no nitrates/nitrites or ammonia in the tank and wanted to wait before doing any water changes, to allow things to settle. The biorb filter cartridge contains resins which buffer and stabilise the water for a time but I am now ready for a water/filter change. My pH seems to have risen but I'm not sure over what period of time and why. Either way, it is now at a more suitable level for marines but it's the change which concerns me. Could it be uneaten food etc which has pushed it up? It is quite a hard one to read but I think it is 8.2 roughly, but was originally 8.0. The RO water I have has been standing and the temperature is fairly high at the moment with the hot weather, so do I need to heat it before adding it to the tank? I thought it would be as warm as the tank water but it is cooler, and I've read that the salinity will be different in cooler water. If I mix the salt as per instructions for a given quantity of water then surely it will be correct once it is warmed by the heater in the tank and mixed with the existing water? Or will this be an unacceptable change for my fish/inverts? I do have a heater in my garage but am loathed to use it because it is from my old tropical tank and I had problems with water quality in that tank. Reef One advised to rinse it in tapwater, so the chlorine kills off any harmful organisms. They thought that out of water, anything left on it from the other tank will have been destroyed anyway. I thought secondhand equipment alway's needed thorough cleaning before reuse. Please advise on how to do this water change smoothly. Thanks so much for your help.