salt, water changes and stability

[tonkadawg]

Currently I am using oceanic salt, changing 5 gallons of water on my 16 gal nano once every 2 weeks. I'd like to be able to do weekly water changes, but the problem is, when I do a change, the calcium level sky rockets and alk levels drop. I know that this is because of the Oceanic salt - I used to use IO and the result was just the opposite. It takes me about a week of dosing a buffer to get my levels back in line. This sort of unstability can't be good. My goal is to be able to increase the frequency of my water changes while keeping my calc/alk/mg levels as stable as possible.

 

So I am wondering how others are handling this? Smaller water changes more frequently so the swing isn't as big? Or should I look at another brand of salt where when mixed its closer to NSW? Or should I continue to do what I am doing now? And of course I would love to hear any other suggestions anyone might have.

[rooroo]

Your doing a 33% water change every two weeks, which isn't horrible, but like you said params can get way out of whack if you do that large of water changes. I try to do 10% weekly at the minimum. That seems to work well for me. So for you thats a 1.6 gallon water change weekly, which might be hard to do. What you can do is mix up a 5 gallon bucket of salt water with a powerhead and heater, and that will last you a month. Mixed water won't go bad in a month. Then you can easily scoop out the 1-2 gallons for a water change at a time.

 

Or you need to get your new salt water closer to your tanks water params before dumping it in. Which means mixing for a few days and buffering it before it goes in the tank. This may actually work better for you and result in a more stable tank environment.

[lletellier]

or talk to dandy about setting up an automatic water change system... I think he said it automatically changes 1-1.5 gallons per day on his 90. Now that is the way to go... he said he spends 3 hours a MONTH on his sps tank

[tonkadawg]

yeah after doing a water change, I've seen my alk drop to 6.5dKH or lower and calcium pushes 500. I try to keep my alk around 8dKH and calc at 420-430.

 

rooroo, I don't know how I didn't think of your suggestion of buffering the water before I do a water change. I think I will give that a try and see how it goes. I like being able to do the 5 gallons at one time - so much easier!

 

lletellier - I would love an automatic water change system but on a 16 gallon, sumpless nano, I'm probably better off doing the changes myself.

[steveoutlaw]

People.......the answer here is obvious........GET A BIGGER TANK!

Edited May 11, 2007 by steveoutlaw

[tonkadawg]

People.......the answer here is obvious........GET A BIGGER TANK!

 

HAHAHAH I wish!!!!! Unfortunately a bigger tank is gonna have to wait for a bigger house.

[lanman]

Currently I am using oceanic salt, changing 5 gallons of water on my 16 gal nano once every 2 weeks. I'd like to be able to do weekly water changes, but the problem is, when I do a change, the calcium level sky rockets and alk levels drop. I know that this is because of the Oceanic salt - I used to use IO and the result was just the opposite. It takes me about a week of dosing a buffer to get my levels back in line. This sort of unstability can't be good. My goal is to be able to increase the frequency of my water changes while keeping my calc/alk/mg levels as stable as possible.

 

So I am wondering how others are handling this? Smaller water changes more frequently so the swing isn't as big? Or should I look at another brand of salt where when mixed its closer to NSW? Or should I continue to do what I am doing now? And of course I would love to hear any other suggestions anyone might have.

5 gallons out of a 16 gallon tank? The fish must think the sea has parted. 5 gallons out of my 24-gallon tank would leave some corals basking in the sunlight. I do 2.5 gallons each week.

 

bob

[Rascal]

yeah after doing a water change, I've seen my alk drop to 6.5dKH or lower and calcium pushes 500. I try to keep my alk around 8dKH and calc at 420-430.

 

I did a quick search on wetwebmedia and rc and it seems like a lot of people have had similar problems with oceanic salt.

 

Here's a quote from an article on Salt Mixes by Steven Pro:

 

Oceanic

 

I tried this salt a few years ago when it first came out and became all the rage amongst message board contributors. The hot selling point for this brand is its high calcium level. But that level comes at the price of low alkalinity, at least in the packages I used and tested. And while I don