Is there ant trick to adding the water back to the tank without stirring up the sand bed? I have very fine sand a no matter how slow I pour the water back in I get the sand stirred up and have a cloudy tank for hours. I always make sure my pumps are off until the sand settles out. There must be an easier way.
How To Do A Partial Water Change
- Thread starter Jetmart
- Start date
That's just normal for a tank as newly set us as yours is. I didn't do any water changes until after my tank completed It's nitrogen cycle. Your sand will settle more in time so just hang in there. :time:
Getting started doing saltwater takes lots of patience and hanging in there through the "ugly tank syndrome".
It's worth it but sometimes in the beginning You will be having to wonder
Getting started doing saltwater takes lots of patience and hanging in there through the "ugly tank syndrome".
It's worth it but sometimes in the beginning You will be having to wonder
I try to pour on a rock but has not helped too much.
I am running the stock filtration on the Red Sea Max 130D. The water is crystal clear now. I Just get the silt sticking to the inside of glass. I am patiently waiting for the the tank to cycle. These are my results to date.
Day 7
SG - 1.025
PH - 8.2
NH3 - .50 ppm
N02 - 0
N03 - 35 ppm
I have 30 lbs of live rock, 1 1/2" of live sand, 1 fresh deli shrimp, & two Blue Green Chromis in a 35 gal tank.
Lights on for 3 hours per day.
How do you think things progressing? Would you expect the nitrites to be up by now?
Also ideas why I can't post pictures. There is no option when I go to advance in a post?
IMO since you have 2 fish in your tank before it has cycled, you should not be using the deli-shrimp. The deli-shrimp will cause more ammonia & nitrites than the Chromis can probably survive swimming around in.
Having fish in an uncycled tank makes it take much longer to cycle & you will need to do water changes every 2 or 3 days.
Read more about Fishless cycle here:
http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/The_Nitrogen_Cycle
I'd return the fish to the LFS that sold them to me....a Fishless Cycle is more humane.
You can use Photobucket (it's FREE & easy to use) to post pictures here. You have more than the required 5 posts now.
Having fish in an uncycled tank makes it take much longer to cycle & you will need to do water changes every 2 or 3 days.
Read more about Fishless cycle here:
http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/The_Nitrogen_Cycle
I'd return the fish to the LFS that sold them to me....a Fishless Cycle is more humane.
You can use Photobucket (it's FREE & easy to use) to post pictures here. You have more than the required 5 posts now.
IMO since you have 2 fish in your tank before it has cycled, you should not be using the deli-shrimp. The deli-shrimp will cause more ammonia & nitrites than the Chromis can probably survive swimming around in.
Having fish in an uncycled tank makes it take much longer to cycle & you will need to do water changes every 2 or 3 days.
Read more about Fishless cycle here:
http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/The_Nitrogen_Cycle
I'd return the fish to the LFS that sold them to me....a Fishless Cycle is more humane.
You can use Photobucket (it's FREE & easy to use) to post pictures here. You have more than the required 5 posts now.
Thanks. I did not want the fish. The LFS sold them to me. I questioned the merit in taking them and he said it would speed the cycle up and that they were hardy enough to withstand the cycling. It was not later until I did much more reading that I learned that the deli shrimp was a better method.
cracker
Well-Known Member
I agree with Diana, Consider removing the shrimp for the well being of the Chromis. Also it sounds like Your using a pitcher to add the water. Can You invest in a small pond pump and a length of tubing? Not a lot of bucks at the Home Depot. That way You can "pump" the water instead of pouring it in.Then a sponge or cloth covering the output to diffuse the water pressure, maybe.
You could pump the water (with the hose tubing like Cracker suggested) into the back part of the RSM.
Adding it back to the sump area of the tank IMO works well and won't cause as drastic temp change on the fish & corals in the tank. I bought my tubing at Atwood's (kinda like Home Depot or Lowe's store) Most places sell it by the foot and cut it to your desired length.
Adding it back to the sump area of the tank IMO works well and won't cause as drastic temp change on the fish & corals in the tank. I bought my tubing at Atwood's (kinda like Home Depot or Lowe's store) Most places sell it by the foot and cut it to your desired length.
All what has been said. But I will get a replacement return pump. You use it for water changes and is there if you need to replace your return pump. Also I have added to the tubing an L conection at the output. In that way when I have the water tubing inside the tank the water that goes out point to the surface or parallel to the surface !!!! . I introduce the tube some inches below water level and have the L connector pointing to the water surface. Never ever you will have a water current that will move your sand using that trick.
Daniel
Daniel
Good Idea on the pump. Also can you send a picture of your output tubing setup?
Here is an update of my tank. NH3 drop to zero and Nitrites never did come up. I can't be finished cycling can I? I am day 10 now.
Day 7.
SG - 1.025
PH - 8.2
NH3 - .50 ppm
N02 - 0
N03 - 35 ppm
Day 10
SG - 1.025
PH - 8.2
NH3 - 0 ppm
N02 - 0
N03 - 10 ppm
I have 30 lbs of live rock, 1 1/2" of live sand, 1 fresh deli shrimp, & two Blue Green Chromis in a 35 gal tank.
Light son for 3 hours per day.
Day 7.
SG - 1.025
PH - 8.2
NH3 - .50 ppm
N02 - 0
N03 - 35 ppm
Day 10
SG - 1.025
PH - 8.2
NH3 - 0 ppm
N02 - 0
N03 - 10 ppm
I have 30 lbs of live rock, 1 1/2" of live sand, 1 fresh deli shrimp, & two Blue Green Chromis in a 35 gal tank.
Light son for 3 hours per day.
Themonsterisme
New Member
I used to use a dinner plate and hold it inside the tank just above the water and pour new water in on the dinner plate and it dispersed the water flow sideways rather than straight down and never got any sand kick up using that method
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aquaman183
Member
I don't know if you have a sump, but I take water out of the main tank during water changes and replace the new water in the sump so nothing stirs up in the tank. Works for me! If you don't have a sump, but can syphon the water into the tank, you can use air line. It will take longer, but won't be so extreme that it stirs everything up.
Last edited:
Luukosian
Well-Known Member
For what it's worth I add water to the sump in my reef so don't have to worry about kicking up sand. This is a problem in my freshwater tanks however, and in that case I find putting my hand flat in the tank and pouring the water on top of it helps considerably. When I start a new tank I put a dinner plate on the bottom of the tank and pour the water in....seem to help reduce the cloudiness quite a bit.
In my 5 gallon planted freshwater I find if I put the water change bucket above the tank(unique situation because the tank sits lower than the counter which makes it easy) and start a siphon with small tubing I can add water without disturbing anything although it seems to take forever sometimes.
In my 5 gallon planted freshwater I find if I put the water change bucket above the tank(unique situation because the tank sits lower than the counter which makes it easy) and start a siphon with small tubing I can add water without disturbing anything although it seems to take forever sometimes.
David Shaw
Well-Known Member
I have my water change down to about 20 minutes from water out to new water in ....
1) I bring replacement water up to temp and pour it into a large beer making plastic tub.
2) I turn the tank pumps, skimmer etc off and then I syphon the water out using piping with the exact amount to be removed marked with a black sharpie mark.
3) Then i attach a pump to the tubing, pop it into the plastic tub and it gets pushed directly back into the tank. I have a fish guard on the end of the piping so no disturbance to the sand bed.
1) I bring replacement water up to temp and pour it into a large beer making plastic tub.
2) I turn the tank pumps, skimmer etc off and then I syphon the water out using piping with the exact amount to be removed marked with a black sharpie mark.
3) Then i attach a pump to the tubing, pop it into the plastic tub and it gets pushed directly back into the tank. I have a fish guard on the end of the piping so no disturbance to the sand bed.