Adding Salt???

jordancemery65 · 04-19-2009, 01:42 PM

I am new to the Saltwater hobby... I have my tank all set up, RO water is in it and it has the sand (not live) on the bottom. The skimmer is on, return pump is on and it is all working. I just need to add the salt. Is it ok to add the salt even if i dont have the live rock yet, or should i wait until i am close to purchasing my liverock. The tank already has started growing some green algae, but i was told once i add the salt, that will die off. I was told to wait to add the salt as well, but i am just so anxious! what do I do?

Luukosian · 04-19-2009, 02:03 PM

Don't see any reason why not, may as well get the salt mixing up in the tank. You don't need the lights on in the tank if nothing is in it, if that is why you are getting algae...and if you are getting algae with just your pure ro water you might want to check your filters.

lcstorc · 04-19-2009, 02:06 PM

I would wait to add the salt until you are close to getting the live rock. I would do it a bit berfore adding the rock so it gets thoroughly mixed. When you add the salt I would add it in a slurry not just straight to the tank. Take the salt and disolve it in a small quantity of water and then add the very salty water to the tank to be further diluted. This will help avoid clumps of salt left on the sand.
Also keep in mind that when you add the rock you will have a large amount of water displacement so if you fill the tank now, you will have quite a bit of extra water when you add the rock.

jordancemery65 · 04-19-2009, 02:18 PM

Well, I have had the lights off, but the water has been in there for a while, and the tank was loud so my parents shut it off, that is when the algae started, I fixed the noise problem and now it isnt loud, and it remains running all the time. My skimmer however isnt making smally tiny bubbles, is that just because the water doesnt have salt in it? I have noticed in the fish stores the skimmers make a ton of white tiny bubbles that form like a tornado... Mine doesnt, is it because of no salt? And will all of that algae disappear when i do add salt?

Luukosian · 04-19-2009, 02:22 PM

Skimmers don't work in freshwater, so yeah thats whats happening. The algae in the freshwater won't be able to handle saltwater so will fade away. I would at least add a couple lbs of live rock and a little base rock until you can afford more. At least things will start colonizing the sandbed then(after you add the salt of course).

Neptunesghost · 04-19-2009, 03:53 PM

I have never set up a tank that way. Why would you wait to add salt? I have always started tanks with saltwater.

As for the skimmer, I wouldn't even run it until after the cycle is completed. With no bioload in the system, you are just wasting power.

What is the size of the tank? What kind of sand did you use?

jordancemery65 · 04-19-2009, 05:19 PM

So you would add the salt? It wont be much longer until i get the live rock, probably about 1-2 Months tops. I have the carib sea Aragamax on the bottom, and then the sea floor stuff (larger stuff) on the top. So you dont think it would hurt anything to add the salt? I just want to get the green freshwater algae out of it?

Neptunesghost · 04-20-2009, 07:00 AM

Definately. There is no reason to wait. Since you have already added the sand, it may be difficult to get a proper mixing, without freshwater pockets trapped in the sandbed. I would mix as soon as possible to get the salt circulating. It will also take some time to get the salinity correct.

One other point...NEVER mix salt in your tank once anything else has been added, including the rock. From this point forward, mix your saltwater to the proper salinity in a barrel or bucket when doing water changes.

I am a little concerned about the algae. If you used RODI water, there shouldn't be much, if any algae. I also don't know if salt will clear it up. Algae is a battle all aquarists fight, but it is not a good sign to have aserius bloom before you have even started.

How big is the tank?

jordancemery65 · 04-20-2009, 08:49 AM

it is 220 gallons. The reason the algae formed is because it sat for a long long time, my parents shut off the pump so the water wasnt being circulated, then the algae started.

Neptunesghost · 04-20-2009, 09:05 AM

How long is a long time?

BigAl07 · 04-20-2009, 09:27 AM

If you've had it sitting this long there is no way I'd add salt and try to take a" Murky" tank and make it into a Salt Water tank. Start with fresh RO water and you'll eliminate some of the potential problems you would have if you proceed with current water issues.

As for when to add salt etc I'd get the Live Rock in there and have my salt water about 1/2 full in the tank and the rest already mixed in a container so that the moment the rock are how you like them you can finish adding the rest of the Salt Water.

In conclusion there is NO WAY I'd simply add salt to water that's been sitting in the tank and already has a FW algae issue. Just to many "oddities" there to even contemplate.

Neptunesghost · 04-20-2009, 09:46 AM

Thanks Al, thats what I where I was heading. Best method would be to start over with saltwater rather than trying to add salt to fresh.

Basile · 04-20-2009, 09:54 AM

I'm with A'll on this one, when i started mine, i had the water for a week in there, and added the salt later, well the algae that was alredy there died off producing lots of gunk and if i had a skimmer it would of overwhelmed it i'm sure the cycling process took 8 weeks because of that. Yes dump this corrupt water , CLEAN your tank of that fresh water algae, and start over my friend. And for the proceedure follow Al's recomendation, i had too much water at the end and had to store the extra for later use. add 1/2 the water for your scape, finish your rockwork, fill up with PRE mix SW and run your skimmer to get the left over muk out of the water as soon as it appears , your cycle will be maybe shorter than mine was. And forget the lights when cycling your just asking for algae bloom. Been there done that got a smak LOL

degibson84 · 04-20-2009, 11:36 AM

when i set my tank up i added the water first then mixed the salt in with a bare bottom. then a few days later i added the sand. and a few days after tha i started adding base and live rock

Neptunesghost · 04-20-2009, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by degibson84

when i set my tank up i added the water first then mixed the salt in with a bare bottom. then a few days later i added the sand. and a few days after tha i started adding base and live rock

That is the same approach that I used initially, basically using the empty tank as the mixing vessel. I wouldn't add the sand before the salt though.

04-19-2009, 01:42 PM	#1 (permalink)
jordancemery65 Bryozoan Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 51 View Gallery Karma Komment	Adding Salt??? I am new to the Saltwater hobby... I have my tank all set up, RO water is in it and it has the sand (not live) on the bottom. The skimmer is on, return pump is on and it is all working. I just need to add the salt. Is it ok to add the salt even if i dont have the live rock yet, or should i wait until i am close to purchasing my liverock. The tank already has started growing some green algae, but i was told once i add the salt, that will die off. I was told to wait to add the salt as well, but i am just so anxious! what do I do?

04-19-2009, 02:03 PM	#2 (permalink)
Luukosian Plate Coral Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Burlington, IA Posts: 735 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Adding Salt??? Don't see any reason why not, may as well get the salt mixing up in the tank. You don't need the lights on in the tank if nothing is in it, if that is why you are getting algae...and if you are getting algae with just your pure ro water you might want to check your filters. __________________ -Anthony

04-19-2009, 02:06 PM	#3 (permalink)
lcstorc Sunshine Reefer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Cocoa Fl Posts: 26,433 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Adding Salt??? I would wait to add the salt until you are close to getting the live rock. I would do it a bit berfore adding the rock so it gets thoroughly mixed. When you add the salt I would add it in a slurry not just straight to the tank. Take the salt and disolve it in a small quantity of water and then add the very salty water to the tank to be further diluted. This will help avoid clumps of salt left on the sand. Also keep in mind that when you add the rock you will have a large amount of water displacement so if you fill the tank now, you will have quite a bit of extra water when you add the rock. __________________ Peace LYNN Lynn and Franks saltwater adventure Lynn's 20g clown tank Lynn's 90g of sunshine Lynn's frag tank experiment A reef tank is like a race car. The faster you go the harder you crash.

04-19-2009, 02:18 PM	#4 (permalink)
jordancemery65 Bryozoan Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 51 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Adding Salt??? Well, I have had the lights off, but the water has been in there for a while, and the tank was loud so my parents shut it off, that is when the algae started, I fixed the noise problem and now it isnt loud, and it remains running all the time. My skimmer however isnt making smally tiny bubbles, is that just because the water doesnt have salt in it? I have noticed in the fish stores the skimmers make a ton of white tiny bubbles that form like a tornado... Mine doesnt, is it because of no salt? And will all of that algae disappear when i do add salt?

04-19-2009, 02:22 PM	#5 (permalink)
Luukosian Plate Coral Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Burlington, IA Posts: 735 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Adding Salt??? Skimmers don't work in freshwater, so yeah thats whats happening. The algae in the freshwater won't be able to handle saltwater so will fade away. I would at least add a couple lbs of live rock and a little base rock until you can afford more. At least things will start colonizing the sandbed then(after you add the salt of course). __________________ -Anthony

04-19-2009, 05:19 PM	#7 (permalink)
jordancemery65 Bryozoan Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 51 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Adding Salt??? So you would add the salt? It wont be much longer until i get the live rock, probably about 1-2 Months tops. I have the carib sea Aragamax on the bottom, and then the sea floor stuff (larger stuff) on the top. So you dont think it would hurt anything to add the salt? I just want to get the green freshwater algae out of it?

04-20-2009, 08:49 AM	#9 (permalink)
jordancemery65 Bryozoan Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 51 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Adding Salt??? it is 220 gallons. The reason the algae formed is because it sat for a long long time, my parents shut off the pump so the water wasnt being circulated, then the algae started.

04-20-2009, 09:27 AM	#11 (permalink)
BigAl07 Do I look as lost as I am Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Waynesville, North Carolina Posts: 21,549 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Adding Salt??? If you've had it sitting this long there is no way I'd add salt and try to take a" Murky" tank and make it into a Salt Water tank. Start with fresh RO water and you'll eliminate some of the potential problems you would have if you proceed with current water issues. As for when to add salt etc I'd get the Live Rock in there and have my salt water about 1/2 full in the tank and the rest already mixed in a container so that the moment the rock are how you like them you can finish adding the rest of the Salt Water. In conclusion there is NO WAY I'd simply add salt to water that's been sitting in the tank and already has a FW algae issue. Just to many "oddities" there to even contemplate. __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ *Live Rock Rubble will do the SAME thing as Bio-Balls and is NOT a suitable replacement for BIO-BALLS in a Reef System! It's ALL gotta go!!* Nitrate (NO3) reduction is directly proportional to percentage of Water Change. Allen's home-made formula...currentNO3-((%WC.01)currentNO3)=finalNO3 (thanks Luukosian) This means if you change 50% of your total water volume (That's EVERYTHING) you'll get a net reduction of (NO3) somewhere around 50%. Ask me about how to increase your REEF budget without going without FOOD!!* Big Al's 10g Julie's (BigAl's Gal) 6g NanoCube Gone but not forgotten BigAl's Slow 90g Tank Chronicle Allens OFFICE 12g Nano-Reef

04-20-2009, 09:54 AM	#13 (permalink)
Basile Golden Moray Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Gatineau/Ottawa canada Posts: 2,022 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Adding Salt??? I'm with A'll on this one, when i started mine, i had the water for a week in there, and added the salt later, well the algae that was alredy there died off producing lots of gunk and if i had a skimmer it would of overwhelmed it i'm sure the cycling process took 8 weeks because of that. Yes dump this corrupt water , CLEAN your tank of that fresh water algae, and start over my friend. And for the proceedure follow Al's recomendation, i had too much water at the end and had to store the extra for later use. add 1/2 the water for your scape, finish your rockwork, fill up with PRE mix SW and run your skimmer to get the left over muk out of the water as soon as it appears , your cycle will be maybe shorter than mine was. And forget the lights when cycling your just asking for algae bloom. Been there done that got a smak LOL __________________ My Rockwork Macroalgae Club. My slow 65 g build up Combination fish and Anemone 65g- Aquamedic 2X250wMH-T5 -Recirculating Octopus 150DNW- 2X Vortech Mp40W gen2 powerheads-Eheim 1262 910GPH return - Little fishes Carbon&Phosban reactors,GHL controllers and Dosing pump and ME!

04-20-2009, 11:36 AM	#14 (permalink)
degibson84 Achilles Tang Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Austintown, Ohio Posts: 809 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Adding Salt??? when i set my tank up i added the water first then mixed the salt in with a bare bottom. then a few days later i added the sand. and a few days after tha i started adding base and live rock

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