Added Water!!! yay

SpngBob · 01-03-2004, 07:42 PM

I finnally put some water in my first tank!!! Its bee a day and my ph is good... nitrite ad ammonia are still 0 and nitrate is 20.... The guy gave me a piece of dead Krill to help get me started or sumthing... I'm still ot sure though why my specific gravity is on top of the water... do i jsut need to wait before this registers correctly?

I dont have live rock yet

Im going until the end of my cycle to get hte live rock... and in the mean time work on building a refugium...

Does anyone have some sites that I can look into DIY stuff?? I was just going to use a 10 gallon and an old undergravel filter and some silicone....

01-04-2004, 06:14 AM

Sponge Bob,
Are you saying that the only ting you have in your tank is water right now?
What size is it?

Don't use the UGF in the main tank.
Matt has posted the 3 steps to set up a tank hence the name 3 reef.
Click on the menu above named "steps" as this will help you out.
IMO I would not wait to put the live rock in as this helps the cycle and any bio load.
"I'm still ot sure though why my specific gravity is on top of the water..." I am not sure what you are saying here.
When you mix your salt you test the SG with a hand held meter like a deep six meter. The norm here is 1.023 but I keep mine at 1.024 to 1.025.

Look at the main topic board here and we have a DIY section you can look at.

Jason McKenzie · 01-04-2004, 06:26 AM

Hey Spngbob, I agree with Nautilus. In actuality with just water in the tank you will experience no Cycle as the cycle is for you LR and sand. With out LR and sand you just have a big box of water. As for you SG problem I'm not sure I understand either. Could you please clarify.
Keep us posted
and good luck
J

SpngBob · 01-04-2004, 10:01 AM

Sorry about that... I have the salt, live sand, ad water.... Its a long drive to the fish store that I can trust and I will be going back as soon as possible...

When I test my specific gravity the pointer was at the top of the water... now its down to 1.029... Im ot sure why this is so high... if anyone could help

01-04-2004, 10:23 AM

How did you add the salt water?
Was it pre mixed or did you mix it yourself?
All you need to do is take a gallon out and add 1 gallon fresh un-salted water "RO/DI would be preferred.
After the water in mixed well with the tank water retest and repeat the instructions above if needed.

SpngBob · 01-04-2004, 07:17 PM

Could it be the temperature? I realized I had it plugged in but it wasnt tured on... As my temperature increases it does seem to be getting better... This might be my imagination as I dont know why temp would change anything but I will wait till teh water gets to the right temp the test it... The package for my hydrometer does say "designed to use in warm water aquariums" ... any info on this would help thanks

Phil5613 · 01-04-2004, 10:16 PM

Most hand held hydrometers are calibrated to a certin temp to test sg I know the answer but don't remember the temp sorry! I think it is 78 degrees and there is a formula for adjusting to whatever the temp is in the tank but someone here with a better memory can help. AN old rule of thumb used to be about a cup of salt per gallon but that was based on tap water and depended on the hardness of the water. Also as teh salt desolves in the tank the sg may change so what you are seeing may not be tempature but just the natural affect. Get your live rock in! The more times you but karge bioloads in the more time the tank cycles and the longer you have to wait to add live stock. So don't wait cycle the tank now so you can safely move forward sooner.

inwall75 · 01-05-2004, 03:21 PM

What brand of hydrometer are you using? Some automatically compensate for temperature differences to a certain degree. Salinity and specific gravity are not the same thing. It's a confusing issue and if you want to know, I'll certainly tell you. However, I think this web page does a good job http://trmrcoon.mybravenet.com/Aquaria/salinity.htm

(P.S. Look at the very bottom of the page)

However, hydrometers have a flaw. If an air bubble gets stuck on the needle or if it isn't rinsed out with freshwater after EVERY use, they show incorrect readings.

As you can see from my link, many hydrometers have a flaw too unless they are an ATC (automatic temperature compensating) model. If they are calibrated incorrectly at the wrong temp, then they have their own problems.

karlas · 01-10-2004, 02:52 AM

if your using the plastic swing arm type hydrometer ya sometimes an air bubble can affect your reading. i just use a plastic knife and tap it a couple time is there might be bubbles on the arm seems to work it out pretty good.

Matt Rogers · 01-10-2004, 09:31 AM

[quote author=karlas link=board=General;num=1073194964;start=0#8 date=01/10/04 at 04:52:08]if your using the plastic swing arm type hydrometer ya sometimes an air bubble can affect your reading. i just use a plastic knife and tap it a couple time is there might be bubbles on the arm seems to work it out pretty good.[/quote]

BINGO.

I've been using a pen, a plastic knife sounds a lot cleaner!