makeing salt water ?

knap_123

Member
i dont live near a Lfs thats convient to purchase water. my wifes jaw dropped when i spent 200 bucks on a 12g tank. man i've been massageing feet nightly to stay out of the doghouse! but if i push it and try driving 50mls. routinely for water!! shes going to loose it. so i need to make my own. i have some basic understanding from asking ?s and youtube but have a few more. is petco ok for salt? if not i have other Lfs to use. also whats your recipe for a jbj 12g nano? salt measurment, and cycleing info
 
The way you make water is the same way for every tank. Get online and look for a 5G bucket of reef crystals brand salt, or Red sea brand salt. $50-$60 bucks and will last you a good 4 months +. I have used both and have had no problems. The way I mix my salt is in a 5G bucket of RO/DI water and 2 1/2 cups of salt. I put a power head in it and let mix for 12 hours and do the water change the next day. RO/DI water is a must!!!! DONT USE TAP!!!!
 
As far a volume goes, twelve gallons may not be a good choice for a salt water tank. To answer your question, you need a hydrometer that will tell you what the specific gravity of your water is. The specific gravity of fresh water is 1.0 and the specific gravity of sea water is roughly 1.025. Education will be your best ally, so purchase a good salt water fish/coral book and explore your options.
 
I imagine a bucket of salt will last you 3.5 years if you do weekly 1Gal (10%) water changes.

Here's the checklist:

1. Salt
2. 1/2 cup measuring cup
3. Refractometer
4. 5 Gal bucket
5. Pure water (RO/DI, grocery store filtered, etc..)

Mix 1/2 cup of salt with 1 Gal of fresh water for a few min. Check the salinity with the refractometer, if it's right close to 35 ppt you're good. If it's low, add more salt, if it's high, add some more fresh water.

It's really quite simple, the hard part for you will be talking the ol' lady into spending another $200 for a water filter and 5 gal bucket of salt.
 
congrats on your new tank =) they only problem is you might need to add in a few back rubs for the next couple purchases your going to need to make lmao!

i never go to petco but if they have fresh and saltwater its probably fine, you will still want to check the salinity and tds to make sure its ready for use. you could also buy the ro/di water from like a grocery store and use it for top off and make your own saltwater. But in both these cases you will be spending much more mooney in the long run then truley making your own.

so i would recommend getting yoruself a ro/di unit, there are many to choose from for example bulk reef supply, or spectrapure and many others. you might think the initial cost is a lot but this unit will pay for itself in no time. for example at my lfs they charge 69 cents for 1 gallon of saltwater and 49 cents for ro/di. dont forget to factor in the gas used and your time and the cost is rather significant.

so my list would be as follows

1. ro/di unit
2. hydrometer/refractometer (refractometer is better hydrometer is cheaper
3. buckett or box of salt mix
4. 5 gallon bucket to mix

like mentioned above it takes 1/2 cup salt per 1 gallon ro/di water, you must buy hydrometer/refractometer no matter what if you make or buy saltwater. make sure to test your tank and new saltwater before you add.
 
ive read people use well water, im a city boy so no experience with that. i would imagine you woul need to treat the water like any other tap water with chemicals before use. no mater the case you would want to check the tds before use
 
what about well water?

Depends on the well but for the most part it is no better than city tap for the fish tank. It has no chlorine, but can have significant nitrate and or phosphate in addition to a whole host of metal issues. It would take some extensive testing to deem it safe and then you still have to worry that it might change.
 
I would suggest either investing in an RO/DI unit or purchasing RO/DI water from your local grocery store. Instant Ocean is probably the most widely used brand of salt. You should be able to purchase it at any LFS, including your local Petco. You'll also need a refractometer or hydrometer to measure the salinity of the water. Instant Ocean is about 1/2 salt per gallon of water, but still test it.

Remember, when your tank water evaporates, the salt is not removed so "Top Off" water, to replace evaporation, needs to be FRESH water, NOT Saltwater. Use the same RO/DI water for top off.

I wouldn't suggest using your well water, without having your own RO/DI unit to filter it first. Well water is notorious for changing, throughout the seasons, based on agriculture activities, which will increase nitrates and phosphates, as well as various metals.
 
As far a volume goes, twelve gallons may not be a good choice for a salt water tank. To answer your question, you need a hydrometer that will tell you what the specific gravity of your water is. The specific gravity of fresh water is 1.0 and the specific gravity of sea water is roughly 1.025. Education will be your best ally, so purchase a good salt water fish/coral book and explore your options.

Why do you think 12 gallons is not a good choice for a saltwater tank?
 
Why do you think 12 gallons is not a good choice for a saltwater tank?

The issue is that with a smaller tank size...little "oops" can be big problems. An instructor I once had used to say "the solution to pollution is dilution". Words to live by both at work...and with home aquariums. My 300 gallon system can handle a little extra salt WAY easier than a 12 gallon.
That being said...you can do a 12 gallon...you just have to be VERY careful.
 
The issue is that with a smaller tank size...little "oops" can be big problems. An instructor I once had used to say "the solution to pollution is dilution". Words to live by both at work...and with home aquariums. My 300 gallon system can handle a little extra salt WAY easier than a 12 gallon.
That being said...you can do a 12 gallon...you just have to be VERY careful.

I can take the solution statement at face value since it is techically correct but in reality is a half truth at best.

"But there is just a low dose of PCBs out there. The eagles will be fine."

For example, I suppose if you have a LD50 level of copper in your tank and do a WC to get below it then yes the solution is dilution. Now only a few animals are dead.

My solution would be to fix the source of the problem instead of possible outcomes as the result of the copper being present in my system regardless of the system's size.

50 ppm of copper in 10 gallons of water is the same as 50 ppm of copper in 100 gallons of water and the results will be the same.

Also with a smaller system one could state that there could a greater likelihood that an opps could be caught sooner and corrected compared to a huge system that has been set on auto pilot.

Again regardless of the size of the system the weak point in all of it is us.
 
For example, I suppose if you have a LD50 level of copper in your tank and do a WC to get below it then yes the solution is dilution. Now only a few animals are dead.
Yes...and that can be a LOT of money difference. Obviously, NO dead animals is preferable.

My solution would be to fix the source of the problem instead of possible outcomes as the result of the copper being present in my system regardless of the system's size.

50 ppm of copper in 10 gallons of water is the same as 50 ppm of copper in 100 gallons of water and the results will be the same.
Obviously, fixing the problem is ideal. I was referring to mistakes, rather than toxins however. My point was simply that sometimes "oops" happens. 50ppm is the same no matter what volume....but 1G in 10 gallons is NOWHERE NEAR the same as 1G in 100 gallons.

Also with a smaller system one could state that there could a greater likelihood that an opps could be caught sooner and corrected compared to a huge system that has been set on auto pilot.
okay...I can see that, if you're paying close attention to it.

Again regardless of the size of the system the weak point in all of it is us.
Exactly correct. Which is one more reason that such a small system requires knowledge and careful attention. We are only human after all. :)
 
It is all good. It is interesting to have a discussion about the subject, get multiple view points, the discussion continues and then everyone learns.
 
I find all my LFS charge a LOT more for salt than online vendors charge. I use Instant Ocean, but there are many good choices.
 
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