Brand new to salt water- day 1

[SBlisters]

Hello! I just had the surreal experience of winning a salt water tank last night. it is 30gal and has a variety of coral, live rock, a few types of snails, 2 Peppermint Shrimp and a young Clownfish. I was able to set it up last night with 90% of the original water and added 3gal of distilled water to top it off. Last night the coral was very angry from travel.
This morning, I fed a pinch of food to the clownfish and assessed where I seem to be at. The trumpet coral is still upset. Only half has fluffed back up. Everybody else seems no worse for wear, which is kind of amazing to me. My salinity may be too low though. The hydrometer I borrowed says I'm at 1.018. I probably should have added salt water instead of distilled to replace what was lost in transit. I'd like to do this right and keep everyone alive. Ordering a Refractometer so I can get a more accurate salinity reading. IDK how to take care of this water. I'm in crazy research mode now and trying not to screw up while I get caught up to speed. Hoping I've not already done terribly with that 3gals...

 

[Gomery12]

That's a 10% water change and just adding distilled and not replacing the salt is going to have negative affects. Coral especially. You have lost calcium and alkalinity which coral are going to show you bad things! I would try try to get your salinity up. Which will replace the alk and calcium. Did they give you salt? Can you get ro/di water locally to mix it with?

 

[peterthegamer]

Well I suggest you slowly start raising the salinity to around 1.025 and then go out and buy a few test kits for the basic things such as ammonia and phosphate etc. Other wise don't feed too much food and the corals will slowly adjust.

 

[KJ]

Welcome to R2R.

 

[dbl]

Welcome to R2R and your new hobby. I would suggest reading through this thread to get a basic understanding.

http://reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

 

[Duke4Life]

Welcome!

 

[melypr1985]

Welcome to R2R! We're very glad you're here! That article linked above is a great place to start. It will give you a great base knowledge to work from. Adding the 3 gallons of distilled water is probably the biggest of your problems. It dropped your salinity quickly after an already stressful time for your animals. Remember, this hobby is all about consistency. You don't want to make changes in anything quickly, everything should be nice and slow. Good luck!

 

[Squirrel_reefer]

 

[cromag27]

Welcome!

 

[SBlisters]

That's a 10% water change and just adding distilled and not replacing the salt is going to have negative affects. Coral especially. You have lost calcium and alkalinity which coral are going to show you bad things! I would try try to get your salinity up. Which will replace the alk and calcium. Did they give you salt? Can you get ro/di water locally to mix it with?

They didn't give me salt, but did suggest getting a Refractometer and a ro/di system. I'm going to swing by a salt water aquarium specialty shops tonight to swipe some water, get some salt and ask for a lot of advice. I have some test kits for things like KH and PH because I have had a planted fresh water tank for years. IDK what to test for and what my levels should be at for anything in this water though! Thank you for your advice!

 

[SBlisters]

Well I suggest you slowly start raising the salinity to around 1.025 and then go out and buy a few test kits for the basic things such as ammonia and phosphate etc. Other wise don't feed too much food and the corals will slowly adjust.

Thanks for such quick, practical advice! Would it be too slow to only raise it with top offs? Or would it be better to do a partial water change (like .5%) with salt water? I did spread that 3gal of distilled over a 90min period, adding 1/3gal at a time in the hopes that it would help reduce the stress. I haven't fed the coral directly at all yet. I've fed the clownfish a pinch of food yesterday morning and this morning though. I'll buy the test kits tonight!

 

[Salty1962]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[peterthegamer]

Thanks for such quick, practical advice! Would it be too slow to only raise it with top offs? Or would it be better to do a partial water change (like .5%) with salt water? I did spread that 3gal of distilled over a 90min period, adding 1/3gal at a time in the hopes that it would help reduce the stress. I haven't fed the coral directly at all yet. I've fed the clownfish a pinch of food yesterday morning and this morning though. I'll buy the test kits tonight!

Really depends on the quality of the water. If it's pretty clean then topping off wouldn't hurt but if you notice high nitrate or what ever then do a water change. And also about feeding corals, don't need to worry too much about them right now as they sometimes will eat the left over food but eventually I suggest feeding frozen food like mysis.

 

[SBlisters]

Welcome to R2R and your new hobby. I would suggest reading through this thread to get a basic understanding.

http://reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

Thanks you so much for the article. It definitely helps. One of the issues with getting a pre-established tank is trying to figure out what I already have vs what I need. I started my fresh water from scratch, cycling it myself and learning it as I went until I got to the incredibly stable system I've got today. With this, I'm plunged right into the deep end, which has a LOT of advantages, but also means I could kill my tank with trial and error, so I need to learn FAST.

 

[dbl]

Thanks you so much for the article. It definitely helps. One of the issues with getting a pre-established tank is trying to figure out what I already have vs what I need. I started my fresh water from scratch, cycling it myself and learning it as I went until I got to the incredibly stable system I've got today. With this, I'm plunged right into the deep end, which has a LOT of advantages, but also means I could kill my tank with trial and error, so I need to learn FAST.

As others have said, the best thing at this point, at least in my opinion, is to gradually bring the salinity up to make up for the 3g of distilled. Given your circumstances, I would agree you have to learn fast but that doesn't mean you have to be in a hurry! The only things that happens fast in this hobby are typically negative. Slow and steady and consistency/stability wins the salt race!

 

[jsker]

Welcome to R2R. Looks like you are in good hands, but do not hesitate to ask

 

[bump3rb33tl3]

Welcome and congrats on the new tank! Happy to see your in good hands with some great folks

 

[SBlisters]

Really depends on the quality of the water. If it's pretty clean then topping off wouldn't hurt but if you notice high nitrate or what ever then do a water change. And also about feeding corals, don't need to worry too much about them right now as they sometimes will eat the left over food but eventually I suggest feeding frozen food like mysis.

I bought a high pH Test Kit and a Refractometer tonight. I also tested my KH (10) & nitrites (0). Per the Refractometer, my salinity is 1.022. My pH is 7.8. I got some salt and did a few basters of the mixed water as my top off tonight and let it cycle through. I checked the salinity again, but it still read as 1.022. I'll add a smidgen more tomorrow and check again. I'm trying to heed the advice of slow and patient.
You all have been wonderful!

 

[SBlisters]

The tank at home now vs at the show when I won it.

 

[mushroomrob]

Welcome to R2R. Very nice tank. The stand blends well.