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I reeeeeealy need help!!!!

Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Messages
42
Ok, I just got a 55 gallon tank from a friend, and right now I have sand, live rock, two crabs and a powerhead in there. It's only about half full due to heavy snow and just all around bad weather causing complications in me getting the rest of the water. The water level is too low for my filter to actually do any filtration. First of all, my specific gravity meter is reading out 1.027, and I need to know is that too high, or is it what I'm supposed to be going for:confused: ? If that salinity level is too high, I only have about half of the tank full of water, and with me here I have a bottle of water treatment. It's aquasafe. It says on the bottle that it makes tap water safe for fish (FW and Salt water).

The back of the bottle reads:
Aquasafe makes tap water safe for fish by neutralizing clorine and heavy metals present in municipal water supplies. Aquasafe also neutralizes chloramine by breaking down the bond between chlorine and ammonia while reducing both the fish-toxic chlorine and ammonia components. Additionally, aquasafe provides a slime coating to help wounds heal and protect fish from abrasions. Aquasafe should be used when setting up a new aquarium and with every partial water change.

Okay, what I really need to know is, if my salinity level is too high, and I only have half of the water in the tank, would I be able to just treat some water with this stuff and pour it in the tank:confused: ? If I could, It would both dilude the salt a little and I'd be able to add enough water to get the filter to work.

******Note: I'm not using this specific tank for octopuses, as this is my first saltwater aquarium attempt, and I'd rather not start out on an octopus.
 
Ride out the blizzard to get RO/DI filtered water. You don't have much bioload in there and the live rock can handle it as long as the powerheads are pushing water. Throw away the "aquasafe," adding more chemicals to your tap water won't make it any better for your aquarium life.
 
Your water is very close to natural seawater, which is about 1.026 - follow Dan's advice, ride out the storm and get the RO/DI water, and then be sure to always have extra water on hand. You can usually buy 5 gallon jug containers from your local fish store.

Many of us keep our tanks at a salt level slightly less than full sea water, but not as low as many saltwater fish keepers do. 1.025 is good to aim for.

Nancy
 
If your LFS sells 5 gallon jugs, they're probably more expensive :smile: I use 5 gallon buckets with sealing lids from Home Depot, around $5 (go to the paint department and you can get white ones instead of the ugly HD orange). You can also get 5 or 8 gallon water jugs for camping from Walmart or an outdoorsy store.
 
Thanks for the replies. I'll be able to get the water later on today, so all is well. But, something else I need to know is, in case my salinity level is too high, how can I lower it?
 

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