29 gal FOWLR, eventual reef

[Ashurbarnipal]

I am preparing to set up a 29 gallon FOWLR aquarium, which is my first salt tank, and I read The New Marine Aquarium by Michael S. Paletta on the advice of fish savvy friends. It suggests that after waiting 24 hours for the salt to settle to wait for a further few days before adding the live rock to avoid die off.

I'm planning on getting cured live rock from the pet store, stuff that's been running in their tanks for a year, so I want to be very careful.

My question is, exactly how long precisely I should wait after the salt has settled?

[Cliff]

If you mix your saltwater to the correct salinity (1.023 to 1.026 ) you should not have any salt on the bottom of your tank

I would suggest mixing your SW before adding it to your aquarium so you can control your salinity and aviod this all together

[smaug]

Mix the salt and water outside the tank and make sure it is stable at the desired sg before adding it to the tank. You will get some die off witb the live rock no matter what but don't worry about tbat as that die off is what will cycle your tank.

[Ashurbarnipal]

I should have said that I have not purchased any rock yet. There is nothing in my tank presently but twenty gallons of R/O water, a heater, and a powerhead.

And yes, the author said there would be die off, but that if the water is aged, the cycle is completed more swiftly.

[sheamurai]

There should be no "settling" of the salt. If there is, there's something wrong with the amount or the salt itself.
The water will not be sitting in your tank uncirculated, so the salt will not settle out. There is no "precise" measurement for the timing of anything in this hobby, but 24 hours to age is fine.

I also leave a powerhead running in my premixed saltwater (for water changes), so it doesn't have a chance to settle.

[smaug]

I mix my water and use it within a few hours. Once the water is clear the salt is fully mixed,salt does not come out of solution once mixed unless by evaporation.

[Ashurbarnipal]

Ah. Well, to be fair, the word I used is settled, but looking back in the book, what he said was more 'once the water has aged.' But thanks for the feedback

[Ashurbarnipal]

Ok, so after letting the tank sit for a day with my 110 gph powerhead and heater running (it's between 76-77 atm), I added from a five gallon bucket of instant ocean salt, about 9 cups, as the instructions said half a cup per gallon, so I wanted to add less.

Came back half a day later and the salt level is through the roof. Hydrometer goes clear up to 1.30, near the top of it's range. Now, I think my powerhead might be both underpowered and I'm not sure the venturi is working right, so I popped another powerhead in, 160 gph with a venturi I'm reasonably sure worked.

Any ideas? Did I put too much in or does the water need more aeration/time?

[smaug]

Should have mixed it in a an outside container in smaller batches.Get a refractometer as hydrometers arent the most accurate and are temperature dependant.No way the number should be that high.

[Cliff]

Any ideas? Did I put too much in or does the water need more aeration/time?

+1 Smaug

If your salinity is ar 1.030, it will still be at 1.030 reguardless of the aeration time.

I would also suggest getting a refactormeter so you know for sure what your salinity is at before changing anything.

Also, the flow in the DT should be at about 10 X the tank volume at the least. Both of my reef tanks are between 30 and 40 Xs