water

hi; I'm going to be taking down my 75 reef tank as I am moveing , when I set it back up I am going to switch from tap water to Ro/Di . What I am wondering is Do I change all the water or do I change part to start with and if so what percent do I change? Any help here would be appreciated. Thanks

 

Wayne G
if I had a fully or even partially stocked saltwater tank
I would still want to keep as much matured / aged water as I could if I where moving my tank
As you will lose some water - maybe the sand bed and last couple of inches of dirty water when you strip the tank down I would make 20 gallons of new salt water using the RODI
which allowing for loses etc will also include about a 20% water change

IMHO if your existing system is not plagued with all sorts of algaes, cyno etc, then rushing to get rid of the old and in with the new is not really called for

so once you have tank set up, just use RODI for any top ups and future water changes
using your normal routine.

Steve

 

I would definetly use RO water with a reef. I would get new live sand and save maybe a cup or two of the old for seeding. Get a sheet of eggcrate and cut it to fit the area where the rock is going. Now is the time to do a large water change. Transfer only water that is clean.
Put the old water in the tank at the new location then the rocks and corals so you can see what your doing. Then add the new water. Now put the live sand in a bucket and take a coffee cupful at a time and slowly bring the sand with the cup upright down to the bottom and slowly turn the cup over. After your done you can feed the sand in under the rocks with your fingers. Now add your fish and turn on the power. I did this twice last year so I learned how to do it without clouding up the tank and blinding the fish for two days. PM me for any other details.

 

I do just the opposite, I see no benefit is trying to keep and transport the used water. The beneficial bacteria you want are in the substrate and rock not free swimming in the water. Make up a freash batch of RO/DI, get the salinity, pH and temperature right and have it ready to go when the tank arrives at its new home.

 

I agree with Steve and AZdesertrat. Ideally, I would say start with all RO/DI water, but if you can't do that for whatever reason, then I would try to make as much new water was possible. You will most likely have to acclimate the livestock anyways, so mine as well try to get as much RO/DI salt water in the new location. Plus it saves you from hauling water everywhere you go.