can someone please help me understand how to add salt to tank???

i plan to make my tank itno marine but im not sure on a few things and get confussed.:-/
i thought it was best to ask on here so i can get proper advise.
i just want to get it right and not cause the fish any stress


i understand pretty much everything apart from the saltwater making and weekly water changes.heres what i think is right please correct me if im wrong.
i have a 60 litre biorb life.

i will use a 30litre plastic bin (brand new but i will rise it through with some of the tank water before i start mixing the salt water.

i plan to do a 10% weekly-2 weeks water change.so i will fill it with 10 litres of water
add the salt to the instructions on the salt pack

but will i get an exact sg reading as i add the salt or do i have to wait??

then i will add the powerhead & heater to the tank and leave it for 24hrs.

then i will take another sg reading before i add it to the tank.

but if the sg reading is too low and i have to add more salt do i have to wait another 24hrs again?


also if the water evaporates in the tank do i just top it up with declorinated freshwater??
will the sg always stay the same ain the tank aslong as i top it up when the water evaporates?? or shall i keep testing it?
any help will be apreciated

 

chadley 1987

1st - 10% of 60 litres is 6 litres - there is no harm in a 15% water change but 10% every other week or 5% weekly should be adequate IME - so 3 litres per week or 6 litres every other week.

2nd - your method of mixing water is fine, and I dont always get the exact salt to water ratio every mix so always need a couple of spoons of salt or a cup or 2 of water to get it just right - when you mix your salt and your leaving it for 24 hours check after 12 hours and by that time you will know if you need a bit more of either for correct SG

3rd - SG in a tank can vary for other reasons than evaporation (which you do replace with fresh water (RODI water is best) skimmers if you run one do remove salt so yes its good to test the SG of your tank periodicaly

hope that helps

 

hi thanks i do not have a skimmer as the biorb life does not require one.

 

Ditto everything Steve said.

If it helps this is what I do. For my 72 gallon I change out 15 gallons every 2 weeks, and this is how I do it.

20 gallon brute trash can. Run 15 gallons of RODI water, heater and power head in trash can. When temp is at 80F add a big scoop of salt, allow to TOTALLY dissolve, add another scoop, repeat until 1.025-1.026 is achieved.

Wait over night, check salinity again next day, remove 15 from DT add 15 back to it.

And be sure to lay out 3 or 4 beach towels.....


Cook pasta in old tank water.

 

Hi chadley, say, what size is the Biorb? From looking at them they look "thin" or not that wide. What do you plan for it as far as a salt water tank? From all the sites I went to they are primarily a fresh water tank.

 

I agree your salt mixing and water change regimen sounds good, and you can do slightly less volume on the water change.

A few notes however:

As unclejed note above plus my own input: The Biorb tanks are really just glorified goldfish bowls, not suitable in the long term for any serious saltwater fish keeping. If kept lightly stocked they'll probably suffice. All-in-One tanks made for Freshwater generally do not have filtration and flow required for marine life.

Also, no matter what brand tank you have from a simple 10g glass tank to an elaborate RedSea or BioCube tank, a small tank will be harder to maintain stable water chemistry in than a larger tank. You'll really need to keep an eye on parameters closely. Ideally you'd test daily for the basics, which can change rapidly. If you have the space/time/money to set up a bit larger tank for your first one I'd recommend that route.

Any way you go, good luck, have fun, always ask questions.

Welcome to 3reef!

-Doug

 

I have to agree with the biorb comments above. I have read many comments concerning these tanks and the consensus seems to be that they aren't great for salt water mainly for many reasons. Due to their shape, there is little surface area to volume meaning gas exchange will be limited. Many reviews even recommend limiting how many fresh water fish you have in there. Food gets easily stuck in between the media at the bottom resulting in nitrate issues. Due to the shape, you don't have much room for live rock so your biological filtration will be hampered too. You can't get a skimmer for it and there's very little water flow. IMO, these are designed for fresh water use and I don't think they make good marine aquariums at all.

 

I really do not mean to beat this point, but I just became aware of the marine kit you can buy for these tanks. While what's included is better then the standard kit, IMO, maintenance is going to be a PITA. Detritus is going to get stuck in the media at the bottom and clog the sponge filter, there's still no real water movement or protein skimmer. People have used these for marine aquariums, but I doubt the success you can have with one. You will be very limited to the fish you can keep. The company also infers this several times on their website, so that would create even greater concern IMO.

 

hi

well i have spoken to many people on here who have a marine biorb and have had no problems with it.they have had it running sucsessfully for years.btw i have the square biorb life 60 litre which has more swimming space and more surface area not like the round biorb.

so imo i dont think you can judge the marine biorbs unless you tried them.

well im still gonna go ahead and give it a try.

also the biorb is designed to not need a skimmer
i will by a powerhead also

but thankyou all for your comments

 

Not true at all. BiOrb is simply a brand name. Many people here have experience with small tanks, converted freshwater tanks, and simple/inexpensive filtration systems. The problems associated with small tanks and relying on an under gravel and/or spongefilter for the bulk of filtration is common to many systems, the brand name doesn't matter.

10 years ago such systems were common place in marine tanks, with the resulting limit on bioload and overall tank health the same as it would be today. Simple filtration DOES work, it's proven technology, no one can deny that.

Putting it all in a cool looking tank, and slapping a brand name on it changes nothing. BiOrb didn't invent a radical new filtration technology, they made an aquarium look like an iMac. Which is cool an all, but as far as suitability for a marine tank it's no different than a 16 gallon tall tank with a sponge filter and under gravel filter.

That's the spirit! No seriously, I think you've found out yourself that many people here have successfully converted their Biorb tank to marine use. Even the BiOrb website shows them being used for clown fish. Also, as in another thread, you have a pretty good idea on the limits of the tank. 16 gallons is plenty to house 1 or 2 smaller clownfish species, a cleaner shrimp, some hermits and snails... in fact the LFS I go to has a 14g generic BioCube on their counter that's 3+ years old and very similar to a BiOrb with 2 clowns, some macroalgae (chaeto) and some hermits in it and they're doing great.

No it's not. It's designed so that you cannot easily include a skimmer. That doesn't mean it wouldn't benefit from one, or will do better without one. I simply means it's not deisgned with a built in skimmer and the parent company doesn't offer any kind of skimmer add-on YET. Tanks came first. Then protein skimmers. With the exception of a few of the all-in-one marine tanks (RedSea, BioCube) most tanks are not "designed" for any filtration. Some come with holes drilled in the bottom, but even that's not designed for filtration, it's designed for water flow. The filtration you add is entirely up to you. Most people place protein skimmers in their sump, along with various other filtration and supplementation aids, heaters, probes, etc.

As with any tank, the filtration you choose to use is entirely up to you and not dictated by the style or brand of tank you have.

in fact, you COULD modify your BiOrb to have an over flow, a sump, a skimmer, and metal halide lighting and have a really cool SPS tank. ALL you have is a tank with some built in lights and plumbing which can be used or bypassed.

But as you've learned, it should work fine on its own for limited FOWLER use with very minimal modifications.

Looking at the BiOrb marine conversion I would certainly say you can do better on your own. REAL live rock offers additional filtration (some tanks use live rock as their sole method of filtration), a power head (I'd suggest a koralia nano) will provide the current the fish and rocks need, and you can buy marine salts at any good pet store - mix per directions.

Always. I don't think any of us are here to turn people away from keeping fish (well...maybe rarely, not in this case) we just want to make sure no one has a horrible first experience. A little firm guidance may seem rude or unwelcome at first, but in the end if you change one little thing from our advice and we save you the headache and heartache of a dead fish or total tank crash it will have been worth it.

And don't dismiss valid suggestions and critique just because someone doesn't have the exact same set up as you do. As I've said, aside from marketing and branding the BiOrb is just another fish tank. It's a freshwater tank that can, like all tanks, be used for marine life. Doesn't mean we all agree it's the best route, but it doesn't mean you can't do it and be happy. The advice we've all offered it not tank specific, it applies to all tanks - again the BiOrb is just another tank, with some built in plumbing.

Have fun, keep us updated, pics are always greatly appreciated!

-Doug