Water...

[Flobex]

Well, i was mixxing up saltwater for my new tank, but aparently, the instructions were wrong, so i added way to much... anyways... when i take out some old water, could i put it in buckets, and add soem freshwater to get the salinity right, then stick a lid on the bucket, and keep that for water changes... would it be ok, if i shook up the bucket evry day, or would water still manage to evaporate?

[Ping]

I would bet many of us have done this; put in too much salt. I once put a hypersaline solution in my tank during a water change. My corals let me know right away. I now test all waterchange solutions before I put them in the tank, as you have done. This is a lesson for all of us. Yes; your method will work. If you have an extra powerhead to keep the water moving, that would be best.

[Marlin]

You can re-use it, put an airstone in the bucket with a small air pump to keep it circulating and aerated.

[gjuarez]

Thats interesting, I wonder if putting it in water with current and oxygen would affect the trace elements, depleting them a little

[Flobex]

lol, i now know not to listen to the bag :P it says it would make aboyut 50 gallons, and i have a 40 with wet/dry, so i added about 3/4 of the bag, and my SG is off the wall :P

thanks for the help, ill put an airstone in it, because the only powerhead i had just quit...it was a rio...

[blueboy]

that's what rios do best...FAIL!

[Flobex]

lol...

Also, i ahd a feqw more questions... i want to do stony corals, and i know they need very high flow, but im not sure about lighting. i also see different types of sps, i'd like to have the ones that look like big branches sticking up. would this be possible, or is this tank just to small? 24"X18"X21" tall. for lighting, im gonna eventually have a 250 watt halide, then 2 28 watt t-5 fixtures. would this be enought for stony corals?

[blueboy]

that lighting should be adequate IMO, on a tank that small i would go with a DE, otherwise you may have temp problems.

[Flobex]

DE... is that a type of bulb, or do i need to buy a special ballast... i am pretty lost in the MH world so to say...

[blueboy]

DE is a double ended bulb, they look similar to the bulbs in those halogen floor lamps. they do require a different ballast, i think, mine came all together, so i'm not entirely sure either, but i believe it must be an electronic ballast, which uses less power too.

[Flobex]

ok, thanks a bunch. ill look into those.

[JeremyGlen]

I've got a 250w DE pendant and 2 - 28w PC actinics on my 24x14x17 tank and I've got plenty of hard corals growing in there. You will still have a heat issue if you don't have adequate airflow around and over the tank for evaporation. I go through about 3/4 of a gallon of top-off water a day.