How a college student can maintain a salt water aquarium

[Deleted]

Greetings All,

I want some brief answers on how a college student can maintain a small salt water aquarium when nearest pet store is miles away.
The post came up in another forum and I answered by suggesting these two products:
Seachem Purigen to remove organics
Polyfilter - to remove all impurities

I also congratulated the student on his success. I know salt water aquariums are a lot of work.

That student did not get answers from any other members during my time on that forum. Maybe he will wander over here?

Are there any other products that can help maintain water quality in salt water? Many of the ones I use are freshwater only. I think I also mentioned the new Boyd's Chemi pure that is strictly for salt water, but I have no experience with that product. 

The student wanted to extend the time (a little) between water changes.

Thanks in advance..... Answers to not need to be lengthy as this is just a "for instance" case. Post links to information on AAP that may also help.

Judy D

[devonjohnsgard]

Honesty, and if he were on our forum, I would say, this is a hard one.

We had a college student on here a while back that was going off to college and wanted to maintain his new FW tank... He wanted the same thing... Longer time between water changes. Long story short, his dad got a long list of to-dos.
everythingaquatic.proboards.com/thread/3552/high-walstad-mineralized-water-changes

I honestly do not think there is a safe way to maintain a saltwater tank, with no one around to do the regular maintenance. Just doing top-offs, feedings (corals included...) dosing...

I would suggest someone that knows what they are doing, to watch over the tank...

I will also add that it takes a long time to get your tank on a routine or cycle, so that you can keep parameters in check and go longer in between water changes. It takes knowing your tank. Really, there is nothing you can do to your tank over night, to make it so you can go longer between water changes. FW or salt.

[Deleted]

>> Longer time between water changes. Long story short, his dad got a long list of to-dos.

You made me smile!

Thanks Devon,

This young man already has his salt water tank set up at school -- and has been successful. I suspect he was told on another forum there was no way to extend time between water changes and hence, he signed up for another forum, hoping for an answer that suited him.

The poor guy is going to a school about a hour away from any good pet store. I have no idea how he made it this long.... I did commend him for doing all he could (smile). I don't think he has much in the tank....Maybe only a couple damsels?

My son couldn't keep up with his salt tank - just a 30 gallon. After the last fish died, he took it down. I have no idea what he will do with all the "live rock" (dead rock by now --- grin).

"Grandma" (me) can help take care of his freshwater tanks (my Grandfish)... I knew nothing about how to do saltwater.

I wanted a new topic to show up here (smile).

Judy D.

[Ameenah]

Hi Judy

My first recommendation is that you send the student the link to the EA Forum and invite him to join us. This would allow direct dialog which I know is needed.

Second, how long has he had his tank set up? I know you mentioned its been up for a while but how mature is his tank exactly? What does he have in it? Substrate, decor, plants, fishes?

Being far from a LFS isnt really an issue since he can purchase anything and everything he would need directly from  American Aquarium Products  as I and most EA Forum members do. Additionally, I do have several big box LFS in my city and a few private LFS but none of them had any recommendations for an Aquarium Cleaning Service when I needed one to care for my tanks while I am on the other side of the planet in Jordan. I did find 1 service and the city I reside in is the 6th largest city in the USA. If he doesnt have time for tank maintenance I would recommend he find a tank cleaning service.

The #1 recommendation I have is for him to join us at EA Forum. One of my kids is a grad student at Boston Medical, she is at the hospital about 16 hours a day, has a 1 hour commute, and is still finding time to play with and nurse her baby (born during semester break) and talk with her husband. On her 1 day off she and her husband and baby go on outtings and enjoy their togetherness. It can be done. Fish tanks are like babies, they always require attention and maintenance.

[Carl]

He will definitely need to monitor alkalii reserve, even more so is he uses Boydes Chemipure or The Poly Pad, as these product when used in marine tanks without a good alkalii reserve will slowly lower pH over time to dangerous levels (I know this from controlled tests using 5 fish only marine aquariums)

Suggested Products include SeaChem Reef Builder and SeaChem Marine Buffer

Resources:
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Seachem.html#reef
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Seachem.html#marine

Further Suggested Reading
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Basic_Saltwater.html

From the above article:
"Be careful when using products such as Boyd's ChemiPure & "The Poly Pad" as these products can slowly affect Redox and Alkalii Reserve, which if not addressed can become major issues over time. Products such as Seachem Reef Builder can help counter the negative affects of these products."

Carl

[Deleted]

Thanks Carl,

Yes... There is Chemi Pure (I forget what it is called) just for salt water now....
Thanks for the responses.

I began this thread to replace a different one I started....It would be nice if that student would find this forum. He would have received expert help right away. No one but me answered him on the other forum and his request was several days old.

This forum treats every request for help with respect.

My son did use Polyfilter and Purigen to add a little time between water changes (and used Seachem Marine buffer). Salt water was just too time consuming for him. After the last of the fish died, he broke down the system. He now has the 60 gallon planted tank where the salt water tank was.

Judy D.