Top-Off water

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redfishbluefish88

New Member
I've been reading through the beginners area quite a bit, and I'm stuck between a 5 gallon cube with most everything included, and just a regular rectangular tank...But I'm getting a little confused about top-off water. Is top-off just tap water that has been treated for chlorine and other minerals? And is that something that is done everyday? How much top-off water is recommended? As for the 10% water change, that's the salt water that's changed, correct?
 
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Trogdor

New Member
You are correct. Top-off water is plain Jane H2O. Whether you use RODI water or not that's your choice but it doesn't contain salt. When salt water evaporates it leaves the salt behind. This is recommended as often as needed, it depends on your environment and time of year. My tank will loose about 2 gallons/week if I don't top off every other day.

Water change is just how it sounds. You replace water in your tank with new salt water.
 
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Trogdor

New Member
Alot of it will depend on how dry the air surrounding the tank will be, how much surface aeration (disruption of the tank water surface) there is and if your tank will be open or have a cover. Those are the major influencing factors. The small tanks need to be closely watched because a small decrease in water can mean a huge increase in salinity. If you can find a good auto top-off unit for it then I would highly recommend one on a 5g tank. It will help you keep your salinity and water level where they should be at all times.

I will say that tap water can be used, although it is highly recommended not to. If you are leaning towards using tap water then I recommend that you have your tap tested and see what is actually in your water. Personally I use tap on my 29g and haven't had any issues, but I also take precautions on treating it before I add it to my tank.
 
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redfishbluefish88

New Member
I really don't trust my tap water too much, but I'm willing to treat/test it to get it to where it needs to be for my tank. Does anyone know how well auto top-off units work? Or can someone recommend a certain one? I'd rather do it myself if possible...
 
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