Im so lost

[Snappy]

The salinity can be tricky at first due to variables like salt brand, water temp, etc. There are two values to be concerned with - Salinity & Specific Gravity (SG). Since I keep stony corals I keep my SG at 1.026 & SG is the most common value mentioned by hobbyists but often mistakenly referred to as salinity. If the SG is close to natural SW your salinity should be fine as well.

[slider9969]

i was sold salt nd told to put in the entire container that said "yeilds 20 gallons" so it did as im super noob and WOW that was way too much

[intarsiabox]

So just remove some of the salt water in the tank and replace with fresh water until you reach the right salinity. Also make sure your water is at the temperature you want when measuring. What are you using to measure salinity btw?

[slider9969]

Im just using a hydrometer untill i get everything stable then ill spend the money to get a better one . and i have been slowly removing water and adding new water but its really frustrating now because the hydrometer is reading extremely different levels almost everytime i test . te water is heated to about 72 degrees and the filter and power head are running . i made the mistake of putting in the sand while i do this so it looks like crap right now

[slider9969]

i wish the store was still open id just empty the entire thing and start over

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by slider9969

Im just using a hydrometer untill i get everything stable then ill spend the money to get a better one . and i have been slowly removing water and adding new water but its really frustrating now because the hydrometer is reading extremely different levels almost everytime i test . te water is heated to about 72 degrees and the filter and power head are running . i made the mistake of putting in the sand while i do this so it looks like crap right now

Did you put the sand in, then water and then salt?

[intarsiabox]

I am assuming you are using a swing arm hydrometer. They are very sensitive to micro bubbles attaching to the arm and giving you different readings. I would also wait until your water clears up as the dust suspended in the water will affect the arm as well. Maybe bring your temp up closer to 78 degrees.

[slider9969]

with all thats happened and now its showing almost no salinity i think im going to empty it and restart when i can get some salt if anyones in calgary NE and has some id love the hookup . ill repost once i do it properly and get things goin
if anyone is in calgary and has some extra salt my number is 403-968-1187 id be sooo thankfull

[Myka]

Guys, it wasn't a whole bucket, it was a either a box or a bag since he said the container yields 20 gallons.

Originally Posted by slider9969

i was sold salt nd told to put in the entire container that said "yeilds 20 gallons" so it did as im super noob and WOW that was way too much

I'd take the empty salt bag back and get them to give you a new one. When you make salt super saturated like that then a whole whack of calcium and carbonate ions (and many other ions too) will bind and fall out of the solution. So you'll end up with saltwater that is really deficient in various ions. Read the instructions on the bag next time.

Originally Posted by slider9969

i wish the store was still open id just empty the entire thing and start over

I think this is a good idea, but they gave you poor advice, and they should give you a new container of salt.

With the sand, was it dry or did it come in a sealed bag with some water? If it was dry sand then you need to rinse it many, many times to get all the dust out. It can take a week to clear up if you don't rinse well enough.

[Dearth]

Since I'm late to the party I won't add anything to help with your problem but will steer you for help

By all means please post any questions you have here we are more than willing to help

I see you are in Calgary there is a thriving SW community in the city many of our members are from there and are very helpful and may be able to talk to you in person or steer you to someone who can help

Sadly many pet stores that sell SW products often have staff that don't know much about SW luckily there are a few stores that deal specifically with SW and Calgary has a few that deal only or primarily with SW the locals there can direct you to those stores better than I could.

Hope this helps somewhat