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Seawater tank cleanup (Actually for a different tank, but the general lines apply) 1) Turn switch off and unplug the tank. If the water is not too rotten, replace only ½ of the volume. Replace one bucket of water at a time if you need to leave the crabs in the tank (if there is no space to put them meanwhile). Otherwise, drain (w/siphon or bucket) 50% of the water and replace it following step 2. 2) Fill a bucket up with cold water + ~180ml of seasalt (Instant Ocean). Make sure all salt is dissolved, and the water is cold. 3) Put the crabs into that bucket or into another tank (NOTE: do not overcrowd them, i.e. ~20 crabs/tank max) 4) Carefully wheel the tank next to the sink. Drain all the water from the tank and rinse it with fresh water. To clean the section with the gravel, take the 3 pieces of plastic (2 nets + 1 plexiglass) out and rinse/drain the hose compartment a couple of times. CAREFUL with the hoses. Wipe the walls of the tank and other parts that look dirty, rinse and drain the whole thing. Gently pull the gravel-filled net bags out of the tank. Clean the gravel well by running water through each bag. Wash the spongy material on top or replace it. 5) When filling up the tank, use ~3/4 a whole bag of Instant Ocean sea salt. VERY IMPORTANT: Check the density with a hydrometer. The water level should be in the green area. 6) Let the tank run a while (ideally overnight or 24 hrs) before adding the crabs. 7) Make sure that the front compartment has enough water to cover only the bottom (~1") of the gravel bags, NOT MORE. 8) Do not overfill the tank. Leave about 2" of space from the top. When putting the crabs back in, remember Lavoisier (the crabs will displace water!!) and make sure that you take some water off to compensate for that extra volume. MAKE SURE THE SWITCH IS BACK ON!!!! |
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