what do i need to do after maitenance men use there sump to pump out tank

[luvmyreef]

I have just collected all my coral that I gave my brother, after his acrylic tank started coming apart at seams. I set up a new tank and put everything in it...stuff has been dying and he just informed me that they used there sump to drain. I have gone out and bought a wet dry filter and connected the aqua c protein skimmer to draw out some of the waste. Do I need to do a complete water change or as that going to do more harm. It appears to be stabilizing a bit. I ran a test on the water and everything appeared to be good, but I am also afraid maybe the test kit is old. I am not sure were to go from here. Any help would be appreciated

[shag26272]

you need to get some good test kits and post the results, or take it to the LFS and get them to test it, include salinity and temp

[luvmyreef]

salinity is 1.023, temp is 75.4 F

[shag26272]

you should raise your temp to between 78-80 and your salinity to 1.026, Are you using a refractometer?

[luvmyreef]

I have a refractometer but never learned to use it. Other half bought it and we no longer together. Box and directions are in trash. Care to give a quik lesson :)

[shag26272]

lift the flap on the end, put some drops of water on the clear part, close it and smash the water between, look through the lense under a bright light and you should see the gauge, its pretty easy once you do it

[useskaforevil]

make sure you first calibrate it with ro/di water first. it should have a screw on the top (at least all of mine did)

[luvmyreef]

Ok I know I had one. What i just found is a ph tester, no battery though. This is all a big mess trying to sort everything, but glad to have it all back. I will find it. what I am using now is a hydrometer