Reef nutrition

Salinity still a problem

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nnero66466

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I’m back…I’ve done a complete tank water change. Lost my flame angel fish. Moved my other 5 fishies to my 13 gallon tank to save them. My salinity is still the same at 1.030. I’m starting to wonder if it’s the rock which was dry rock, is holding onto salt. Was going to ask Kenny but shop was closed yesterday. What are your thoughts??
 
I haven’t heard rock holding on to salt.

Did you make sure all salt is dissolved before doing the water change?

Easiest way is to scope a gallon or so water from the tank and replace with RO water. I suspect you can safely drop 0.02 every 6 hours.
 
There isn’t anything in a tank that will hold on to or release salt. Unless of course you add undissolved salt. Adding and consuming a significant amount of 2-part Alk/Ca will increase salt. Another common reason is if top-off from evaporation is with saltwater instead of freshwater.

I’d start by bringing some of your water in to Kenny’s store and have him check the salinity. Bring your meter or whatever you are using to check against his at the same time. Salinity can be difficult to know the ground-truth, but you should consider Kenny’s readings accurate.

Next, if you’ve confirmed your salinity is high, the solution is simple. Dump out some water and replace it with the same amount of fresh RO/DI water. How much depends on the size of your tank, go slow at first. Re-measure. Repeat. How rapidly you can change is open for debate, but if your reading is accurate (1.030) and you want to get to 1.026, you can probably get there in 1 day safely with a bunch of small corrections.

Consider using salinity in ppt or PSU, either of which would have a target of 35. Whole numbers are easier to not make mistakes with. Instead of specific gravity (1.026).
 
Maybe consider getting a hanna salinity checker, if Kenny sales them, easy to calibrate and gives a digital read out. Can't really mess it up without purposely tryingn to in my opinion. . They are a bit pricey avg 69-80 but my favorite test device by far.
 
What salinity tester are you using? Ones that measure conductivity to determine salinity tend to drift over time so need recurring calibration. Like this one:
hi98319-angle-ppt-f_1___00321.1709052884.jpg


I prefer refractometers since they're easy and free to calibrate with distilled water. Lately I've seen people going back to float hydrometers like the tropic marin one
 
CaseyP said:
What salinity tester are you using? Ones that measure conductivity to determine salinity tend to drift over time so need recurring calibration. Like this one:
hi98319-angle-ppt-f_1___00321.1709052884.jpg


I prefer refractometers since they're easy and free to calibrate with distilled water. Lately I've seen people going back to float hydrometers like the tropic marin one
Click to expand...
Thats the one i use. I find it easy to calibrate with the liquid pouches they come with. I agree refractometer is cheaper long term. Yet these to me are easier.
 
MichaelB said:
Thats the one i use. I find it easy to calibrate with the liquid pouches they come with. I agree refractometer is cheaper long term. Yet these to me are easier.
Click to expand...

Easier how? 1 drop on the daylight plate, look into the light, clean off plate on pants. Calibrate with 1 drop, turn screw :)

Don't you have to open the packet? That's an extra step beyond a refractometer, and the refractometer doesn't require batteries.
 
Both of mine are refractometers. Both were calibrated with distilled water. I’ve done numerous water top offs with fresh rodi water from 10 gallons or more and it never dropped except for 1 day it was 1.028. Then right back up again. Buy my salt water from Kenny and was about to get more but store was closed yesterday. Just wanted to run it by you all and get your thoughts. Michael all the parts for new filter came in and will get that going one new water gets bought. Also the ATOP as well. Thank goodness I had that little tank but the fish are being picked on by my other set of clownfish. But the fairy basselet is the biggest bully
 
nnero66466 said:
Both of mine are refractometers. Both were calibrated with distilled water. I’ve done numerous water top offs with fresh rodi water from 10 gallons or more and it never dropped except for 1 day it was 1.028. Then right back up again. Buy my salt water from Kenny and was about to get more but store was closed yesterday. Just wanted to run it by you all and get your thoughts. Michael all the parts for new filter came in and will get that going one new water gets bought. Also the ATOP as well. Thank goodness I had that little tank but the fish are being picked on by my other set of clownfish. But the fairy basselet is the biggest bully
Click to expand...
You shouldn't calibrate your refractometer with distilled water/RODI, it's too far off from the desired range. Calibrate with a calibration solution or bring your refractometer to Kenny's store and calibrate with his tank water.
 
Sorry if we're asking a lot of the same questions but it's hard to keep track of what you have and your experience level in the hobby without a tank journal. That way we can see what equipment you're using, size of the tank, livestock, etc. in one place. Do you think you could spend a few minutes to create one? It will pay off in the end!

Tank Journals

Tell us about your tank or tank build
www.bareefers.org
 
Did you check the salinity of the new water?

Old reef rock should not change your salinity unless the system is tiny and you’ve got a lot of really salty rock.

Try adding pure DI water to the tank until it reaches 35ppt.
nnero66466 said:
Both of mine are refractometers. Both were calibrated with distilled water. I’ve done numerous water top offs with fresh rodi water from 10 gallons or more and it never dropped except for 1 day it was 1.028. Then right back up again. Buy my salt water from Kenny and was about to get more but store was closed yesterday. Just wanted to run it by you all and get your thoughts. Michael all the parts for new filter came in and will get that going one new water gets bought. Also the ATOP as well. Thank goodness I had that little tank but the fish are being picked on by my other set of clownfish. But the fairy basselet is the biggest bully
Click to expand...
calibrate with 35ppt, not distilled water.

Refractometers are very precise, but they’re not always accurate - the further you calibrate from 35ppt, the more error the refractometer will have.
 
BAYMAC said:
Easier how? 1 drop on the daylight plate, look into the light, clean off plate on pants. Calibrate with 1 drop, turn screw :)

Don't you have to open the packet? That's an extra step beyond a refractometer, and the refractometer doesn't require batteries.
Click to expand...
Maybe mine just sucked lol, it was blury hard to see the numbers and a headache, hardly any light beyond a flash light a inch from it was bright enough to even see the blury graph. In the end i was always guessing what it said.

The hanna remove cap, press power it reads, calibrate open pack hit cal wait 5 seconds good for another month or two.

In fairness i had annoying experience with the refractometer I had. I only ever had the one, so as mentioned above not sure if mine was just junk.
 
dangalang said:
Get a Tropic Marin hydrometer and a 500ml graduated cylinder. No need to constantly calibrate or worry if it's reading is drifting over time.
Click to expand...
2nd this- as long as the water level is in the blue section -you are good. No need to calibrate but you need to keep it safe as it can break easily (glass) -$35.

Found it to be way more accurate than other refractometers and salinity probes
 
nnero66466 said:
Both of mine are refractometers. Both were calibrated with distilled water. I’ve done numerous water top offs with fresh rodi water from 10 gallons or more and it never dropped except for 1 day it was 1.028. Then right back up again. Buy my salt water from Kenny and was about to get more but store was closed yesterday. Just wanted to run it by you all and get your thoughts. Michael all the parts for new filter came in and will get that going one new water gets bought. Also the ATOP as well. Thank goodness I had that little tank but the fish are being picked on by my other set of clownfish. But the fairy basselet is the biggest bully
Click to expand...
Topping off evaporated water with RODI will not lower your salinity over time, it will just maintain it. See my above reply for a lot more detail for what I recommend.
 
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