High Salinity

[molo]

Does anybody know what are the adverse affects of having high salinity (1.030 and above)?

[Rockfish]

Does anybody know what are the adverse affects of having high salinity (1.030 and above)?

 

 

in a word.....most things will die....zoas melt, SPS shed and die, and fish will not live

 

any other questions??

[clownfish14]

lol you hit it right on the head

[molo]

The reason I ask is because I been running my tanks at 1.030 for months. I have two hydrometer that gave me a reading 1.025, which I thought was correct. It wasn't till today that I bought a refractometer that I found out my real salinity. I haven't lost any coral or fish.

[Rockfish]

then obviously the refractometer is VERY wrong.... did you calibrate it??

 

are you reading it right?

 

 

i'm guessing your salinity is NOT at 1.030 or else you would have lost damn near everything in the tank

[molo]

I calibrated twice with distilled water. I'm in the process of purchasing calibrating solution to verify the results.

[jjjo]

then obviously the refractometer is VERY wrong.... did you calibrate it??

 

are you reading it right?

 

 

i'm guessing your salinity is NOT at 1.030 or else you would have lost damn near everything in the tank

 

Um... I've had my tanks up that high. No ill effects.

 

If the salinity gradually got up to 1.030, and the inhabitants of the tank are acclimated to it, then they should be fine. New additions however would suffer badly.

 

that said, I would slowly bring it down .001 per day until its around 1.026-1.027. (I keep my corals around 1.027)

 

also, I agree. Make sure you calibrate the refractometer. It could be WAY off if not calibrated correctly.

 

in conclusion, I find lower SG (1.021 or lower) has far worse long term effects on corals, than higher SG (1.028-1.031ish)

 

-dan

[Rem]

+1 to what Jjjo said.. your livestock acclimated to that high of a salinity if your refractometer is reading correctly. A drastic change is when you have problems.

[reog3]

I just bought a refractometer and checked my water and find it at 1.022. I just brought home water from the lfs and checked it to be the same at 1.022. I recalibrated to make sure and read again with the same readings.

 

How do I get up to 1.025 safely?

 

Bob

[nick1912]

You should mix some freshwater with salt at a higher salinty and then do a small wc with the new salt water.

 

I just bought a refractometer and checked my water and find it at 1.022. I just brought home water from the lfs and checked it to be the same at 1.022. I recalibrated to make sure and read again with the same readings.

 

How do I get up to 1.025 safely?

 

Bob

[reog3]

You should mix some freshwater with salt at a higher salinty and then do a small wc with the new salt water.

 

Is there a way to figure out how much salt to add to the five gallons of 1.022 water I get from the lfs? Rule of thumb or something along those lines? If I can add to the new water it will make the wife much happier that I dont have to use more of the apartment for fish and their gear<g>

 

Bob

[lakshwadeep]

Your best bet is just to add salt in small increments to the desired specific gravity and use the same amount every time. IMO, this is a good reason to buy only freshwater and mix up your own saltwater; it can't be any more of a chore than having to add extra salt to "premixed" water.

[reog3]

Your best bet is just to add salt in small increments to the desired specific gravity and use the same amount every time. IMO, this is a good reason to buy only freshwater and mix up your own saltwater; it can't be any more of a chore than having to add extra salt to "premixed" water.

 

 

Thank you and that does make sense. What would you consider a small amount to start with? I just dont want to blast it and go high and have to lower. I guess it would be easy to move up slowly after I see what difference it makes.

 

Thanks

Bob

[Asureef]

I calibrated twice with distilled water. I'm in the process of purchasing calibrating solution to verify the results.

 

 

You need to calibrate with calibrating solution to 35ppt (1.026). Do not use distilled/RO water, as your reading will be inaccurate.

[EliPhant]

I also bought calibration fluid and set my refractometer to 1.026. After doing that, my R/O water reads at 0. I don't think all r/o water will be "inaccurate".

[coolwaters]

iv seen SG up to 1.032 and everything is find. but 1.026 is ideal. mainly cuz u dont have to acclimated them as long.

 

also this raises a lot of other things

like Ca, ALK, mag.

[lakshwadeep]

Try adding 1/4 cup increments. Also, the other, more time-intensive, option is to let the saltwater evaporate.

[jjjo]

I also bought calibration fluid and set my refractometer to 1.026. After doing that, my R/O water reads at 0. I don't think all r/o water will be "inaccurate".

 

 

you want it set at 35PPT.... not 1.026 fwiw

 

Try adding 1/4 cup increments. Also, the other, more time-intensive, option is to let the saltwater evaporate.

 

indeed. to raise SG..

 

let saltwater evaporate, and top off with saltwater until you reach desired SG.

 

To reduce SG

 

take a bit of saltwater out, and add RO in its place, in .0005-.001 increments per day until you reach desired levels.

[sandcruiser]

what jjo said:

 

just use salt water mixed at the desired salinity instead of freshwater to top-off the tank

it won't take long until you start seeing an increase in salt because only fresh water evaporates. When you add salt to replace it, you end up with saltier and saltier water.