How Do I Increase Salinity Safely?

[stan]

I just started my Eclipse 12 Mini-Reef a week ago.

 

I have about 10 lbs of live rock/Live Sand in there and the tank cycle seems to be progressing normally. Ammonia=.5ppm, Nitrite=2ppm, Nitrate 10ppm, PH 8.2, and lots of algae.

 

Only problem is the low salinity which is around 1.2 when measured with a hydrometer. I probably screwed up when initially mixing my water with instant ocean.

 

Anyways, i think this is a little low and i'd like to get it up to the 1.203-1.205 range. Whats the best way to do this without disturbing my tank?

 

Should i simply just add a few teaspoons of salt into the aquarium to get it to the right level?

 

Aside from whatever microscopic life is on the liverock/sand, there arent any "animals" in the tank.

[Aiptasia]

I hope you mean 1.020 and not 1.2

 

You want the salinity of the water between 1.020 and 1.024, and there's an easy fix. You don't need to add another tablespoon of salt or hypersaline water to the tank, just let a little water evaporate from it. When water evaporates, it leaves all of the salts behind, and naturally your tank will become more saline.

 

Just run your aquarium lights normally and measure the tank until enough water has evaporated to give you a S.G. reading of 1.022. From there on, you're right where you should be.

[stan]

D'OH.. yeah, that's what i meant S.G. of 1.020 Haha. You can tell im new at this.

 

I was thinking that too, just let it evaporate to the correct levels, i was just kinda impatient and didnt want to wait that long. But like everyone here says.. Patience!

 

Thanks a lot for the info!

[MrKrispy]

run an extra powerhead, get some surface agitation, it will evaporate in no time. You could probably run the heater at 80 or so...

[Chronicles]

You could take some water out, 1/2gal at a time and mix in more salt and then drip it back into the tank. Just take an air hose and knot it up. Just get a 2quart pitcher for drinks and such, get some water out, throw some extra salt in and mix. Retest your SG in 20min or so. Also drip it into flow areas such as HOB.

[stan]

The water is evaporating, the level has dropped 1/8". The SG hasnt changed though. I left the hood open today to promote more evaporation to see if that will speed it up. How much salt is the difference between 1.020 and 1.022 for 10 gallons of water? Are we talking a few teaspoons or much more?

 

If i dont see much change, im going with the drip method.

 

What are the dangers here?

[Aiptasia]

Just be patient. It will rise as the water level evaporates. Surface agitation is a good idea. You could even employ a small room fan to blow air across the surface of the water. Adjusting salinities should be a gradual process, and by being patient and letting them rise gradually, your corals will give you a gold star. Patience, your water at 1.020 is not out of whack. Let the tank water evaporate until it's close to 1.022. Nice and slow.

[jaguilar]

if you let your water evaporate to raise your salinity, you're gonna be left with a tank that has a low water level. and in my opinion, that is rather unsightly. especially in the eclipse12, which i have too. i don't like for my water to fall more than a quarter inch from the bottom of the black rim around the tank. i always keep my water level even with the bottom of the black trim or just barely over it. when i had to raise my salinity from 1.023 to 1.025, i mixed one gallon of saltwater in a gallon jug. then i used this to top off every day until i reached the desired amount. since i top off everyday, the small amount of saltwater was never a drastic change to shock any inhabitants. but i measured the salinity everyday just to make sure i didn't overdo it. it only took about 3-4 days to raise my salinity to 1.026. this method is gradual and allows you to keep the water level where it should be. hope this helps... peace.... j...

[Road_Runner]

Originally posted by jaguilar

if you let your water evaporate to raise your salinity, you're  gonna be left with a tank that has a low water level.  and in my opinion, that is rather unsightly.  especially in the eclipse12, which i have too.  i don't like for my water to fall more than a quarter inch from the bottom of the black rim around the tank. i always keep my water level even with the bottom of the black trim or just barely over it.  when i had to raise my salinity from 1.023 to 1.025, i mixed one gallon of saltwater in a gallon jug.  then i used this to top off every day until i reached the desired amount.  since i top off everyday, the small amount of saltwater was never a drastic change to shock any inhabitants.  but i measured the salinity everyday just to make sure i didn't overdo it.  it only took about 3-4 days to raise my salinity to 1.026.  this method is gradual and allows you to keep the water level where it should be.  hope this helps...  peace.... j...

 

exactly how I did it.... went from 1.020 to 1.025 over a period of 10 days or so. Now I just use freshwater RO to top off.

[stan]

Thanks for the input everybody! I'm up at 1.023 and i think i'm going to leave it here. Here's what i did...

 

First, i had a $2 floating hydrometer which was really hard to read accurately as it kept bobbing up and down and kept showing me the exact same reading 1.020, so i bought a seatest hydrometer. Easier to read.

 

I bought a 5Gal jug of seawater from the LFS, i live near the ocean so we're lucky to get purified sea water. I tested it and it was at 1.025.

 

After 3 days of just letting the water evaporate, the SG rose to 1.022. I topped off with the seawater and now it's at a more comfortable 1.023.