bucfan Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 The SG in my 100g w/ ATO has been steady ~ 1.025-1.026 for months. Checked it today after a month since the last check and it's 1.023. Do I need to raise it back up. Any suggestions on how to if so.
patback Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 Top off with salted water. You need to figure out how the drop happened.
MeepNand Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 You don't need to, but 1.025 is better. I would just adjust on the next water change. If you have an ATO, check it.
Salty_Snack Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 Are you skimming wet and dropping your salinity. +1 to just raising it during water changes.
bucfan Posted December 30, 2012 Author Posted December 30, 2012 Salty you are right, my skimmer malfunctioned recently and I had to dump all the water from the skimmer away. Did not figure it would drop the salinity by that much since the skimmer cup should not hold more than 1/4 gallon. The ATO must have topped off fresh but cannot imagine that dropping the SG by 0.003. Thanks for the responses. I will bring it back up with water changes. Interesting though, my corals do seem happier with the drop.
rO.oster Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 Also salt creep precipitates salt out of the water and onto the surfaces immediately around the water. Keep an eye on it once a month to be sure.
markalot Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 Salty you are right, my skimmer malfunctioned recently and I had to dump all the water from the skimmer away. Did not figure it would drop the salinity by that much since the skimmer cup should not hold more than 1/4 gallon. The ATO must have topped off fresh but cannot imagine that dropping the SG by 0.003. Thanks for the responses. I will bring it back up with water changes. Interesting though, my corals do seem happier with the drop. Have you calibrated your refractometer lately? Before changing it back it might be a god idea to get some 35ppt calibration liquid to make sure you are getting an accurate reading. Or make your own: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/rhf/index.php In addition, before someone comes on here telling us calibrating with RO/DI water is fine and works for them ... http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-12/rhf/index.php All depends on the equipment used and what it was designed for. I learned this the hard way during a salinity accident in my 40B. 1
bucfan Posted January 1, 2013 Author Posted January 1, 2013 Thanks for all the responses. I got another refractometer to be sure mine was not broken and got a difference of 0.002 between the two when testing my aquarium water. Is that normal for the 2 to be off? I don't have any calibration fluid so I zero using fresh which I know is not right but got no other choice. I've calibrated both refractometers using fresh and they both read zero. However when I test my salt mix they come out different. What could be doing this? The link to making your own calibration fluid was excellent, but difficult to follow. Can anyone break it down so it's easier to know what to mix?
nibor Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 I've calibrated both refractometers using fresh and they both read zero. However when I test my salt mix they come out different. What could be doing this?Slope miscalibration. It is described in the second article linked above. This is why you should calibrate with something in the range you are going to measure. You can follow the recipe for a Refractometer Standard in the link above or just buy some calibration fluid if you are not confident making your own. http://shop.mediabaskets.com/Pinponit-Calibration-Solution-15mL-AM00601-15mL.htm http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/catalog/product/view/id/861/
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