ckrs05 Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 So I have had my tank running for 14 days now and when I checked my salinity yesterday it was low. It was 1.021 I'm not sure if this is a problem or not but I would like to know how this happened since I checked it the day before and it was 1.024. Does anyone know what might cause this and also am I supposed to be topping my tank off with freshwater? Thanks again guys. Hopefully someday I'll be able to be the one to answer some questions. Lol Link to comment
NorthGaHillbilly Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 So I have had my tank running for 14 days now and when I checked my salinity yesterday it was low. It was 1.021 I'm not sure if this is a problem or not but I would like to know how this happened since I checked it the day before and it was 1.024. Does anyone know what might cause this and also am I supposed to be topping my tank off with freshwater? Thanks again guys. Hopefully someday I'll be able to be the one to answer some questions. Lol Yea, you should be topping off with fresh, the salt dosent evaporate. What are your using to test your salinity? I cant inagine it loosing that much salt from salt creep. Link to comment
kidnatural Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Well evaporation would cause your salinity to raise not lower, yes you should top off for that very reason and the main question makes me think you have a faulty device for measuring salinity anything to check your primary device against like a hydrometer or refractometer, and speaking of what are you using to check your salinity and how have to calibrated it or make sure it's measuring accurately? Link to comment
ew_fish Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Have you taken any rock or water out of your system? If so then when you topped off with fresh water that is what caused it to drop. Link to comment
ktipp Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Its a good idea to invest in a refractometer. Link to comment
jdog Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 What type of hydrometer are you using? If it is the type you fill with the water it is quite possible it is sticking,if this is what you are using rinse it out with fresh water, try again, dip it a tank couple of times before you fill it with your actual saltwater take it out give it a good shake before needle settles. You could also try a refractometer. Link to comment
ckrs05 Posted January 14, 2015 Author Share Posted January 14, 2015 I have instant ocean hydrometer it seems to work well but it was just a $15 hydrometer I ordered online. I think I did have to take out about a gallon of water when I added the live rock last Thursday. The tank was still full but I think I might have topped it off with a little freshwater. It was only about a half gallon. I guess I better pay closer attention. I didn't think that small of an amount of water would make much difference. I guess I haven't thought about it until now but with all the sand and live rock I bet there's only about 10 gallons of water in my tank maybe less. Link to comment
ckrs05 Posted January 14, 2015 Author Share Posted January 14, 2015 So when I raise the salinity back to 1.024 should I spread it out over a couple water changes or do I need to do it quickly? The low salinity doesn't seem to be affecting my fish or hermit crabs at all but I do have a Kenya tree coral. From what I hear they are pretty hardy and it seems fine as well. Also I there a way to calculate how much extra salt to put in, or do you just add a very slight amount at a time? Link to comment
ETucc Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Do it all at once. And bring it to 1.026. Link to comment
ajmckay Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Yeah not sure what made the salinity drop. Normally it increases due to evaporation. I'm thinking you might have read the needle wrong the first time you measured 1.024? Just doesn't make sense, that's all. To drop salinity you would need to remove saltwater and replace with fresh water - oh wait - I just read you did that.... So there's your answer! Honestly though, 1.021 isn't horribly low. Shouldn't affect much negatively - some people even run their tanks at a consistent 1.021 - though it's not ideal for reef tanks. The thing that messes up the animals are swings in salinity, especially upward swings. So when you raise it back up do it slowly, just use saltwater to top off for a few days and you'll get there. Link to comment
LynkUK Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Do it all at once. And bring it to 1.026. Certainly wouldn't do that with livestock in the tank. A quick rise in salinity of that much in one hit will stress fish (although with hyposalinity, moving in the opposite direction, fish seem to handle better). I would raise the salinity by just adding saltwater instead of freshwater as top off when evaporation dictates. Link to comment
ckrs05 Posted January 14, 2015 Author Share Posted January 14, 2015 Yeah that's what I was thinking would probably be the best way but I wasn't sure. Thanks for the info I really appreciate it. This has become quite addicting looking at all of the beautiful tanks on this site and trying to figure out how to get there with mine. Very inspiring to have so many experienced people willing to lend their advice. Link to comment
Justin MD Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 No one mentioned hydrometer care. Rinse it thoroughly with fresh water and allow to dry after each use. Be sure there are no particles or bubbles on the swing arm. Take your hydrometer to at trusted LFS and have them test the accuracy. Link to comment
CronicReefer Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 You also need to find out what water temp the manufacturer calibrated the meter at. If you do not match this temp you are always going to get an inaccurate reading. Link to comment
ckrs05 Posted January 14, 2015 Author Share Posted January 14, 2015 Thanks again guys I'm going to take my hydrometer to work with me today and stop by my lfs on my way home. They will be happy to do that for me plus I need to pick up some more ro water from them for water changes. How long can you leave your mixed saltwater in a bucket with an air stone and heater? Link to comment
cju84 Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Thanks again guys I'm going to take my hydrometer to work with me today and stop by my lfs on my way home. They will be happy to do that for me plus I need to pick up some more ro water from them for water changes. How long can you leave your mixed saltwater in a bucket with an air stone and heater? When I mix my water for a change, I sometimes have it heating/mixing for 24 hours (when I get lazy). Your salinity might change some due to evaporation and your overall water level will be down, but just monitor both. Link to comment
ckrs05 Posted January 14, 2015 Author Share Posted January 14, 2015 Here are a couple of pictures of my tank at 15 days old. I still need to get a background and I'm not really sure about the aquascape yet but I think I have all of the pieces to the puzzle. My aquaclear HOB refugium has been really working well and the algae is full of copepods. They are actually flowing into the tank ocationally and the fish are eating them. The algae from the LFS was full of them when I put it in to begin with so now i'm hoping they will continue to reproduce inside the refugium. sorry the pics are kinda crappy just used my phone. Link to comment
Marc.The.Shark Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 Thanks again guys I'm going to take my hydrometer to work with me today and stop by my lfs on my way home. They will be happy to do that for me plus I need to pick up some more ro water from them for water changes. How long can you leave your mixed saltwater in a bucket with an air stone and heater? Depends on your salt mix, my Coral Pro salt says to mix for at least 30 mins, but not more than 2 hours max. Link to comment
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