Charith1986 Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 Hi, I am very new to reef tanks. I have a nano 8 gallon tank and its salinity is between 1.020 to 1.021. Even though some water has evaporated over past three days the salinity level is constant and have not changed. Do I need to add some fresh water to the tank at this moment ? Will it reduce my salinity level further ? There re only two fish a small clown and a damsel in the tank. Quote Link to comment
j.falk Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 Any time you add fresh water to a salt water tank it dilutes the salinity. Is there a reason why you're keeping your salinity so low? It's recommended to keep it at 1.026. Edit: Sorry, meant to type 1.026. Quote Link to comment
Charith1986 Posted September 11, 2019 Author Share Posted September 11, 2019 1 minute ago, j.falk said: Any time you add fresh water to a salt water tank it dilutes the salinity. Is there a reason why you're keeping your salinity so low? It's recommended to keep it at 1.025. Actually when I purchased the tank last sunday the shop gave me water as well but when I checked the salinity when I came home it was low as 1.016 therefore I half emptied the tank and filled again with salt water and it was my self who achieved the salinity of 1.021. As I have no prior experience it was the maximum I could do at that moment. Now the salinity is constant though some water has evaporated. Its not increasing though. What should I do ? shall I continue like this for few more days? fish looks good and I check the salinity in the morning and in the evening daily. Quote Link to comment
j.falk Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 1.016 is way too low. 1.021 is low. 1.026 is ideal because it emulates natural sea water. I would get your salinity up meaning you need to add fresh saltwater to the aquarium to bring up the salinity. Also, are you using a hydrometer or refractometer to test your water? Hydrometers are very inaccurate and I would highly recommend a refractometer if you don't already have one. You can usually get them on Ebay for $16-$20 and that price includes shipping. 2 Quote Link to comment
Charith1986 Posted September 11, 2019 Author Share Posted September 11, 2019 15 minutes ago, j.falk said: 1.016 is way too low. 1.021 is low. 1.026 is ideal because it emulates natural sea water. I would get your salinity up meaning you need to add fresh saltwater to the aquarium to bring up the salinity. Also, are you using a hydrometer or refractometer to test your water? Hydrometers are very inaccurate and I would highly recommend a refractometer if you don't already have one. You can usually get them on Ebay for $16-$20 and that price includes shipping. I am using a hydrometer. so shall I take out some tank water (500ml) and add some salt and mixed it well and again put it in to the tank instead of adding fresh water ? Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 That is very low salinity as stated but what is even more odd is that your salinity has not changed with evaporation. I would get a refractometer asap because it seems odd that your water has evaporated but no salinity change. Any salinity change needs to be done slowly. Quote Link to comment
j.falk Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 2 hours ago, Charith1986 said: I am using a hydrometer. so shall I take out some tank water (500ml) and add some salt and mixed it well and again put it in to the tank instead of adding fresh water ? Let's go over things again: Step 1: Buy a REFRACTOMETER. Hydrometers are garbage and a waste of money. They are inaccurate so making any changes with an inaccurate salinity gauge will yield inaccurate results. Step 2: Find out what your salinity really is. It needs to be kept around 1.026. Burn that number into your memory. You'll want to remember it for the entire length of time that you keep the aquarium. Step 3: If the refractometer says that the salinity is too low...then mix up a small batch of new saltwater with the correct specific gravity of 1.026. NOTE: Mixing new saltwater takes 24 hours to get the correct salinity, temperature and oxygen in the water. Step 4: Take out a small portion of tank water and replace with the new water. Do this over several hours/days...the key to success is slowly. Rapidly changing the salinity on tank inhabitants (especially on a tank that small) could lead to dire consequences. Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 1 hour ago, j.falk said: Let's go over things again: Step 1: Buy a REFRACTOMETER. Hydrometers are garbage and a waste of money. They are inaccurate so making any changes with an inaccurate salinity gauge will yield inaccurate results. Step 2: Find out what your salinity really is. It needs to be kept around 1.026. Burn that number into your memory. You'll want to remember it for the entire length of time that you keep the aquarium. Step 3: If the refractometer says that the salinity is too low...then mix up a small batch of new saltwater with the correct specific gravity of 1.026. NOTE: Mixing new saltwater takes 24 hours to get the correct salinity, temperature and oxygen in the water. Step 4: Take out a small portion of tank water and replace with the new water. Do this over several hours/days...the key to success is slowly. Rapidly changing the salinity on tank inhabitants (especially on a tank that small) could lead to dire consequences. Great advice. Regarding salt mixing, it depends on the salt brand. Coral pro is not to be mixed for more than 4hrs, aquaforest is the same. Red sea blue bucket mixes clear within an hr. Instant ocean- 24hrs. 1 Quote Link to comment
Charith1986 Posted September 11, 2019 Author Share Posted September 11, 2019 Clown 79 & J falk, really appreciate your advice. I will buy a refractometer ASAP. In the evening I add around 400ml fresh water to replace the evaporated water. And after one hour took out around 500ml water from the tank and mixed some salt in to it and poured again to the tank. I will check the salinity again in the morning. I will follow your steps as said. Thanks and keep updating. Quote Link to comment
Tired Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 I would not be changing the salinity until you get a refractometer to confirm what it actually is. Otherwise you could make it far too salty. 1 Quote Link to comment
Charith1986 Posted September 12, 2019 Author Share Posted September 12, 2019 11 hours ago, Tired said: I would not be changing the salinity until you get a refractometer to confirm what it actually is. Otherwise you could make it far too salty. Yes thats true. But my fish looks okay for the moment. should buy a refractometer asap. Quote Link to comment
Charith1986 Posted September 12, 2019 Author Share Posted September 12, 2019 Also can I know for how many days i can store and keep the fresh water ? i filled the tap water (clorine) in Monday morning and kept open the bucket lid for 24 hrs and closed. I still have that water with me. Can i use that water to fill the tank ? Quote Link to comment
Tired Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 You should really use distilled or RO water, not tap water. Tap water has too many unknown variables, including the potential of it having gone through copper pipes, which renders it completely unsafe for any and all invertebrates. However, water doesn't go bad. If it doesn't smell bad (from algae or bacterial growth), and it's stored in a safe container rather than something that will leach substances, you can store it forever. 1 Quote Link to comment
Charith1986 Posted September 12, 2019 Author Share Posted September 12, 2019 Just now, Tired said: You should really use distilled or RO water, not tap water. Tap water has too many unknown variables, including the potential of it having gone through copper pipes, which renders it completely unsafe for any and all invertebrates. However, water doesn't go bad. If it doesn't smell bad (from algae or bacterial growth), and it's stored in a safe container rather than something that will leach substances, you can store it forever. Great, i will use water from a well going forward. Quote Link to comment
Tired Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Well water is slightly better, but also not great, because it can have all kinds of minerals in it that can affect things. I'd give it a thorough testing to find out exactly what it is, or see if you can find a water report somewhere for wells in the area. Do you plan to keep just fish, or do you want invertebrates and corals as well? Quote Link to comment
Charith1986 Posted September 12, 2019 Author Share Posted September 12, 2019 8 minutes ago, Tired said: Well water is slightly better, but also not great, because it can have all kinds of minerals in it that can affect things. I'd give it a thorough testing to find out exactly what it is, or see if you can find a water report somewhere for wells in the area. Do you plan to keep just fish, or do you want invertebrates and corals as well? For the moment i have only fish and few live rocks, (small clown and a damsel) Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Rodi or distilled water is the best. Tap, well water, even RO water stills have many things in it that you don't want in a SW tank. These additional minerals, tds, chemicals are not beneficial and lead to problems. Any pre made salt water or fresh top up water should be in a closed container as contaminants in the air can get into the water and then into a tank Quote Link to comment
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