First Water Change & Adding More Water

[machtuck]

Evening,

New reefer here. 40 gal Aquatop Recife owner with a current stock of a pair of longfin clowns and some soft corals, specifically GSP, Xenia and Zoas.

My first water change is upon us, with one caveat. I removed 1 gal of water for coral dipping which created a water level I'm not happy with. In hindsight I should have just used the water from drip acclimation and the bags combined for dipping, but that's why I'm the FNG. The water was already low due to the light that came with the aquarium sitting below the top. I've since upgraded the light so that will not be an issue.

My question is, would it be possible to add more saltwater than I take out during the water change to bring the level up to where I want it? Currently sitting at 1.025 salinity. Would I have to make the water less salty in this case? Main reasoning behind raising the water level to try and tune my skimmer, as well as reducing the need for constant RODI top offs if I'm on the road for work a bunch during the week. Really appreciate the help!

 

[Bfragale]

Hello there friend.
Yes you can add more water-

if your want to raise your water level- you can add salt water. But first make sure your Salinity is correct in the tank and your freshly mixed salt water matches.

make sure to replenish evaporated water with ro/di and not salt water.

Hope this helps. Take care and happy reefing!

 

[WVNed]

Think of it this way. Since you want the salinity to always stay the same.

If you want to change the water level in your tank you have to add or remove salt. So increasing your water level you add saltwater. To lower it you take out saltwater.

If you want to return to a level just add water. The salt is in the tank already. So replacing evaporated water you add RODI.