Having an issue with salinity

[ReefScrub]

Hello All,

Im relatively new to the salt water game and im having some pretty big troubles with salinity. So back story on this, I purchased my entire tank set up from the LFS and the owner of the store recommended i use their pre mixed salt water which i came to learn.. is actual ocean water. Before it went into the tank i measured the salinity and it was 1.022 pretty low to me. So i cycled the tank for 4 weeks and got fish/ coral frags in. I measured the salinity again before the fish went in and with the evaporation it came up to 1.023. The tank went about a week before i checked salinity again. I topped it off twice with RODI at a pre marked point in my sump so i knew i wasn't over filling it. That following Saturday i tested salinity again and it came out at 1.018. In new reefer fashion......3 i panicked and topped off as much as i could with said pre mixed salt water. Its been about a week and ive only been topping off evaporation with salt water (running the tank open top) and the salinity will not raise over 1.022 .. Any ideas of what the problem could be?

Im using a red sea refractometer calibrated with solution instead of RO water. Ive been paranoid and calibrating it every time i use it since this issue came up.

 

[James M]

Welcome to reef2reef !
Have you tested the salinity of the pre mixed water ? How are your fish and coral doing ?

 

[SPR1968]

Hi and welcome to R2R

Your using ocean water so have you tested the salinity of the new ocean water your adding because it can vary significantly and if it’s low salinity, which I think your saying it was, then that may be the issue.

Depending on the size of your tank look into ATO systems as it will make your life much easier as you really need daily/hourly tops ups to maintain stability, not weekly adjustments

Also the Red Sea refractometer is extremely sensitive to temperature. I’ve found the safest way to use it, is calibrate before each use, but leave the water on the screen for about 10 seconds for both calibration and the actual test result before taking the reading.

If it were me, and assuming you have the funds, I would get some artificial salt mixed to the correct salinity and use that, at least for a while until you get everything stabilised and while you learn the hobby.

 

[ReefScrub]

Hi and welcome to R2R

Your using ocean water so have you tested the salinity of the new ocean water your adding because it can vary significantly and if it’s low salinity, which I think your saying it was, then that may be the issue.

Depending on the size of your tank look into ATO systems as it will make your life much easier as you really need daily/hourly tops ups to maintain stability, not weekly adjustments

Also the Red Sea refractometer is extremely sensitive to temperature. I’ve found the safest way to use it, is calibrate before each use, but leave the water on the screen for about 10 seconds for both calibration and the actual test result before taking the reading.

If it were me, and assuming you have the funds, I would get some artificial salt mixed to the correct salinity and use that, at least for a while until you get everything stabilised and while you learn the hobby.

I have tested the salinity of the ocean water, oddly enough the reading was different between the 2 5 gallon containers i came home with, one came up at 1.022 and one came up at 1.023, fish and coral are doing okay i had a really unexpected death of a scooter blenny but everything else is doing alright

 

[James M]

Scooter blennys aren’t a good fish for new hobbyists. If your keeping coral you’re going to want a salinity of 1.024-1.026

 

[lapin]

You will not get much of a salinity increase with top off water that is close to your present tank salinity unless you have a lot of evaporation/per water volume. If you, can as mentioned above, mix your own water to a higher salinity level. Something like 1.028 and use that as top off until you reach 1.025 or 1.026.

 

[PatW]

As mentioned above, getting an auto top off system will make life much easier. Topping off your tank with dionized water using an ATO should keep the water at a pretty constant salinity.

I think that mainly refers make their own DI and saltwater.

First, you control the quality of your DI and saltwater. You know the stuff is good.

Second, it is much more convenient to fetch DI and saltwater from your DI reservoir and saltwater mixing station than to drive to the LFS to get it. Also the LFS may be closed when you need it.

Third, it is cheaper to DIY.

 

[mattzang]

I'd just get RODI from them if you aren't wanting to setup an RODI system at home. Personally, I went through 4 different LFS getting saltwater from each, and none of them ever tested higher than 1.023. I think they save a few bucks and a bag of salt and just run it slightly lower. If you want 1.026 water (and you do), just make it yourself.

 

[Captain Quint]

Welcome to R2R and as always great info already given by some great members. You could try until you start your own blending by topping off with their filtered NSW instead of RODI fresh in an attempt to raise the salinity up slowly.

Honestly, it's better to be in control over mixing your own with the purchase of a RODI unit. :)

 

[ReefScrub]

well it seems the polls are in, im mixing my own salt, i live in a condo building so a DI system is kind of out of the question but the LFS is around the corner from me so its convenient enough. I ordered a duetto top off system right now but any recommendations on salt brand? im leaning towards red sea coral pro since its readily available at my LFS. currently stocking softies and a couple LPS

 

[James M]

You really don’t need that I’d your going to keep lps and softies. IO salt works just fine

 

[GotZoom05]

Buy yourself a 5 gallon bucket, some good reef salt and a jug of RO water form the store. Mix it up in the 5 gallon bucket, test and your done.

Like other have said, make sure the water your mixing is a bit higher in salinity ie 1.026 or even 1.027. You can always lower it with fresh non mixed RO water.

Welcome to the forums!

 

[GotZoom05]

Also make sure you wait for a good turnover of the water in your tank before checking it though. You’ll see mixed results if you test right after adding salt mix or even plain top off water.

 

[ReefScrub]

So update on this, i popped on the red sea coral pro salts, did 3 water changes to get the salinity up to 1.025 and got an ATO. all of my corals are doing so much better, im getting great polyp extension and the coloration has changed dramatically, thank you all for the advice!

 

[Captain Quint]

So update on this, i popped on the red sea coral pro salts, did 3 water changes to get the salinity up to 1.025 and got an ATO. all of my corals are doing so much better, im getting great polyp extension and the coloration has changed dramatically, thank you all for the advice!

Awesome news!