lower salinity issues

[klr0808]

(Feeling better about things today) Pump and heaters are stable and I confirmed no stray voltage in water, also placed a grounding probe.
Fish are eating and swimming more. All good things.

So something I also have been working on in addition to the other things: I have been getting pre made IO salt water for my 20g which is measuring 1.022, my tank is running 1.021. I have been manually toping off with salt water the last day which I got somewhere else and is 1.024. Still no increase in my main tanks salinity and I know I dont want to move salinity too quickly, however, maybe 1/2 cup of salt water top off a few times a day is not enough.

I am debating on getting a bag of salt and adding more to the water. Thoughts? I can throw an extra pump in there to mix it. Do I need to switch salts?

Yes, I have calibrated my refractometer, and what I am getting at home, the lfs is also measuring the same on their digital.

Thanks everyone! Once I get this settled them I can focus on getting the wave maker....but I am thinking about an MP10. expensive but I am hoping a solid choice and no cords in the water is a Win for me.

 

[Freenow54]

(Feeling better about things today) Pump and heaters are stable and I confirmed no stray voltage in water, also placed a grounding probe.
Fish are eating and swimming more. All good things.

So something I also have been working on in addition to the other things: I have been getting pre made IO salt water for my 20g which is measuring 1.022, my tank is running 1.021. I have been manually toping off with salt water the last day which I got somewhere else and is 1.024. Still no increase in my main tanks salinity and I know I dont want to move salinity too quickly, however, maybe 1/2 cup of salt water top off a few times a day is not enough.

I am debating on getting a bag of salt and adding more to the water. Thoughts? I can throw an extra pump in there to mix it. Do I need to switch salts?

Yes, I have calibrated my refractometer, and what I am getting at home, the lfs is also measuring the same on their digital.

Thanks everyone! Once I get this settled them I can focus on getting the wave maker....but I am thinking about an MP10. expensive but I am hoping a solid choice and no cords in the water is a Win for me.

I have read warnings not to add salt directly to inhabited tank water

 

[W31Olds]

1/2 cup of SW is not nearly enough. You have a 20 gallon Tank so I would have 10-20 gallons of SW premixed ready to go and 20 Gallons of RODI Water for Evaporation. You can switch salts if you want but not necessary.

 

[Catawba_Valley_Reef]

(Feeling better about things today) Pump and heaters are stable and I confirmed no stray voltage in water, also placed a grounding probe.
Fish are eating and swimming more. All good things.

So something I also have been working on in addition to the other things: I have been getting pre made IO salt water for my 20g which is measuring 1.022, my tank is running 1.021. I have been manually toping off with salt water the last day which I got somewhere else and is 1.024. Still no increase in my main tanks salinity and I know I dont want to move salinity too quickly, however, maybe 1/2 cup of salt water top off a few times a day is not enough.

I am debating on getting a bag of salt and adding more to the water. Thoughts? I can throw an extra pump in there to mix it. Do I need to switch salts?

Yes, I have calibrated my refractometer, and what I am getting at home, the lfs is also measuring the same on their digital.

Thanks everyone! Once I get this settled them I can focus on getting the wave maker....but I am thinking about an MP10. expensive but I am hoping a solid choice and no cords in the water is a Win for me.

I would continue adding pre-mixed saltwater (maybe at 1.027 or 1.028) in place of ro/di for your evaporated water. In a 20 gal tank it should get to the proper salinity in a relatively short amount of time.

 

[klr0808]

1/2 cup of SW is not nearly enough. You have a 20 gallon Tank so I would have 10-20 gallons of SW premixed ready to go and 20 Gallons of RODI Water for Evaporation. You can switch salts if you want but not necessary.

Oh I def have 20 gallons of salt and 10 of RODI available, but I was referring to adding salt water to top offs to increase salinity

 

[klr0808]

I have read warnings not to add salt directly to inhabited tank water

I am NOT directly adding salt to the tank. I am referring to SALT pre mixed water as a top off instead of RODI.

 

[W31Olds]

You're going to need a bag of salt to make up some higher salinity water to correct the salinity. Another method would be to shut off your ATO (if Possible) and replace the Tank water evaporating with SW instead of RODI. If you do increase salinity, it must be done slowly so as to not shock your fish. There maybe be a calculator/ formula on this forum to match salinity.

 

[klr0808]

You're going to need a bag of salt to make up some higher salinity water to correct the salinity. Another method would be to shut off your ATO (if Possible) and replace the Tank water evaporating with SW instead of RODI. If you do increase salinity, it must be done slowly so as to not shock your fish. There maybe be a calculator/ formula on this forum to match salinity.

I have turned off the ATO. I have been adding about 1/2 every 4 hours or so of salt water.

I just dont think it is catching up at all with the salt water I have at 1.024. I will grab some salt and maybe increase salinity to 25-26 and top off with that

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Seems like this will be an ongoing problem if the LFS isn't mixing water at the proper salinity, if I was in your shoes I would postpone the MP10 and get a basic sicce powerhead (2 is better than 1) and an RO Buddy. A rodi unit and making your own saltwater is more important than a fancy powerhead - thats just my opinion. Good luck

 

[exnisstech]

I would just continue topping of with mixed salt water and eventually it will get to where you want it then you can switch back to rodi to maintain the correct salinty. I would look for another source for your saltwater or get an rodi system and mix your own. Premade water at 1.021 - 1.022 is fine for fish but no so much for coral and inverts and the store selling it should make people aware it is below the salinty recommended for reef tanks IMO.

 

[Fish Fan]

My only knock on the RO Buddy filter is the non-standard size cartridges, and I've heard it costs almost as much as a whole new system (about $70) to replace the cartridges. I'd suggest getting a decent 4 or 5 stage RODI from someplace like BRS, Spectrapure or Buckeye Hydro.

 

[klr0808]

I would just continue topping of with mixed salt water and eventually it will get to where you want it then you can switch back to rodi to maintain the correct salinty. I would look for another source for your saltwater or get an rodi system and mix your own. Premade water at 1.021 - 1.022 is fine for fish but no so much for coral and inverts and the store selling it should make people aware it is below the salinty recommended for reef tanks IMO.

I agree, I have found another LFS to obtain my Saltwater from.

I looked into the RODI system and it just seemed to be too much for what i need. I only need about 2 gallons a week max and thats with weekly WC.

 

[Fish Fan]

I agree, I have found another LFS to obtain my Saltwater from.

I looked into the RODI system and it just seemed to be too much for what i need. I only need about 2 gallons a week max and thats with weekly WC.

Have you considered buying gallons of distilled water, and using that both for topping up and to make your own saltwater? That way, you'll have full control over your water. Distilled water can be found at any grocery store or pharmacy. Here's six gallons for a little over seven bucks at my local Mega-Lo-Mart:

Distilled Water Six-Pack at Wally World

 

[Fish Fan]

While you're at your local Wally World grab a food grade 5 gallon bucket and lid. Add to that a cheap heater, a small circ pump, and salt mix and you've got a little water change station. You can premix and heat the water to match your tank's temp and salinity, making water changes far less stressful on livestock, and allowing you to change out a greater percentage of water if the need arrises.

 

[klr0808]

Have you considered buying gallons of distilled water, and using that both for topping up and to make your own saltwater? That way, you'll have full control over your water. Distilled water can be found at any grocery store or pharmacy. Here's six gallons for a little over seven bucks at my local Mega-Lo-Mart:

Distilled Water Six-Pack at Wally World

i actually never considered buying distilled water from a local grocery store. I was just getting that at the LFS too. So simply distilled water is all we need?

Thanks for this!

 

[Uncle99]

(Feeling better about things today) Pump and heaters are stable and I confirmed no stray voltage in water, also placed a grounding probe.
Fish are eating and swimming more. All good things.

So something I also have been working on in addition to the other things: I have been getting pre made IO salt water for my 20g which is measuring 1.022, my tank is running 1.021. I have been manually toping off with salt water the last day which I got somewhere else and is 1.024. Still no increase in my main tanks salinity and I know I dont want to move salinity too quickly, however, maybe 1/2 cup of salt water top off a few times a day is not enough.

I am debating on getting a bag of salt and adding more to the water. Thoughts? I can throw an extra pump in there to mix it. Do I need to switch salts?

Yes, I have calibrated my refractometer, and what I am getting at home, the lfs is also measuring the same on their digital.

Thanks everyone! Once I get this settled them I can focus on getting the wave maker....but I am thinking about an MP10. expensive but I am hoping a solid choice and no cords in the water is a Win for me.

Why not just stay @1.021-1.022. That’s better for the fish only system.

Then when the system matures with fish and when you decide to add corals, then you bump that up to 1.025 or 1.026.

Or maybe I just misunderstand your post which is easy for me.

 

[klr0808]

Why not just stay @1.021-1.022. That’s better for the fish only system.

Then when the system matures with fish and when you decide to add corals, then you bump that up to 1.025 or 1.026.

Or maybe I just misunderstand your post which is easy for me.

Because I want coral...I do not think I need to wait 3 months before adding corals. So since my other parameters are all great, this is the only factor limiting me from adding coral.

Thanks

 

[BeanAnimal]

Here ya go

Turning off the ATO or leaving it on and adding saltwater will slowly raise salinity. Want to figure out how much?

Aquarium Salinity Adjustment Calculators | BeanAnimal's Reef

 

[klr0808]

Here ya go

Turning off the ATO or leaving it on and adding saltwater will slowly raise salinity. Want to figure out how much?

Aquarium Salinity Adjustment Calculators | BeanAnimal's Reef

Thank you!

 

[klr0808]

SG today is 1.023 so we are improving with small top offs!

Thanks everyone!

This was also really good for me to figure out now rather than later!