My Salinity Wont Go Down!!
- Thread starter jgabbsxx
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csturgis1989
Active Member
I would recommend getting a tropic Marin hydrometer if you can to verify your refractometer. I would not recommend calibrating your refractometer with Ro water unless it is a veegee, use a standard solution instead.
Idech
2500 Club Member
According to the calculator you need to remove and replace almost 8 gallons.
I’d start with 4 since you’ve done 2 already and test again, once you’re sure your instrument is well calibrated.
I’d start with 4 since you’ve done 2 already and test again, once you’re sure your instrument is well calibrated.
EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal
Just another girl who likes fish
But what if his refractometer is off, and his water is actually fine (1.025, not 1.030)???
If you bought the refractometer new it should have had a small bottle of calibration fluid in the case?
You can use RODI to calibrate for zero but you should use a calibration fluid at 35.
the refractometer has a small adjustment screw to adjust to either 0 or 35 depending on the fluid you are using.
You can use RODI to calibrate for zero but you should use a calibration fluid at 35.
the refractometer has a small adjustment screw to adjust to either 0 or 35 depending on the fluid you are using.
take RODI 0tds water, put it on tester, adjust till it reads ZERO! easy peasy calibration.
What Water are you topping your tank off with, you cannot top the tank off with saltwater, you HAVE to top off with RODI water with no salt. Evaporation will remove water from your tank, but not the salt, it doesn't evaporate.
To raise or lower salinity, my method is as follows.
If tank needs more salt, I mix my water change water at 1.030. Since I am doing a 20% water change and my existing salinty is low, I add saltier water during weekly change. About half way thru I stop the new water and TEST the tank, making sure I am not raising the salinity more than about half to 1 point.
Do the opposite to remove salinity, Mix water chance at 1.020, and test during change to make sure I am not dropping salinity to fast.
Most fish and coral can withstand 1.030 salinity, I believe parts of the Red Sea are more saline that that, but they don't thrive in those conditions.
One thing I have noticed in my 55 years is that LIFE adapts to change pretty easily, as long as the changes are not real abrupt. .010 increase in salinity over a week will not shock salt life.
If tank needs more salt, I mix my water change water at 1.030. Since I am doing a 20% water change and my existing salinty is low, I add saltier water during weekly change. About half way thru I stop the new water and TEST the tank, making sure I am not raising the salinity more than about half to 1 point.
Do the opposite to remove salinity, Mix water chance at 1.020, and test during change to make sure I am not dropping salinity to fast.
Most fish and coral can withstand 1.030 salinity, I believe parts of the Red Sea are more saline that that, but they don't thrive in those conditions.
One thing I have noticed in my 55 years is that LIFE adapts to change pretty easily, as long as the changes are not real abrupt. .010 increase in salinity over a week will not shock salt life.
In a 40 gal system with water SG of 1.030 the salinity should be around 40 ppt. If you replace 2 gal with fresh distil water than the salinity should drop to around 38 ppt
If the salinity does not change then you either measure it wrong, or you did not use distill water to replaced the tank water.
To check for what is the problem, check your supposed distill water first and see if they mistakenly sell you salt water instead of distill water. If it is salt water then you find the problem. If it is pure water than your measurements is wrong.
BTW salinity of 40 ppt or SG of 1.030 is not an emergency. Continue with top off with pure water and exchange 1 gal of water with pure water daily until you get the salinity back to around 35 ppt or salinity of 1.025
Easy quick calibration use tap or distil water for 0 ppt point. Tap water, has anywhere from 80-300 ppm (ball park number) which is.01-.3 ppt which is practically 0 ppt using the refractometer. You cannot tell the 0 from .3
To be a successful reefer you got to be able to troubleshoot problems like this. If you cannot, then your reefing career will be short, and you will leave reefing after multiple disasters.
If the salinity does not change then you either measure it wrong, or you did not use distill water to replaced the tank water.
To check for what is the problem, check your supposed distill water first and see if they mistakenly sell you salt water instead of distill water. If it is salt water then you find the problem. If it is pure water than your measurements is wrong.
BTW salinity of 40 ppt or SG of 1.030 is not an emergency. Continue with top off with pure water and exchange 1 gal of water with pure water daily until you get the salinity back to around 35 ppt or salinity of 1.025
Easy quick calibration use tap or distil water for 0 ppt point. Tap water, has anywhere from 80-300 ppm (ball park number) which is.01-.3 ppt which is practically 0 ppt using the refractometer. You cannot tell the 0 from .3
To be a successful reefer you got to be able to troubleshoot problems like this. If you cannot, then your reefing career will be short, and you will leave reefing after multiple disasters.
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Sleeping Giant
Proud Canadian Reefer
I use this when I need to adjust anything
BTW I bet that somebody make a mistake and you got salt water instead of RO/DI water.
Best of luck. Your tank will be fine. Check salinity every week or so. This will keep it from drifting out of range over time.
To increase salinity top off with salt water. To decrease salinity replace tank water with fresh water. About 1-3 percent per day would be fine. Most of the time salinity out of range is not the short term problem but quick changes will kill sensitive animal, especially in increase in salinity. Never add salt or add hypertonic salt solution to tank with animals in it.
Best of luck. Your tank will be fine. Check salinity every week or so. This will keep it from drifting out of range over time.
To increase salinity top off with salt water. To decrease salinity replace tank water with fresh water. About 1-3 percent per day would be fine. Most of the time salinity out of range is not the short term problem but quick changes will kill sensitive animal, especially in increase in salinity. Never add salt or add hypertonic salt solution to tank with animals in it.
Court_Appointed_Hypeman
Valuable Member
I have the same refractometer, and it has to be calibrated. On initial use mine was significantly off, it sounds like that may have not been the case for you. But I notice mine occasionally losing calibration significantly. It can go 2 months without changing, and then be kff by as much as .008. My refractometer has become my QT only salinity tester, and I now use a hydrometer, and the tm salinity/temp probe.
This is definitely not correct.
2 gal which is about 5% of 40 gal. Replace 2% of salt water with fresh water will not drop.
SG from 1.025 to 1.020. It will drop the salinity around 5% which drop the salinity a tad under 2 ppt. If salinity start with is 35 ppt then the result is slightly higher than 33 ppt.
Because SG also depends on temperature, I like to think in salinity in ppt, which is independent of temperature.
Quick and dirty estimate, without using the calculator, I would guess SG drop in this case from 1.025 to around 1.0238 or so.
Refractometer has a screw that hold the scale in place. If this screw is loose, then the scale move resulting in error in measurement. The screw should have an inner screw to move the scale, and the outer ring that lock the inner crew in place. Make sure you calibrate using the inner screw then LOCK it in place by tight the outer ring. The bi-metalic strip will bend with temperature changes and will compensate for temperature. Basically the film of the solution is so thin that it will essentially instant change temperature to the ambient temperature which is the temperature of the bimetal strip.
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KStatefan
2500 Club Member
So it would have dropped to SG of 1.0285
I would perfer the math using ppt but it is the same with SG but you have to drop the 1 before doing it
38 gallons @ 1.030 SG + 2 Gallons @ 1.000 SG = 40 gallons @ x.xx SG
38 x 0.030 + 2 x 0 = 40x
1.14/40 =0.0285
OP
OP
jgabbsxx
Community Member
I know it was salt water because I accidentally spilled some in the car on the way home and it smelled like an ocean in the bucket LOL! I'll keep adding fresh water(distilled) into the tank until I start seeing an improvement.
BRS has these amazing tools, 5 stage RO/DI filter. They can be a little p[ricey, but from my experience they are worth every penny of the investment. STAY AWAY from the RO Buddy system on amazon, they only filter down to about 15ppm. The BRS model like I have here, has been making 0tds water for 4 months now, 50gal per week change on my 300, and in the last 3 weeks I have added a 125g QT tank I am doing 30% changes on. It takes me about 5 to 6 hours to make 50/60gal of water. This model has an In Line TDS meter, so you know at a glance the purity of your water. And it will save you a little money in the long run making your own water. I use a 3k gph constant speed power head and a 500watt finex heater in the mix tub to churn the water and warm it up when I add salt.
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