Raising Salinity

[kylevan]

Hi I am trying to raise my Salinity in my tank from 1.023 to 1.026. What is the easiest way and safest way to achieve this without doing water change I am still technically "cycling" I have 2 clowns in the tank so I do not want to add too much salt too fast and shock the fish. I know I shouldn't have fish yet but they are doing well eating fine look healthy and acting healthy. Red Sea Reefer 250 tank setup. Also how can I lower my Alkalinity level it's a little on the higher side not terribly but higher than I'd like it to be

 

[mpjmeyer]

What I did was fill a cup half way with the current water in your tank. Add more salt to the cup and stir well for about 5 minutes. Then pour the extra salty water slowly into a high flow area, preferally the sump if you have one. Wait at least 24 hours to test again

 

[StayJejune]

I usually do something similar. I'd take out a cup of tank water, place that water into a mixing bowl and then add enough salt to get the tank water in the bowl to a salinity higher than the salinity I want the tank to be at. Slowly add that water into the tank every couple minutes then test the water after 24 hours.

 

[BMW540]

Top off with saltwater instead of RODI

 

[kylevan]

I have tried ripping off with saltwater mix instead of rodi but it's taking to long. How do you know how much salt to add with the cup of water? Just based on judgement? Seems like it would be quicker that way I just don't want to make it to high then have to change the water and add more salt again. Thanks for the quick reply

 

[bigroost]

Top off with saltwater, it will get you there slowly. Also it shouldn't take long, if you just have the 2 fish it's not imperative that you get there over night.

 

[kylevan]

Ok cool, and do you know how to lower alkalinity level?

 

[bhavy]

That amount of uptick won't harm fish. You'll be fine just adjust it as necessary

 

[bhavy]

How high is your AlK?

 

[kylevan]

It was 12.6 I checked it yesterday and it was around 9.6-9.8 maybe I used too much of the reagent when I tested it or maybe too little the second time. I'm not sure the color red I'm looking for when I do the test I'm using the red set test kit. The first time after it turned red I used a little more reagent to turn it more of the color on the card the second time I measure just as it turned a reddish pink color. Also I have a Vertex Omega 130 skimmer and followed the directions to breaking it in ( letting it bubble over for 24 hours) put the cup back on and opened the riser tube all the way like the directions say and it still just fills the collection cup and bubbles over I've tried opening the air valve on the pump all the way closing all the way and neither adjusts the bubble height in the skimmer it just continues to over flow so I opened the drain valve in the cup so it just continues to fall back into the sump. Any recommendations or help please!?!?