Salinity drop after 5 day vacation

[gordoncheers]

So I just came back from a 5 day vacation and the first thing I did when I got home was check the salinity which read 1.023 which is lower than the usual 1.025 for my tank. There have been no causalities but some of my branching hammers have their polyps retracted. How should I go about raising the salinity back to its original level. Can I refill the tank with water that has a slightly higher SG when I do my next water change?

Thanks

 

[Mark Goode]

Where did the salt go? If your water level is unchanged then be sure your measurements are correct before you panic. For salinity to change salt must be added or lost. If that hasn't happened, then you're probably okay.

 

[os11eee]

Do you have an RO auto top up ? Has it malfunctioned and topping up too much ?

 

[tsharpe291]

just be sure the way you are checking your salinity is accurate. ive added higher salinity water during a water change in the past to make adjustments. I think it's a good way to do it as long as its just a point or two. I wouldn't raise it 5 or 10 points all at once. just my 2 cents worth.

 

[FrugalReeferJon]

Did you check for salt creep around your tank in places like the filtration, pipes, the top rim and so on? Unmonitored salt creep over 5 days could have lowered the salinity of your tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Did a skimmer overflow?

If not, I expect the result is test error.

The change is not very big and unlikely to cause any issues, but to have that happen would require 8% of the water volume to be replaced with ro/di. So 8 gallons replaced on a 100 gallon system.

If it is low now, raise it by replacing evaporated water with salt water.