Salinity increase.

[ilott]

Hello,

I have recently got my hands on a Hanna salinity checker, albeit the readings are kinda crazy? Does anyone else find this?

Anyway, I had to check my tank a few times due to the inconsistent readings, I ended up reading around 31.2/3 about 2 or 3 times,

How do I go about increasing my salinity? just add a few more grams of salt with each water change? or maybe top up salt water for a day or two? I'm unsure how to go about this so any help would be nice!

Or should I have floated the calibration fluid in the tank first to achieve the same temperature?

Also, one last thing. How does 0.01 phosphate (ULR) and 0.63 nitrate (LR) sound?

 

[PBar]

Hello,
First, it would be nice to double check if this salinity measure is accurate. One option is to double check with your local fish store (against their refractometer).

Now, assuming that the measure is correct, the best way to increase the salinity (without too much stress) is by adding salt water into the ato reservoir.

Cheers!

 

[ilott]

Hello,
First, it would be nice to double check if this salinity measure is accurate. One option is to double check with your local fish store (against their refractometer).

Now, assuming that the measure is correct, the best way to increase the salinity (without too much stress) is by adding salt water into the ato reservoir.

Cheers!

Okay... So in the UK everywhere is like shut shut. So is there another way to check the reading is correct or shall I just wait?

 

[JC Reef]

You might have to recalibrate your Hanna salinity checker. I usually do mine every 3-4 months just to be safe

 

[PBar]

ups... I didn’t see that coming!
Here in Belgium, pet stores were always considered as essential, so never closed.
That’s a tricky one now

How were you checking your salinity before the Hanna?
Which animals do you have in the tank?

 

[namfuak]

Have you calibrated the Hanna with a calibration fluid packet?

As PBar said, topping off with salt water would be the best way. If you're able to turn off the ATO and top off manually, that would probably be best. Just measure frequently.

If I have to adjust, I'll usually just keep the ATO on and just add salt water to the sump a little at a time and let evaporation do it's thing.

 

[Willu]

Okay... So in the UK everywhere is like shut shut. So is there another way to check the reading is correct or shall I just wait?

You can make your own saltwater solution like in this link https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-salinity-calibration-solutions.220052/
And like the others said you could add salt into your ATO and use water that has a slightly higher salinity during your water changes.

 

[namfuak]

Out of curiosity, what was the range of readings you were getting on the Hanna? I've found mine to be very consistent. Are you shaking the air bubbles out when you use it?

I could be wrong, but I believe that stray voltage could also cause false readings as this probe measures conductivity. You could try repeating the tests with a sample of the water outside of your tank.

 

[ilott]

Out of curiosity, what was the range of readings you were getting on the Hanna? I've found mine to be very consistent. Are you shaking the air bubbles out when you use it?

I could be wrong, but I believe that stray voltage could also cause false readings as this probe measures conductivity. You could try repeating the tests with a sample of the water outside of your tank.

The first time I just dipped it in and it read 29.7 then I shook it abit to loosen any bubbles and it read about 33 for a few tests, but it goes up and down constantly I thought it would be, dip in, accurate reading, rinse, but I find it sky rockets to like 36 then drops to around the end result

 

[namfuak]

Take a sample of water and test outside the tank a few times and see what results you get.

 

[ilott]

You might have to recalibrate your Hanna salinity checker. I usually do mine every 3-4 months just to be safe

I got it today, calibrated it as it described. Even the calibration fluid didn't read 35.00 tho which got me questioning, it read 35 then dropped to 34.8 so I rinsed it and dipped it back in to see if it had any effect, flicked the bag abit to loosen any bubbles and it still read about 34.7/8

 

[ilott]

ups... I didn’t see that coming!
Here in Belgium, pet stores were always considered as essential, so never closed.
That’s a tricky one now

How were you checking your salinity before the Hanna?
Which animals do you have in the tank?

Oh god. Reef prison for me. I wasn't checking it. I would mix 35 grams of salt per 1 litre in my water changes. I was using a refractometer but someone had told me I had calibrated it wrong so I just stopped using it all together until I purchased this a few days ago. I had calibrated my refractometer with 0 TDS RODI water, and I read about 1.024.

 

[ilott]

Take a sample of water and test outside the tank a few times and see what results you get.

I've just done that and it read 31.7

 

[namfuak]

What was it rinsed with and was it dried off afterward? I really wouldn't worry about a .2ppt difference. There is no telling that the calibration fluid is exactly 35ppt anyway. The device itself has an accuracy of ± 1.0ppt.

 

[ilott]

What was it rinsed with and was it dried off afterward? I really wouldn't worry about a .2ppt difference. There is no telling that the calibration fluid is exactly 35ppt anyway. The device itself has an accuracy of ± 1.0ppt.

What was it rinsed with and was it dried off afterward? I really wouldn't worry about a .2ppt difference. There is no telling that the calibration fluid is exactly 35ppt anyway. The device itself has an accuracy of ± 1.0ppt.

Fresh RO Water

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Oh god. Reef prison for me. I wasn't checking it. I would mix 35 grams of salt per 1 litre in my water changes. I was using a refractometer but someone had told me I had calibrated it wrong so I just stopped using it all together until I purchased this a few days ago. I had calibrated my refractometer with 0 TDS RODI water, and I read about 1.024.

I'm confused. You do know that 35 ppt salinity seawater cannot be made from 35 grams of salt mix per L of water, right? It will be well below 35 ppt.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I got it today, calibrated it as it described. Even the calibration fluid didn't read 35.00 tho which got me questioning, it read 35 then dropped to 34.8 so I rinsed it and dipped it back in to see if it had any effect, flicked the bag abit to loosen any bubbles and it still read about 34.7/8

Those numbers are all well within the Hanna specification of +/-1 ppt for 0.0 to 40.0 ppt:

Marine Salinity Tester - HI98319

Hanna Instruments HI98319 Marine Salinity Tester measures conductivity (EC) to determine the salinity of natural and artificial seawater within seconds.

www.hannainst.com

 

[ilott]

I'm confused. You do know that 35 ppt salinity seawater cannot be made from 35 grams of salt mix per L of water, right? It will be well below 35 ppt.

That probably explains it then. everything is fine in the tank. don't worry. But now I have an accurate(ish) tester I can start to get the salinity up

 

[ilott]

I don't

I'm confused. You do know that 35 ppt salinity seawater cannot be made from 35 grams of salt mix per L of water, right? It will be well below 35 ppt.

understand how it's "ppt" if 35 parts per thousand doesn't make 35 ppt

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I don't

understand how it's "ppt" if 35 parts per thousand doesn't make 35 ppt

The problem is that some of the main ingredients in salt mixes contain a lot of water in the dry components. Magnesium chloride and magnesium sulfate are the biggies. They are about half water by weight.

Typical salt mixes, when made 35 grams per L, gives salintiy of about 28-30 ppt.

Craig Bingman measured it here years ago for many mixes:

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