Salinity went up?

[Notsolostfish]

So i filled my tank for the first time yesterday and i mixed inside the tank, had wave makers on. From yesterday till this morning i was at 1.026. Now came back home from work after full 24 hours. And my salinity is at 1.027. Kinda worried no live stock. But what should i do now?

 

[vetteguy53081]

So i filled my tank for the first time yesterday and i mixed inside the tank, had wave makers on. From yesterday till this morning i was at 1.026. Now came back home from work after full 24 hours. And my salinity is at 1.027. Kinda worried no live stock. But what should i do now?

Likely was not fully dissolved and is now and showing actual. Also happens with evaporation

 

[EricR]

0.001 SG swing isn't huge so don't worry.
Evaporation without freshwater top off will cause this.

Make sure you know your normal water level and top off with RODI water.
To bring down salinity you could remove some saltwater and replace with RODI but I wouldn't panic right now.
*there's online calculators for volume (total vs amount to remove/replace).

 

[ScionFRSguy]

Top off with some RODI, you should be fine. As long as you know exactly where the water line is then you don't need to get an ATO, you can just manually top off in the morning and again at night. ATO will save you a lot of time however and add more consistency to your tank. I use kalkwasser water to top off my tank. Try not to go past 1.026 if possible, it should be 1.026 at max.

 

[Reef.]

If you weren’t adding rodi water as the water in the tank evaporated then it would go up, water leaves the tank but salt doesn’t.

 

[Notsolostfish]

If you weren’t adding rodi water as the water in the tank evaporated then it would go up, water leaves the tank but salt doesn’t.

I have ato. Its almost time for it to go off...

 

[Notsolostfish]

0.001 SG swing isn't huge so don't worry.
Evaporation without freshwater top off will cause this.

Make sure you know your normal water level and top off with RODI water.
To bring down salinity you could remove some saltwater and replace with RODI but I wouldn't panic right now.
*there's online calculators for volume (total vs amount to remove/replace).

I have an ato. Didnt go off yet almost there.

 

[Reef.]

If you have an ATO and it’s working, then it’s either the water wasn’t mixed fully or your salinity checker is off.

 

[Notsolostfish]

If you have an ATO and it’s working, then it’s either the water wasn’t mixed fully or your salinity checker is off.

I filled the tank yesterday. The ato is there but didnt go off yet... its almost am i anxious as im new?

 

[Chrisv.]

I filled the tank yesterday. The ato is there but didnt go off yet... its almost am i anxious as im new?

No need to be anxious. Your salinity may be .001 off, or this may be within testing error margins for your testing method. Either way, relax. There are too many things to stress about if you let them get to you.

 

[EricR]

Re-reading this right now and curious:
You joined in 2014 ?
Did you have a tank then?
What device are you testing salinity with?

*last question is because I still think 0.001 SG swing is almost inconsequential and even possibly a test-read difference.

1.027 is nowhere near panic.
I run 1.025 for buffer zone (like ATO failure or something) but still...

EDIT -- you said this:
"I have an ato. Didnt go off yet almost there"

What does "almost there" mean?
Float level or this a "timed" thing or something like that?
I'm confused.

 

[Idech]

I filled the tank yesterday. The ato is there but didnt go off yet... its almost am i anxious as im new?

If the ATO hasn’t gone off in 24 hours, then it’s probably not working properly.

Did you test it ?

 

[Reef.]

I filled the tank yesterday. The ato is there but didnt go off yet... its almost am i anxious as im new?

It should definitely turn on before the salinity raises to 1.027, check the sensor is placed correctly, if you set it too low under the water lvl then it won’t go off until it’s above the water lvl, no stress it takes a couple of goes before you place it correctly.

Try removing some water and seeing if it turns on.

 

[Notsolostfish]

It should definitely turn on before the salinity raises to 1.027, check the sensor is placed correctly, if you set it too low under the water lvl then it won’t go off until it’s above the water lvl, no stress it takes a couple of goes before you place it correctly.

Try removing some water and seeing if it turns on.

This is where i have my sensor. At after i come home from work i see less water in ato chamber meaning its working.

This morning i tested twice with my brand new milwauke ma877. One test got 1.027 and one test got 1.028. So im not sure whats going on anymore. Maybe the salt didnt fully dissolve. But i thought it did as i woke up the new after filling the tank and it was still 1.026.

 

[I never finish anythi]

Maybe you put the ATO sensor a little low . My ATO comes on when my water level drops by like 2mm.

 

[EricR]

If I'm reading all of this correctly, this is a new setup with no wildlife yet.
If that's true, maybe just let evaporation and ATO happen for a few days then re-test.

If your tester is reading 1.027 then 1.028 on same sample, I'd be thinking:
-- that's probably within stated accuracy of tester anyway
-- or maybe true salinity is right around 1.0275 so minor sample difference causes the rounding to be up vs down (((don't think it's really this accurate though)))

 

[Notsolostfish]

Maybe you put the ATO sensor a little low . My ATO comes on when my water level drops by like 2mm.

So i should put it higher than the picture?

 

[Notsolostfish]

If I'm reading all of this correctly, this is a new setup with no wildlife yet.
If that's true, maybe just let evaporation and ATO happen for a few days then re-test.

If your tester is reading 1.027 then 1.028 on same sample, I'd be thinking:
-- that's probably within stated accuracy of tester anyway
-- or maybe true salinity is right around 1.0275 so minor sample difference causes the rounding to be up vs down (((don't think it's really this accurate though)))

Yes new setup filled it like 2 days ago. When i first filled it the salinity was correct. Even next day it was exactly at 1.026. But after i came home at night from work that day and ir was 24 hours for that tank. I tested again and it was 1.027

 

[Reef.]

This is where i have my sensor. At after i come home from work i see less water in ato chamber meaning its working.

This morning i tested twice with my brand new milwauke ma877. One test got 1.027 and one test got 1.028. So im not sure whats going on anymore. Maybe the salt didnt fully dissolve. But i thought it did as i woke up the new after filling the tank and it was still 1.026.

Looks low to me, try removing a cup of water, if it doesn’t turn on, raise it up a little until it does.

 

[Reef.]

If you have t already read this thread, worth a read, salinity checkers are so important, you put a lot of trust in them but most are not that accurate, not saying the ATO is not at fault here but definitely worth thinking about the way you check and double check your salinity, if the salinity is off, so is your alk, mag and calcium.

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