What am I Missing ? No water Change, how does the salinity not drop???

jt0117

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 9, 2025
Messages
40
Reaction score
26
Location
Perth
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This is considering you have a skimmer.

So I dry skim but even that has over a long period of time eventually removes water from the system which is then replaced by top up RO.

For people who say they have not done a water change over huge time frames, has their salinty been dropping or do they actually do small water changes or add salt directly back to the system.

Very confused 🤔
 
If you’re using a standard 2 part, it will raise salinity over time. This can offset the saltwater lost from skimming

You can also top off with saltwater once in a while to get salinity back in range
 
Even if one does no water changes, checking and adjusting salinity will still have to be done on a regular basis. IMO salt lost to skimming is insignificant. As rtparty said just add some salt water if the salinity gets low.

Lets also not get confused with a no water change reef tank, trace elements will still have to be added on a regular basis as they are consumed. That is typically called the "moonshiners" method, but there are other sources of trace element additives which are very good as well.
 
Last edited:
Yeah this was my confusion with a no water change system over a long period of time. Knowing that you would need to replenish trace and macro elements. My curiosity was then that skimming will remove water, albeit it, slowly but eventually enough to lower salinty. But then 2 part dosing can bring it up so guess it can balance over time.

Thanks for your responses :) !
 

WHAT PART OF LIVING WITH A REEF TOOK YOU BY SURPRISE?

  • How much space the supplies and equipment take up

    Votes: 7 50.0%
  • Salt creep, spills, and cleanup outside the tank

    Votes: 2 14.3%
  • Planning trips or finding someone to care for the reef

    Votes: 5 35.7%
  • How attached I’d get to individual animals

    Votes: 2 14.3%
  • Making decisions when there’s no clear right answer

    Votes: 3 21.4%
  • How much the reef affects everyday household life

    Votes: 5 35.7%
  • Nothing in particular, I felt well prepared

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other (Post in the comments)

    Votes: 1 7.1%
Back
Top
Home
Post thread…
Market
What's new