what does "topping off with freshwater" mean? is it 1.000 salinity water? or normal WC water?
- Thread starter stE25wy14
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Topping off refers to adding back freshwater to compensate for evaporation. The salt does not evaporate and as freshwater leaves it increases salinity.
Pure freshwater to account for evaporative loss. Reverse Osmosis DeIonised, normally.
You've had a tank for 9 or 10 months? Perhaps you have been doing this without understanding the terminology?
Yeah... glancing through OP's tank thread, there's mention of 1.035 salinity,,, and invert loss.
@stE25wy14, the answer to your original question is, as other's have posted:
You need to replace water loss from evaporation with 1.000 SG (fresh) water.
If you've been topping off with saltwater, that'll just drive your tank salinity up (through the roof).
That would easily explain lots of issues.
...but, wouldn't you have noticed the salinity constantly increasing in your tank by now? (((that's the confusing part to me)))
RODI for the win.
Though I think it is a fairly common mistake to top off with salt water, but as people pointed out, salt doesn't evaporate.
Though I think it is a fairly common mistake to top off with salt water, but as people pointed out, salt doesn't evaporate.
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Actually, salt creeps.
So to compensate for salinity changes we test with a reliable hydrometer and then add freshwater (RODI with low or zero TDS) to replace water evaporation or add a bit of salt when salinity is low. Adding salt should be dissolved first to prevent burns to animals, but I have seen it dumped by the bag full into a sump at a wholesaler who had designed a lowflow area where the salt could dissolve to raise salinity after a days shipments had lower the system salinity with an ATO replacing salt water with fresh.
For reefer's conversations:
"Freshwater" is salt free, usually RODI water.
"Saltwater" is freshwater + salt.
"Water change" is saltwater mixed to compensate and exchange old tank water with freshly made saltwater.
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I put undissolved salt in a cup in my sump to raise it slowly if needed.Actually, salt creeps.
So to compensate for salinity changes we test with a reliable hydrometer and then add freshwater (RODI with low or zero TDS) to replace water evaporation or add a bit of salt when salinity is low. Adding salt should be dissolved first to prevent burns to animals, but I have seen it dumped by the bag full into a sump at a wholesaler who had designed a lowflow area where the salt could dissolve to raise salinity after a days shipments had lower the system salinity with an ATO replacing salt water with fresh.
For reefer's conversations:
"Freshwater" is salt free, usually RODI water.
"Saltwater" is freshwater + salt.
"Water change" is saltwater mixed to compensate and exchange old tank water with freshly made saltwater.
Yes, that works but why do you get in that situation?
SonOfaGoat
Community Member
I know for me I stopped WC fighting dinos. But my skimmer continued to run at times. My tanks 25g so couple skimmer cups of salt water out and ATO adding fresh - lowered my salinity from 1.026 to near 1.024.
BubblesandSqueak
2500 Club Member
this just spawned a question. I wonder how many people "wash" their creep back into the sump/tank? I usually rinse it during skimmer clean out or the sock hop. But wondering if it would change much.Actually, salt creeps.
So to compensate for salinity changes we test with a reliable hydrometer and then add freshwater (RODI with low or zero TDS) to replace water evaporation or add a bit of salt when salinity is low. Adding salt should be dissolved first to prevent burns to animals, but I have seen it dumped by the bag full into a sump at a wholesaler who had designed a lowflow area where the salt could dissolve to raise salinity after a days shipments had lower the system salinity with an ATO replacing salt water with fresh.
For reefer's conversations:
"Freshwater" is salt free, usually RODI water.
"Saltwater" is freshwater + salt.
"Water change" is saltwater mixed to compensate and exchange old tank water with freshly made saltwater.
If your ATO stuck on, you'd be overfilled,,, so do nothing and let evaporation bring it back to normal (water level and salinity).
...no???
EDIT -- I guess if it was bad enough, I'd consider removing water and replacing with higher salinity,,, but not how I read it at first glance.
I'm still learning, but the only thing I know that lowers salinity in normal day to day operations is skimmers. The water / skimmate in the cup you discard does have salt in it. So you have to replace that sometimes. Pretty slow tho.
Otherwise like someone else said, an ATO malfunction, where it stays on and overfills.
Otherwise like someone else said, an ATO malfunction, where it stays on and overfills.
OP
OP
stE25wy14
5000 Club Member
So that’s why that has been happening, I thought I was mixing wrong…..
OP
OP
stE25wy14
5000 Club Member
Yep…. Ummm
Ssssshhhhh
It's a learning process, but at least you got one (very important) thing out of all the feedback in this thread.
Keep moving forward and enjoy the process. (((It's fun, right?)))
Good luck!
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