High Salinity but algae still develop

[JosephNg]

Hi everyone, I'm totally new to this and I have my tank (46 gal) in its 2nd week of water cycle. My salinity measure was 1127 2 weeks ago and now it reaches 1131. However, the algae is still growing according to the instructions/guide I read. Is it necessary to lower the salinity and how should I do it?
Many thanks!

 

[Deep]

Has your salinity increased from 1.027 Sg to 1.031 sg ?
Have you been topping up with RO/DI water to compensate for evaporation ?

 

[Azedenkae]

Hi everyone, I'm totally new to this and I have my tank (46 gal) in its 2nd week of water cycle. My salinity measure was 1127 2 weeks ago and now it reaches 1131. However, the algae is still growing according to the instructions/guide I read. Is it necessary to lower the salinity and how should I do it?
Many thanks!

Hi, question - how are you measuring salinity and what units are you measuring salinity in?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Gradually add to water and bring it down . If no livestock, pull a bucket of water out and replace with non seawater. Turn off lights for a few days

 

[Chefwheredyougo]

Yes, you should be topping off with RO/RODI water to keep your salinity stable, around .025-.027 the algae will grow in the tank, it's all part of starting a new tank. As vetteguy said, turn the lights off and it'll help.

 

[JosephNg]

Has your salinity increased from 1.027 Sg to 1.031 sg ?
Have you been topping up with RO/DI water to compensate for evaporation ?

yes it has raised from 1.027 Sg to 1.031 Sg in 2 weeks and I top up the tank daily with 2-3L of RODI

 

[JosephNg]

Hi, question - how are you measuring salinity and what units are you measuring salinity in?

Im using a calibered refractometer

 

[JosephNg]

Gradually add to water and bring it down . If no livestock, pull a bucket of water out and replace with non seawater. Turn off lights for a few days

I‘ve just done a water change of ~20L RO/DI

 

[JosephNg]

So I’ll try to turn the light off for few days and see if the salinity value is lowered. Thanks everyone.

 

[mdb_talon]

So I’ll try to turn the light off for few days and see if the salinity value is lowered. Thanks everyone.

Lights off is to help with the algae not the salinity. In a tank like that I know of know reason for salinity to creep up if you are topping off with pure rodi water so I believe your issue is either in the testing or in the topoff.

 

[Jekyl]

New tanks are going to have algae. This is normal and nothing to worry about. I would focus on getting your salinity in order.

 

[schuby]

Evaporation in our salt water tanks removes water. It does not remove the salt. We put fresh water (preferably RO/DI) to replace the lost water. This keeps the salinity at the same level, such as 1.025 or 1.026 SG.

If we replace the lost, evaporated water with salt water, then the tank's salinity increases because we've added more salt. High salinity levels or large swings in salinity can kill fish and cause many other issues in a our tanks.

We try to keep salinity stable, with as little variation as possible. An auto-topoff system will replace lost water with fresh water, keeping salinity quite stable.

 

[Azedenkae]

I agree with @mdb_talon.

@JosephNg, if you are topping up with RODI (and you say that you are), it would be very weird for salinity to increase like that. One thing I can think of is if you mixed saltwater and the salt had not fully dissolved and you measured then, then over the course of time the salt finished dissolving and thus now measures higher. But... it's been two weeks. I doubt it'd 'creep up' over two weeks like that.

But yeah, for now do a water change and see if it gets to where you are, and just keep monitoring salinity. To be sure, calibrate your refractometer before each use.

 

[Chefwheredyougo]

Double check your water change water as well, could be adding too much salt. Follow the instructions on the label and you should be good

 

[neonreef3d]

Hi everyone, I'm totally new to this and I have my tank (46 gal) in its 2nd week of water cycle. My salinity measure was 1127 2 weeks ago and now it reaches 1131. However, the algae is still growing according to the instructions/guide I read. Is it necessary to lower the salinity and how should I do it?
Many thanks!

I just got back into reefing 3 month ago. I was very selective on what I wanted to spend my money on, and I decided that testing equipment is always a good investment, as long as you do your research.. I got the tropic marin hydrometer. this is the best way to check your salinity and use to calibrate all your refractometer and the hanna digital salinity meter..... no more spending money on calibration solution,,, this is the sure way to test for salinity, by actually using gravity.

This tool will 100% solve your salinity testing issues.

NOTE: these are fragile AF. so if your accident prone, might not be a good idea. This is considered to be a scientific grade instrument and not hobby grade.

 

[karamreef117]

Keep it running usually when a cycle is over and a few weeks have passed the algae will go away. Just keep monitoring it and keeping your nutrients low it should do the trick!

 

[schuby]

I just got back into reefing 3 month ago. I was very selective on what I wanted to spend my money on, and I decided that testing equipment is always a good investment, as long as you do your research.. I got the tropic marin hydrometer. this is the best way to check your salinity and use to calibrate all your refractometer and the hanna digital salinity meter..... no more spending money on calibration solution,,, this is the sure way to test for salinity, by actually using gravity.

This tool will 100% solve your salinity testing issues.

NOTE: these are fragile AF. so if your accident prone, might not be a good idea. This is considered to be a scientific grade instrument and not hobby grade.

How do you use it?

 

[neonreef3d]

How do you use it?

turn off any pumps and wavemakers in the tank, dip in the water, and it will give you the accurate specific gravity reading, I usually do the reading from my refugium , and I am checking my salinity once a week.