Need advice on bringing down the salinity in my tank

[mistergray]

My salinity is currently at 1.027. Yesterday it was at 1.028 and I added a gallon of non-saltwater to the tank and as you can see, the salinity dropped a smidgen. I’m trying to get it down to 1.025. I’ve read online I should remove some of the saltwater and add non-saltwater in place if it. I have a 32 gallon tank and am thinking about removing 2 gallons and replacing with 2 gallons of non-saltwater. Does that sound okay or is there some “algorithm” (lol) I should be following? Any advice is appreciated!

 

[Spieg]

I'd do that over the span of 3-4 days rather than all at once. Maybe replace 1/2 gallon per day.

 

[MaxTremors]

I would do it one gallon at a time, you don’t want to over correct and end up too low. I don’t know of any calculator to help you, but I would just do it conservatively. That said, I don’t think you need to do this over several days, I would just do it over several hours. Also, I would personally shoot for 1.026.

Edit: as I mentioned there is no need to do this over several days, it is not going to hurt anything by doing it over several hours. If it were a much larger difference, then stretching it out more might make sense. In the wild, corals experience fairly large swings in temp and salinity throughout the day. A lot of the corals we keep come from tropical locales that get substantial rain, and if they’re from inshore shallow reefs they also deal with the runoff from the shore, so on a given day, the salinity can change by several ppm. People always preach stability, and stability is great, but I also feel like people sometimes go too far in trying to keep things stable and end up stunting their corals’ and fishes’ ability to handle changes. You see people who keep every parameter completely stable and then if some minor change happens, the corals react negatively, but then there are people who allow some fluctuations and when they experience a change, their corals don’t react whatsoever. I think this is topic that should be explored more thoroughly, but I think the hobby-wife move towards more stable and sterile tanks is overall detrimental. *I want to be clear that I’m not suggesting you keep water parameters that are way out of range, but a little bit of controlled instability is beneficial. Also, sorry for the rant.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Nothing wrong with SG = 1.026 to 1.027, as that matches the world ocean average.

 

[ihavecrabs]

Nothing wrong with SG = 1.026 to 1.027, as that matches the world ocean average.

This!

Battlecorals has also mentioned that after his SPS had never looked better, he had realized the salinity was way higher than he had expected it to be. Since then, it has been his new goal (not sure on the number specifically, but over 1.026).

You can certainly change it if you like. If you do, I'd just mix up weaker saltwater for future water changes. Keep doing that until you get to your desired range.

 

[cmoore806]

if you don't have an ATO (which it sounds like you don't) then you just need to determine how much FW you are losing to evaporation over a 24hr period.

Measure your salinity on day one. then on day two at the same time measure your salinity. Observe the change, the salinity should be rising. Depending on t he size of your tank you could actually calculate this, but I am lazy, so I generally estimate and use trial and error.

You can also mark the glass and then observe the change in depth in 24hrs and calculate the volume lost and then replace that in freshwater. It should be relatively predictable if your indoor environment is relatively stable.

 

[Dkmoo]

if you want an "algorithm" in terms of the math for how much gallen = how much SG. it's basically an average. RODI is 1SG. so the math is just solving for this equation, if you want to remove 2G out of 32 of 1.028 salt water and replace with 2G of RODI

30/32 * 1.028

 

[James_O]

Sometimes mine drifts to 1.027. I like to keep mine at 1.025-1.027.

As @Randy Holmes-Farley said, there’s nothing wrong with having a salinity of 1.027.

 

[mistergray]

I would do it one gallon at a time, you don’t want to over correct and end up too low. I don’t know of any calculator to help you, but I would just do it conservatively. That said, I don’t think you need to do this over several days, I would just do it over several hours. Also, I would personally shoot for 1.026.

Edit: as I mentioned there is no need to do this over several days, it is not going to hurt anything by doing it over several hours. If it were a much larger difference, then stretching it out more might make sense. In the wild, corals experience fairly large swings in temp and salinity throughout the day. A lot of the corals we keep come from tropical locales that get substantial rain, and if they’re from inshore shallow reefs they also deal with the runoff from the shore, so on a given day, the salinity can change by several ppm. People always preach stability, and stability is great, but I also feel like people sometimes go too far in trying to keep things stable and end up stunting their corals’ and fishes’ ability to handle changes. You see people who keep every parameter completely stable and then if some minor change happens, the corals react negatively, but then there are people who allow some fluctuations and when they experience a change, their corals don’t react whatsoever. I think this is topic that should be explored more thoroughly, but I think the hobby-wife move towards more stable and sterile tanks is overall detrimental. *I want to be clear that I’m not suggesting you keep water parameters that are way out of range, but a little bit of controlled instability is beneficial. Also, sorry for the rant.

Thx for the rant! I love to hear different points of view.

 

[mistergray]

Sometimes mine drifts to 1.027. I like to keep mine at 1.025-1.027.

As @Randy Holmes-Farley said, there’s nothing wrong with having a salinity of 1.027.

That makes me feel better. With all the rules I’ve read since starting this year, I was nervous but I’m feeling better now.

 

[Ramdude4G]

Idk. All my LFS run 1.027. So when I set mine up that’s what I run mine at. System seems to run perfectly and fish and corals are very happy. And thats pretty much what sea water is. Why do you prefer to run lower salinity level? just curious. In fact I just made a post asking folks that very question.

 

[mistergray]

Idk. All my LFS run 1.027. So when I set mine up that’s what I run mine at. System seems to run perfectly and fish and corals are very happy. And thats pretty much what sea water is. Why do you prefer to run lower salinity level? just curious. In fact I just made a post asking folks that very question.

Lol! You’re gonna laugh at my answer. I started my tank at the beginning of this year and just followed all the rules that were presented to me. This little note came along with my tank and I figured it was the gospel. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Ramdude4G]

Lol! You’re gonna laugh at my answer. I started my tank at the beginning of this year and just followed all the rules that were presented to me. This little note came along with my tank and I figured it was the gospel. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Most of that is pretty good guidelines. SG of sea water is 1.0264. But plenty others run lower. Calcium I’ve seen most want 480-500. Mine runs a little higher but it’s a cheaper test so not real sure how accurate it is. And the water change is pretty excessive. It’s better to do smaller changes more frequently with anything on a saltwater system. It’s more about stability and smaller swings from what I’ve learned.

 

[Karen00]

if you don't have an ATO (which it sounds like you don't) then you just need to determine how much FW you are losing to evaporation over a 24hr period.

Measure your salinity on day one. then on day two at the same time measure your salinity. Observe the change, the salinity should be rising. Depending on t he size of your tank you could actually calculate this, but I am lazy, so I generally estimate and use trial and error.

You can also mark the glass and then observe the change in depth in 24hrs and calculate the volume lost and then replace that in freshwater. It should be relatively predictable if your indoor environment is relatively stable.

I'm new to the hobby so I'm using the tape method to ensure I do my top ups correctly. Currently I'm doing this manually so the tape really helps me to see where I need to stop adding water. I just purchased an ATO but will probably keep the tape because it will let me know if my ATO fails (either doesn't add enough water or adds too much).

 

[Karen00]

Lol! You’re gonna laugh at my answer. I started my tank at the beginning of this year and just followed all the rules that were presented to me. This little note came along with my tank and I figured it was the gospel. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Out of curiosity do you follow this chart or have you adjusted? I'm looking more at the coral params like magnesium, etc. I'm going to download this if you have found success following it. I just have fish at the moment and the tank is new so I'm letting it stabilize and mature before adding coral. This chart could be handy. I have to say the light section is funny in its ambiguity. Haha.

 

[mistergray]

Out of curiosity do you follow this chart or have you adjusted? I'm looking more at the coral params like magnesium, etc. I'm going to download this if you have found success following it. I just have fish at the moment and the tank is new so I'm letting it stabilize and mature before adding coral. This chart could be handy. I have to say the light section is funny in its ambiguity. Haha.

I was at first but now I only check salinity. The only thing I haven’t been able to keep alive was a Ritteri anemone. And that was because my tank hasn’t been up for a year. I jumped the gun and learned my lesson.

I do weekly water changes and cleaning to keep my little tank happy and healthy.

Tank Inhabitants: Pink tube anemone, 2 green bubble tip anemones, 2 rose bubble tip anemones, goniopora, hammer coral, royal gramma, 2 clownfish, flame hawkfish, emerald crab and a large cleanup crew of snails.

 

[Karen00]

I was at first but now I only check salinity. The only thing I haven’t been able to keep alive was a Ritteri anemone. And that was because my tank hasn’t been up for a year. I jumped the gun and learned my lesson.

I do weekly water changes and cleaning to keep my little tank happy and healthy.

Tank Inhabitants: Pink tube anemone, 2 green bubble tip anemones, 2 rose bubble tip anemones, goniopora, hammer coral, royal gramma, 2 clownfish, flame hawkfish, emerald crab and a large cleanup crew of snails.

Thanks!! This helps a lot. How big is your tank?

 

[mistergray]

Thanks!! This helps a lot. How big is your tank?

An itty bitty 32g. Lol!

 

[flyfisher2]

Just remove a cup and let the ATO replace the missed water
Keep doing this until you arrive at 1. 026