Quick. Help. Salinity 1.029

[nanoreefer14]

Everybody's tap is different. Thats why youve gotta test it

 

[Brew12]

Ok im gonna wait. I feel like a dummy..im brand new to reefing! Lol

The only dumb thing you could have done is not ask the question!

 

[Brew12]

Have you thought about doing 2 smaller water changes? Sounds like you may want to raise salinity anyway. I would at least consider doing 2, 2.5 gallon water changes a few hours apart. You won't get much of a swing and it will get you headed in the direction you want to go.

 

[spinycheek]

Assuming your 29 gallon reef contains exactly 29 US gallons (although unlikely once you factor in water displacement from rocks, sand, pumps and livestock, but let's just roll with it for now) and is currently at 1.022sg then adding your newly mixed 5 US gallons at 1.029sg will raise your tank up to approximately 1.0232sg. This 0.0012sg increase is tolerable for most fish and invertebrates.

If your tank actually contains say 25 US gallons adding the newly mixed 1.029sg water will put you at 1.0234sg. Which is still acceptable in my opinion.

With that said I think 1.022sg is on the low side for a reef tank and think the increase in salinity may do you some good long term. Just don't go crazy trying to increase it overnight.

+1

The dilution into your tank will buffer any significant change. You'd have to replace over 7 gallons just to raise the salinity by .002

 

[slipknotgrrl83]

Everybody's tap is different. Thats why youve gotta test it

Agreed

 

[mattstanks2016]

Tap water if youve tested it lol. Ive always used tapwater in my reef and it looks great. Just test it for phosphates and nitrates first. Maybe a little dechlorinator if needed

What!!! Do you have a RO connected to your sink or something??? How is this!

 

[Brew12]

What!!! Do you have a RO connected to your sink or something??? How is this!

Some people are lucky enough to have their city get its water from clean springs and using non metallic piping to deliver it. Depending on what type of chlorine they use to treat it it can be safe to use. Other people get very clean well water (especially if they live in areas with sandy soil).
Me, not so much. It comes from a river and is heavily treated. I doubt it would keep a fresh water aquarium healthy.

 

[_Alex_]

You should be fine. You won't have a big swing. But I would get rid of the swing arm checker and get a quality refractometer.

These are good units. Just get calibration fluid with it. IMO you want to calibrate closer to where you are testing. Not at the lowest possible reading. Calibration fluid checks at 35ppt / 1.0265. That's right in the middle of the range for a reef. So not sure why you want to calibrate at 0 so far from your desired reading.

DD Aquarium Solutions ATC Seawater Refractometer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JQ8GBG4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_HeJdybG0VRKRZ

 

[DanP-SD]

Assuming your 29 gallon reef contains exactly 29 US gallons (although unlikely once you factor in water displacement from rocks, sand, pumps and livestock, but let's just roll with it for now) and is currently at 1.022sg then adding your newly mixed 5 US gallons at 1.029sg will raise your tank up to approximately 1.0232sg. This 0.0012sg increase is tolerable for most fish and invertebrates.

If your tank actually contains say 25 US gallons adding the newly mixed 1.029sg water will put you at 1.0234sg. Which is still acceptable in my opinion.

With that said I think 1.022sg is on the low side for a reef tank and think the increase in salinity may do you some good long term. Just don't go crazy trying to increase it overnight.

I agree entirely with Wrasse. Your tank salinity, assuming your readings are accurate (which is a gamble with a swing arm hydrometer), is low and you should be raising salinity. Even if your friend has given you more water, I'd use the 1.029 water but add it slowly. If you can place it higher than the tank water level (like on a ladder), just use a cheap airline tube with a knot or two in it to create a drip siphon. Add it over a few hours and your livestock won't even notice.

 

[RobBaglieri]

Nope no bubble. And my 29 is a little low. Reading 1.022 right niw. Will it balance out?

This may not be your issue, however, those hydrometers must be on a level surface if there is any hope in reading it accurately. Place it on a surface checked with a level.

 

[DanP-SD]

I agree entirely with Wrasse. Your tank salinity, assuming your readings are accurate (which is a gamble with a swing arm hydrometer), is low and you should be raising salinity. Even if your friend has given you more water, I'd use the 1.029 water but add it slowly. If you can place it higher than the tank water level (like on a ladder), just use a cheap airline tube with a knot or two in it to create a drip siphon. Add it over a few hours and your livestock won't even notice.

Just for comparison, in my 300g, I use an auto water change system, got a bit complacent on checking salinity and discovered this weekend that my salinity drifted down to 1.023. I prefer keeping it at 1.025. So I made up a new batch of replacement water at 1.035 and put that in the reservoir the auto system draws new salt water from. I've done this before (both increasing and decreasing salinity) and my livestock looks great, including some finicky sps colonies. As a general rule, you can decrease salinity faster than you can increase but when you're talking about a narrow range and use a drip, I've rarely seen an issue.

Just think about what you'd do if you bought a coral or fish from a store that kept salinity at 1.022 and your tank was at 1.025. You'd drop acclimate over a couple hours and add it. Using your hypersaline water is no different.

 

[mattstanks2016]

Funny how this started with a simple question but has lead to many answers

 

[Amy Dawson]

Tap water if youve tested it lol. Ive always used tapwater in my reef and it looks great. Just test it for phosphates and nitrates first. Maybe a little dechlorinator if needed

I always use tap water too. I was actually just looking for a post about how important is it to use ro/di water instead of tap water. I use water conditioner and it seems to work fine

 

[reef addicted]

I always use tap water too. I was actually just looking for a post about how important is it to use ro/di water instead of tap water. I use water conditioner and it seems to work fine

What kind of conditioner you use?

 

[Debramb]

FYI, my refractor came today and after calibration, test was 1.030, hydrom. Read 1.023. Everyone was right!! Get the refractor for best readings. Thanks Everyone lol

 

[Bruce Burnett]

I see no problem using the water make sure it is well mixed and recheck. I also hate those swing arms hydrometers. A floating bulb hydrometer can be cheaper than a refractometer. if you want put half in wait a couple hours and put other half in. I usually keep mine between 1.026 and 1.027.

 

[john.m.cole3]

Assuming your 29 gallon reef contains exactly 29 US gallons (although unlikely once you factor in water displacement from rocks, sand, pumps and livestock, but let's just roll with it for now) and is currently at 1.022sg then adding your newly mixed 5 US gallons at 1.029sg will raise your tank up to approximately 1.0232sg. This 0.0012sg increase is tolerable for most fish and invertebrates.

If your tank actually contains say 25 US gallons adding the newly mixed 1.029sg water will put you at 1.0234sg. Which is still acceptable in my opinion.

With that said I think 1.022sg is on the low side for a reef tank and think the increase in salinity may do you some good long term. Just don't go crazy trying to increase it overnight.

+1

 

[Amy Dawson]

What kind of conditioner you use?

I use tetra super plus conditioner. I'm pretty new to this though..only 4 months or so

 

[nanoreefer14]

I always use tap water too. I was actually just looking for a post about how important is it to use ro/di water instead of tap water. I use water conditioner and it seems to work fine

RO/DI is not always completely necessary when running a saltwater aquarium. If you have decent tap water, you can use it for topping off and such, but once you start getting into SPS and wanting to make your corals look the best then you want to use RO water. RO/DI water is supposed to contain 0 TDS (total dissolved solids). Tap water can contain upwards of over 100 TDS which can provide you with a nutrient rich system. When this happens, the zooanthellae algae that lives in your corals can over populate causing your corals to take on a heavier brown color. This starts to become unattractive with higher end corals. Is RO necessary? Not really. Is tap water gonna kill your reef? No. but you may want to consider using strictly RO/DI if you want your reef to look top notch.

 

[Amy Dawson]

That's exactly what's going on with my corals too. Thank you. I will def look into switching. I'm constantly googling why my corals look so brown and this answer has never come up. Is there a particular unit you would recommend?