Salinity 1.036

Randy Holmes-Farley · Dec 17, 2017

WWIII said:
I have seen several threads on which people adjust or offset their apex conductivity probe to actually match their tank/refractometer. Also they say it takes some time for the probe to settle down and give a stable reading. They recommend not doing anything right away and watch the probe for drift. A calibration standard for your refractometer is probably the best bet!

I'm not saying folks don't have issues with APEX and conductivity, but no one should go away from this thread thinking that conductivity is somehow inferior to refractometers.

The conductivity method itself with a suitable probe and meter is very good (IMO, the best method for salinity) and does not require any settling down time beyond the time needed for the device to take a temperature measurement of the water (maybe 10-15 seconds with a high end probe like an Orion to a minute or two with the Pinpoint).

WWIII · Dec 17, 2017

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
I'm not saying folks don't have issues with APEX and conductivity, but no one should go away from this thread thinking that conductivity is somehow inferior to refractometers.

The conductivity method itself with a suitable probe and meter is very good (IMO, the best method for salinity) and does not require any settling down time beyond the time needed for the device to take a temperature measurement of the water (maybe 10-15 seconds with a high end probe like an Orion to a minute or two with the Pinpoint).

Absolutely! I myself use conductivity in the form of ghl probe. I am sure the majority of inconsistencies have a little to do with user error, probe age, and/or bad calibration practices. I myself have had a bad experience with a certain manufacturers controller and conductivity monitoring in the past, and that is why I always suggest double checking until you feel comfortable with where your tank is at.

I would much prefer to use a new apex probe that has recently been calibrated as my best indication of value vs an uncalibrated refractometer! However it doesn't hurt to use all options available, especially when you require relatively big changes in tank salinity!

Dom · Dec 17, 2017

Jim C said:
My refractometer was not calibrated correctly, and so my salinity is all the way up to 1.036. How fast Can I lower this using freshwater? It is a fowlr tank.

I would just stick with your water change schedule, using water at the proper salinity. It will come down over time.

Rakie · Dec 22, 2017

Orbela said:
Really fast fish and coral are pretty tolerant with salinity if they are over saturated. That’s why freshwater dips are possible. You’ll be fine. But if you want you can slowly do it if your scared.

I had a huge problem as well with a refractometer I hadn't calibrated in a year.. Salinity hit 1.020, everything took it like a champ... Raising sg by 0.0005 per day seemingly shocked my corals and I had a total of 8 losses by the time I was finally back at a correct 35ppt (1.0265).

So sometimes things may be atypically agitated.