Salinity level WAY too high

[nereefpat]

Distilled water is fine. Check it with a handheld TDS meter if you have one. It will read zero.

It does cost about a buck per gallon. Most fish stores will sell you RODI for much less than that.

 

[JosephM]

Distilled water is fine. Check it with a handheld TDS meter if you have one. It will read zero.

It does cost about a buck per gallon. Most fish stores will sell you RODI for much less than that.

It was just an idea. But ima hold off on my trusty RO filter, 0 TDS everytime after a couple water changes 30min apart Im sitting at 1.034, making progress

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Are you certain that the current measurement is right when the earlier one was not?

Do you know why it was off before?

Plenty of folks, myself included, have "fixed" problems, only to find it was a test error.

 

[JosephM]

Are you certain that the current measurement is right when the earlier one was not?

Do you know why it was off before?

Plenty of folks, myself included, have "fixed" problems, only to find it was a test error.

I’m not 100% certain. I guess it is time to make a solution myself to make sure it’s spot on before I start dialing in where I want it to be. Thank you for the reminder.

 

[JosephM]

@Randy Holmes-Farley another user recommended a salinity solution that you wrote about... like to create. I’m having a hard time. Could you link the thread or article for me so I can create a calibration solution for myself.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Here is Randy’s solution

Be sure to use a .01 gram scale.

3.65g of table salt mixed with 96.35g of rodi water.

 

[JosephM]

Here is Randy’s solution

Be sure to use a .01 gram scale.

3.65g of table salt mixed with 96.35g of rodi water.

Thank you! And what sg does this come out to?

 

[KrisReef]

35/1000, natural sea water. Target for your tank

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Thank you! And what sg does this come out to?

35 ppt or 1.0264.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Also here is his article on it. One of the many thing from @Randy Holmes-Farley I have bookmarked, screen sniped and saved on phone, tablets and pc lol.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/rhf/

 

[JosephM]

Thank you all for the quick help and quick responses! It’s a great community I have found on here and very thankful for all of y’all and all the information I’ve learned from other peoples personal experience!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

If we are talking about being uncertain on the scale of 1.026 vs 1.038, and you do not have a scale, the measuring cup method in the article will help distinguish those.

 

[JosephM]

So the worst of it is over but... Milwaukee is reading 1.028 while hydrometer is reading 1.026. I just ordered a gram scale so I can make my own calibration solution but it’s not coming in until Saturday. Which one of these 2 should I trust or where should I try to get it until I get my scale and make a calibration solution?

 

[Eagle_Steve]

So the worst of it is over but... Milwaukee is reading 1.028 while hydrometer is reading 1.026. I just ordered a gram scale so I can make my own calibration solution but it’s not coming in until Saturday. Which one of these 2 should I trust or where should I try to get it until I get my scale and make a calibration solution?

1.028 or 1.026 isn’t bad. Just hold it there until you can accurately check things. Just be sure to keep up with evaporation.

 

[JosephM]

1.028 or 1.026 isn’t bad. Just hold it there until you can accurately check things. Just be sure to keep up with evaporation.

So two days at 1.028 (if it’s that) won’t kill anything more? And I have to do water changes daily because of the uncured live rock. So Milwaukee is testing 1.028 so I can just make the fresh water at 1.028 according to that right?

 

[Eagle_Steve]

So two days at 1.028 won’t kill anything more?

My 180 has sat at 1.028 for a few days before when our water main blew in my small town. I had to ration out purified water bottles lol. Nothing was seriously affected. Sps was angry and lost a little color, but everything else was fine.

Now take this lightly, as all tanks are different. Luckily you are just at the rock stage. Most of the small critters in rocks, including bacteria can survive in higher salinity tide pools for hours at a time. Myself, I would aim for 1.024 as your tests are reading differently. That would leave me in the range of most recommended salinity levels up or down.

 

[Rmckoy]

I’m kinda confused now. I zero it out with distilled water. Test with calibration fluid (1.025) and it read 1.026, did this all again read 1.027... why is this expensive tester reading off right out of the box

Usually calibration fluid is 35ppt
Which converts to 1.0265

 

[JosephM]

Usually calibration fluid is 35ppt
Which converts to 1.0265

The calibration from Milwaukee specifically states "1.025 S.G. 20/20" but it does say to shake the bottle and I did not do that. Planning on making my own 35ppt calibration solution once my scale gets here Saturday!

 

[Clownfish_Boy]

Check the SG with a hydrometer. should give you a fairly accurate reading.

 

[JosephM]

Check the SG with a hydrometer. should give you a fairly accurate reading.

Thank you. I ended up fixing the problem that day and have since purchased a floating hydrometer that never needs calibration and is accurate to the 0.005 sg. It’s been working out great. Salinity steady at 1.0264