Salinity will not go down

BrownCow · Dec 5, 2019

I'm adding almost half a gallon of purified water daily and the salinity is just not going down at all. What am I doing wrong?

Terry Mattson · Dec 5, 2019

What is your salinity? Are you taking saltwater out and replacing with fresh ro/di.... how big is your water volume.

BeejReef · Dec 5, 2019

If you're replacing saltwater with freshwater, the salinity is going down. Has to be. Would strongly advise checking the calibration of your refractometer and doublechecking your readings with an LFS or a borrowed refractometer before making any adjustments.

fcmatt · Dec 5, 2019

Sounds like evaporation is about a half gallon per day.

Js.Aqua.Project · Dec 5, 2019

If you are adding 1/2 gal of RODI per day as top off, all it will be doing is returning the salinity to its previous level.

If you are intentionally trying to lower your salinity, you will have to remove saltwater and replace it with fresh.

Greybeard · Dec 5, 2019

If you're just replacing evaporated water with fresh water, you're not going to change salinity.

Salt doesn't evaporate.

To lower salinity, you need to remove salt water and replace it with freshwater. Salinity will drop. Has to.

Why is your salinity high? What level is your salinity at? What tools are you using to measure salinity?

Barnabie Mejia · Dec 5, 2019

BeejReef said:
If you're replacing saltwater with freshwater, the salinity is going down. Has to be. Would strongly advise checking the calibration of your refractometer and doublechecking your readings with an LFS or a borrowed refractometer before making any adjustments.

This ^^^^^ I too say to check the calibration on your refractometer and have the LFS check the salinity for you. I always use a hydrometer and check it again with a refractometer. personally I would take out say 1 glass full of saltwater and replace it with 1 glass of RODI water, give it 5-10 min and then check it again. and if it is still high, repeat. I had to do this on my 29g back in the day when I didn't have an ATO.

sde1500 · Dec 5, 2019

If that is just for top off, yea it won't go down. But 1/2 gallon a day, do you have a large tank? If it is taking saltwater out, and adding RODI, your salinity is going down, may want to stop immediately and have your equipment checked/calibrated. Or review how you are testing, something is wrong.

BrownCow · Dec 5, 2019

BrownCow said:
I'm adding almost half a gallon of purified water daily and the salinity is just not going down at all. What am I doing wrong?

Thank you all for your answers after hearing them I feel quite stupid for asking. I have been only topping off with to purified water not replacing it. My question now is when I do take out some salt water to put in the purified water how much should it be? I have a 50 gallon tank and my salinity is currently reading 1.027.

Js.Aqua.Project · Dec 5, 2019

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about 1.027, as your skimmer runs or as you do your water changes it will come back down.

Daniel92481 · Dec 5, 2019

If it is 1.027, remove 5-6 8 oz cups of display water, and test salinity. If 1.026, set your ATO and you should be good. If no ATO, top off with RODI.

Another Newbie Reefer · Dec 5, 2019

As others have said, don't worry about 1.027. It'll come down on its own with normal water changes. However, if you want to target a specific number, try this calculator: https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/TargetSalinity.php

Silver14SS · Dec 5, 2019

BrownCow said:
Thank you all for your answers after hearing them I feel quite stupid for asking. I have been only topping off with to purified water not replacing it. My question now is when I do take out some salt water to put in the purified water how much should it be? I have a 50 gallon tank and my salinity is currently reading 1.027.

Please don't feel stupid, you learn by asking questions and everyone starts in the hobby somewhere

Here's a calculator to play around with that I think will answer your question:

Resulting Salinity Calculator

Aquarium calculator; Estimate the resulting change in salinity when water is added, replaced, or evaporated.

www.hamzasreef.com

Edit - @Another Newbie Reefer beat me with the link to Hamza's site

Kellie in CA · Dec 5, 2019

My tank is only 25 gallons and I go through about 3 gallons per week in top offs. It's crazy how much evaporates!

Auquanut · Dec 5, 2019

BrownCow said:
Thank you all for your answers after hearing them I feel quite stupid for asking.

First off, and this is very important: There are no stupid questions! The only stupid question is the one that goes unasked.
Secondly, 1.027 SG isn't going to hurt anything. It can easily be brought back down as mentioned above.
Lastly, Welcome to R2R! The home of friendly reefers and great, non-judgemental advice.

robbyg · Dec 5, 2019

Another Newbie Reefer said:
As others have said, don't worry about 1.027. It'll come down on its own with normal water changes. However, if you want to target a specific number, try this calculator: https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/TargetSalinity.php

It is best to lower the salinity now. The salinity will not creep downward it will always creep upward. If your using two part it will creep a lot faster. If your salinity is droping on its own I suggest you look to see if you have some form of slow leak. I assume that you are matching your water change salinity to the tank salinity, if not, then yes you can manipulate the salinity during water changes.

CasaReefer · Dec 5, 2019

What's Up B.C... Welcome to R2R... Glad you asked your question.. It is question like this that help a lot of Noob's.. Like me I am a Noob.. And the people in here are So Nice... They let me stay... lol And Wicked Smart. the key is ASK.. even if your just thinking about doing or changing something in your tank Ask.. These guy's can help you avoid the big mistakes... Can't wait for you to post some pics of your Awesome Set up.. Why do we like pics... Cause we all are Nosy...