salt level too high

[CornishCrustyCorals]

So I am new to the hobby and over the last 3 months I've been using a basic salt checker floaty needle thing. That thing is all over the place so I bought one of the ATC refractometers and its reading at 1.029 and I am kind of inclined to believe this is correct as I have only added salt water to the tank so far. I don't get much evaporation as its got a lid on the tank, but obviously there has been some.
So how do i decrease the salinity is it just a matter of adding RO and keep checking in small amounts? how much water do you think I would have to add to reduce it down? Its a 120L tank

 

[Garf]

You will need to calibrate the refractometer with a solution at 35ppt. Don’t use RO water to calibrate it. You can make your own calibration standard with RODI water and table salt.

 

[CornishCrustyCorals]

could i calibrate it with the actual sea its literally about 50 yards away?

 

[CornishCrustyCorals]

ok so i need some help with this i made up the 6.2g table salt to 161ml of water is there a specific temperature it needs to be at??

edit i think i get it. I need it at 25c

 

[Garf]

ok so i need some help with this i made up the 6.2g table salt to 161ml of water is there a specific temperature it needs to be at??

edit i think i get it. I need it at 25c

The water will quickly assume the temperature of the refractometer, so as long as it’s held at room temp, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Just let the water sit on the slide for a minute.

 

[CornishCrustyCorals]

ok the worrying thing i have now is that its showing that is 1.022

 

[CornishCrustyCorals]

ok so my tank water is reading around 1.032/33

 

[gabrielw94106]

ok so my tank water is reading around 1.032/33

I would definitely try to take that down possibly by removing a bit of water and adding rodi

 

[CornishCrustyCorals]

yeah is it something i need to do slowly? maybe 1 cup at a time or something?

 

[DC Reefer]

What livestock do you have in your tank - that will impact how quickly you can reduce your salinity. Once you get the salinity where you want it, I would ONLY top off with RODI.

 

[CornishCrustyCorals]

I only have 2 clowns 2 conchs and 2 hermits kinda empty tank the clowns are still only about 1" long
they are acting normal (clownfish normal)

 

[DC Reefer]

Your tank is about 32 gallons. I would do 1/2-1 gallon per day spread over each day until you get the salinity to where you want it.

 

[CornishCrustyCorals]

thanks appreciate the help all

 

[vetteguy53081]

There is confusion here= No doubt.
Here is what I would do. . . . . . Take a water sample from both gages. Then take a water sample to a trusted pet store and have them test for you and see which of your readings are both the same or close and way off and you will then know which one is more reliable.

 

[CornishCrustyCorals]

yeah i have just done about 1/2 gallon change and its reading 1.0024 on the old one and 1.0031 on the new one.
think tomorrow il take it to LFS to check

 

[Garf]

yeah i have just done about 1/2 gallon change and its reading 1.0024 on the old one and 1.0031 on the new one.
think tomorrow il take it to LFS to check

Curious to see what that lovely Cornish seawater is at

 

[CornishCrustyCorals]

Curious to see what that lovely Cornish seawater is at

yeah i may take my testers down and see what they say

 

[CornishCrustyCorals]

so today I had some actual calibration fluid turn up and it showed that it was at 40 instead of 35 so I have re calibrated and my water is now at 1.028 after I had added that RO water yesterday so I guess I am back on track and can monitor it from here. I think I should leave making calibration fluid to the experts.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

yeah i may take my testers down and see what they say

FWIW, near coastal water can vary substantially due to nearby runoff and river inputs.

 

[CornishCrustyCorals]

So the mrs just got wet feet and we read the local water at 1.025 I am not interested in using that water though as we live in a fishing village and that water is nasty

Oh and tank update. its down at 1.026 and a coral that i have never been able to get to open has finally opened
Blue sympodium