Salt levels crash?!?

[Peteskeet]

I topped off my tank last night and checked the salinity and it read a 1.025, I wake up today and it’s still at 1.025 then out of knowhere it drops to a 1.010!! Any possible reasoning for why?!? Please send help, I’m topping it off with a strong salt mix to bring levels back up.

 

[TriggersAmuck]

@Randy Holmes-Farley may have some insight? What type of device are you using to measure the specific gravity?

 

[Zach B]

What are you using to measure salinity?

 

[Cole.mormon]

What device?

 

[Cole.mormon]

Refractometer or hydrometer?

 

[Cole.mormon]

@Randy Holmes-Farley

 

[Reef.]

Do you have an ato? Overfilled?

either that or your refractometer was wrong the night before or the next day.

I can’t think how salt would otherwise leave the tank.

 

[Peteskeet]

Using a refractometer and salinity probe on an apex unit

 

[Peteskeet]

I only added 1 1/2 cups of fresh rodi water to a 15 gallon tank

 

[Reef.]

I only added 1 1/2 cups of fresh rodi water to a 15 gallon tank

your reading for salinity must have been off at some point then, salt doesn’t leave the tank.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Is your refractometer calibrated? Do you have an auto top off that could have malfunctioned?

 

[TriggersAmuck]

I assume the refractometer and probe are in agreement with each other?

 

[Peteskeet]

Yes both probe and refractometor are in sync and are both calibrated , I got the update via my apex system. I’m not sure how the levels dropped so fast. Everything in the tank looked great until I got the alarm and then my nem shrunk so I new it wasn’t good. Frankly not sure how salt could of left the tank and so randomly when everything was looking so great, I wasn’t sure if there was something I was missing.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Yes both probe and refractometor are in sync and are both calibrated , I got the update via my apex system. I’m not sure how the levels dropped so fast. Everything in the tank looked great until I got the alarm and then my nem shrunk so I new it wasn’t good. Frankly not sure how salt could of left the tank and so randomly when everything was looking so great, I wasn’t sure if there was something I was missing.

This isn't an anomoly. There must be a simple solution. Salt did not just leave your tank. I'd say either a doser or an auto top off got stuck on and overdosed your tank.

 

[Peteskeet]

Still trying to raise salinity but it’s taking an absolute crap ton of salt and swing very little result

 

[Peteskeet]

This isn't an anomoly. There must be a simple solution. Salt did not just leave your tank. I'd say either a doser or an auto top off got stuck on and overdosed your tank.

I have neither a doser or ato hooked up, I simply measured out 1 1/2 cups of rodi water last night to top off the tank. It needed the top op due to low water in the back chamber and higher salt levels at the time

 

[Reef.]

Sounds to me your salinity is all over the place, which would also make your refractometer give the wrong reading if you do t clean the refractometer very well between tests and also whatever you use to get the test water out of the tank onto the refractometer needs to be spotlessly clean too, as said early it’s a reading error not a random salt drop as you say.

 

[Peteskeet]

Sounds to me your salinity is all over the place, which would also make your refractometer give the wrong reading if you do t clean the refractometer very well between tests and also whatever you use to get the test water out of the tank onto the refractometer needs to be spotlessly clean too, as said early it’s a reading error not a random salt drop as you say.

 

[Taylor t]

It’s impossible for your salinity it go from 25 to 10 with only a cup and a half of RO. It’s your testing equipment. I dilute a 5 gallon bucket with a couple cups and it only goes down a couple points. Don’t change anything until you figure out what you’re doing. Fast changes are more destructive unless you know what you’re doing. Got another reefer in the area you can test your water against? A highly accurate floating hydrometer is a requirement for using the cheap Plastic hydro meters or refractometer to catch when they drift.

 

[Twoddler]

Test your refractometer with ro water should read 0.