Triton core 7 Rising salinity

Vincent100 · Feb 2, 2018

Hi R2R

Ok so I'v been using Triton core 7 for 6 to 8 months now and I'm very happy with it .
I dose 30ml each of the 4 bottles
A few months ago I noticed my salinity level had rose a lot...like 38ppt and I keep it at 35ppt
I thought I had just made a mistake somewhere , maybe filled my top up tank with salt water instead of RO and filling the tank back up after the odd water change with abit to much saltwater therefore when it evaporates back down to my real water line my salt level would rise
Both of them things together could of been my mistake
So i get the salinity back down to 35 over a week or so and think nothing more of it apart from double checking I'm using RO in my top up tank lol

Last week I take a sample of my water to my lfs to have them check my salinity and to my disbelief it's back to 38ppt agin
I didn't believe this so had them check it 4 times on two different devices
All came back the same

After much moaning to my lfs they tell me sometimes Triton can rise you salinity ..................I didn't know this , nowhere on there bottles does it warn of this

Anyway I'v now found their calculator on their site and the 10 odd words they have wrote about it
It's says I should remove 414 ml of tank water but doesn't say if this is daily weekly monthly

I presume it's weekly anyone know for sure? ;Eggonface

I'm going to check my salinity every day from now on, I have also gotten apex which has a gravity probe but it's so up and down it's absolutely useless;Bookworm
Second pic is my apex just to show you why I don't even look at it any more .... Useless and only a few months old

Randy Holmes-Farley · Feb 2, 2018

I'm not sure why they do not tell you, but nearly every method of adding calcium and alkalinity that isn't limewater/kalkwasser or a CaCO3/CO2 reactor raises salinity over time. It's well known to many folks.

The basic reason is the the main additives are sodium carbonate and calcium chloride.

When the calcium carbonate is used up, that leaves sodium chloride in the water, raising salinity.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Feb 2, 2018

In my DIY system, I discuss the salinity rise:

An Improved Do-it-Yourself Two-Part Calcium and Alkalinity Supplement System by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

After one year of adding 8 ppm of calcium and the accompanying 0.4 meq/L (1.1 dKH) of alkalinity per day (41 mL of both parts per day or 4 gallons of both parts per year in a 50-gallon aquarium, including the effect of the magnesium part #3A, 2440 mL/year), the following residue (Table 2) would remain after calcification and adjustment for salinity (there is roughly a 32% rise in salinity over a year using this addition rate without water changes).

Vincent100 · Feb 2, 2018

Thanks Randy
I really didn't know that dosing would rise my salinity ;Facepalm but I do now lol

I'm gonna have a good read of your DIY system
Maybe it's time for a change
Thanks for replying to my moan lol

Randy Holmes-Farley · Feb 3, 2018

You're welcome.

Happy reefing.

FartyParty · Apr 2, 2018

I see the same gradual rise in salinity, however whats more concerning to me is that I also see conductivity measurement swings in the order of 1 ppt in a 24 hour period. Are you seeing that same swing during your 4-part triton dosing?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Apr 2, 2018

FartyParty said:
I see the same gradual rise in salinity, however whats more concerning to me is that I also see conductivity measurement swings in the order of 1 ppt in a 24 hour period. Are you seeing that same swing during your 4-part triton dosing?
]

If real, that is from evaporation, not dosing.

If you evaporate out 2% of the water volume before replacement, conductivity will move from 53 mS/cm to 54 mS/cm.

How are you replacing evaporated water?

FartyParty · Apr 2, 2018

I have an Apex ATO connected directly to the DI cans, so it's more or less instantaneous replenishment. Being in the most arid climate in the US, it runs frequently.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Apr 2, 2018

The conductivity is not really changing like then, and the answer must lie in a measurement issue.

It might just be random drift of the conductivity probe/meter, or an incorrect temperature correction being applied, or electrical interference.

Can you pick off the times of the highs and lows to see if there is any consistency with time of day? I can't do that from this sort of graph.

FartyParty · Apr 2, 2018

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
The conductivity is not really changing like then, and the answer must lie in a measurement issue.

It might just be random drift of the conductivity probe/meter, or an incorrect temperature correction being applied, or electrical interference.

Can you pick off the times of the highs and lows to see if there is any consistency with time of day? I can't do that from this sort of graph.

This tied directly to the temperature swings on the conductivity trmperature probe. Looks like I'm due for recalibration! Thanks again!

Randy Holmes-Farley · Apr 2, 2018

FartyParty said:
This tied directly to the temperature swings on the conductivity trmperature probe. Looks like I'm due for recalibration! Thanks again!

It might be that the temperature correction that the unit does (it must) is set wrong.

Vincent100 · Apr 2, 2018

FartyParty said:
I see the same gradual rise in salinity, however whats more concerning to me is that I also see conductivity measurement swings in the order of 1 ppt in a 24 hour period. Are you seeing that same swing during your 4-part triton dosing

Yep mines still all over the place but it's just my Apex ,my salt is sitting at 35ppt
Check out my graph
I'm gonna look into the the temperature correction as my temp is quite stable

Randy Holmes-Farley · Apr 2, 2018

Vincent100 said:

Do you know how the temperature correction is set?

Vincent100 · Apr 2, 2018

See my temp doesn't jump to much
I had my TC factor set at 2.2 , I've just reset it at 1.0 , gonna see if it stop my salt level jumping all over the place on my Apex now
I'm also removing about hafe a liter of tank water a week because of the Triton ....just following the numbers on their calculator

Randy Holmes-Farley · Apr 2, 2018

I agree that's a small temp change and not the likely explanation. The conductivity probe is near the temp sensor and not near a heater?

I'm not sure what else it could be except random drift and/or electrical interference.

Vincent100 · Apr 2, 2018

I have the conductivity probe and temp probe away from each other and my heater sits in the return section
I've got a feeling it's some type of electrical interference
It doesn't bother me to much these days anyway as I have a milwaukee refractometer
So I can pretty much get an accurate reading now when I want
Thanks for your input Randy

Randy Holmes-Farley · Apr 2, 2018

Vincent100 said:
I have the conductivity probe and temp probe away from each other and my heater sits in the return section
I've got a feeling it's some type of electrical interference
It doesn't bother me to much these days anyway as I have a milwaukee refractometer
So I can pretty much get an accurate reading now when I want
Thanks for your input Randy

You're welcome.

Happy Reefing.

nornicle · May 22, 2020

Hi Randy, i don’t understand why the triton method is marketed as a no water change system if salinity rises, and how do all these aquarists get away with no water changes if they are two part dosing... unless they use a calcium reactor?