Trouble with SPS - Triton Test Results

[Nathan Milender]

I am using an Icecap Salinity pen...it's showing 1.026 specific gravity. Could there be an issue with the pen? I replaced battery and tested again and got the same result.

refractometer is cheap, easy to calibrate, and I have never had the calibration on mine change after set. I have had most electronics drift, but I have never used your sea pen.

 

[OffRoad322]

Do you have a calibration solution? Or dissolve 35g of fresh salt in 1litre of r/o and measure that and see what you get.

dang!!! I just did 1L of RO water and weighed 35g of salt. My pen measured 1.016. SO, I guess the pen is off by 0.01 making my current salinity 1.035. Stupid PEN!

 

[Pete_the_Puma]

The other issue is no matter what your salinity is today, it could still have been greater than 1.030 when that ICP test was done. I bet someone on the chemistry forum could, knowing the concentrations of all your macro elements from the ICP test, reconstitute or calculate a rough specific gravity.

@Randy Holmes-Farley ?

 

[dbjonesjr]

The other issue is no matter what your salinity is today, it could still have been greater than 1.030 when that ICP test was done. I bet someone on the chemistry forum could, knowing the concentrations of all your macro elements from the ICP test, reconstitute or calculate a rough specific gravity.

@Randy Holmes-Farley ?

Based on the macro elements he's probably looking at closer to 1.0327 SG or 43.35 ppt.

 

[DarkSky]

Can you post some photos of your SPS? Many people mistake browning/bleaching for something else that it isn't.

What are your nitrates at?

Agreed that your salinity is way too high. Get a refractometer and calibrate it. The icecap pen is known to have issues.

 

[Pete_the_Puma]

Based on the macro elements hes probably looking at closer to 1.031 SG or 43.35 ppt.

Can you educate me as to how you arrived at that estimate?

 

[dbjonesjr]

Can you educate me as to how you arrived at that estimate?

Sure. Take the ratio of the tested level of Sodium against the ideal level of Sodium. That gives you a ratio of 1.2386. Then you can take the standard 35 ppt and multiply it by our calculated ratio to estimate the salinity and get 43.35 ppt. After that it can be converted to 1.0327 SG (corrected from my previous post, but the ppt was correct nonetheless).

 

[OffRoad322]

Sure. Take the ratio of the tested level of Sodium against the ideal level of Sodium. That gives you a ratio of 1.2386. Then you can take the standard 35 ppt and multiply it by our calculated ratio to estimate the salinity and get 43.35 ppt. After that it can be converted to 1.0327 SG (corrected from my previous post, but the ppt was correct nonetheless).

So end result is get a accurate salinity reading and do water changes to get it back in line?

 

[Pete_the_Puma]

You dont need water changes, just take some saltwater out of the tank (gradually) and let your auto top off add RO water. The salinity will gradually drop.

 

[dbjonesjr]

So end result is get a accurate salinity reading and do water changes to get it back in line?

That should be your first goal to help solve this issue. However, I thought I had the same problem as you (high salinity) about three months ago. After fixing it and getting all my parameters back in line I have yet to solve my SPS keeping problem unfortunately. If I were you I'd pick up a refractometer with some calibration solution from BRS and then go back and contact the manufacturer or vendor of your current digital refractometer. I also second what Pete said about getting your salinity down. Just take some water out of your system every so often until you reach your goal salinity.

 

[Twistedpro]

First job would be to correct your salinity, give them some time to recover.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Use Red sea NoPox and do a good water change. Also take some water to a trusted LFS and wee what levels they come up with for comparison. Hopefully you are not chasing levels to get them perfect as STABILITY of levels play a higher importance than achieving ranges.

 

[Hans-Werner]

With less than 0.02 ppm phosphate is quite low, maybe too low for some corals, especially if they have a history of higher phosphate concentrations. I would recommend 0.03 ppm phosphate at least, and 0.05 to 0.1 ppm is save for good and relatively fast coral growth.

Regarding the major elements I agree, salinity is too high.