What could cause salinity too drop ??

[Jason mack]

hi everyone , I have a question ?
What could cause my salinity too drop ..,
It's not my auto top off .. I've had it turned of most of the day ..
I started triton core 7 reef supplements 2 days ago could this affect it any ..
we are having a heat wave here in holland at the moment .. today is the hottest so far my tank was reading almost 28 degrees , now got ice packs in the sump but they are sealed and cannot leak and 2 fans going now at 27.3 .. with this in mind I would expect my tank salinity too go up not down ??

 

[Tahoe61]

What method are you using to test?
What are the values?

 

[Jason mack]

What method are you using to test?
What are the values?

Yesterday iT was 35ppt now its 31 ppt Im using a refractor ..

 

[Tahoe61]

Does it need calibration.

 

[creas]

+1 on checking calibration. I don't know of anything that can lower salinity aside from adding fresh water. Especially considering higher temperatures typically mean more evaporation which would raise the salt level. Can salt precipitate out of suspension?

 

[Brew12]

Does it need calibration.

Agree with this. If your refractometer doesn't have ATC or the ATC isn't working then you need to calibrate it at the temperature you will use the refractometer at. If you calibrate the refractometer in a room that is 23C but then use it in a room that is 29C you will get a very bad reading.

 

[Jason mack]

I had iT calibrated at my lfs couple of weeks ago , still waiting on a delivery of 35 ppt calibrating solution , i Will get iT checked Tomorow again .. thanks for the replies guys !!

 

[A Toadstool Leather]

Use calibration solution for the device. I made the mistake of using plain water and it was terribly miscalibrated.

 

[Brew12]

Use calibration solution for the device. I made the mistake of using plain water and it was terribly miscalibrated.

I normally agree with this but.....

I had iT calibrated at my lfs couple of weeks ago , still waiting on a delivery of 35 ppt calibrating solution , i Will get iT checked Tomorow again .. thanks for the replies guys !!

If you want to do a quick check to see if it is a temperature problem, try testing your RODI and see if it reads less than zero.

 

[Jason mack]

I normally agree with this but.....


If you want to do a quick check to see if it is a temperature problem, try testing your RODI and see if it reads less than zero.

Just checked with rodi .. its way lower than 0 ...

 

[A Toadstool Leather]

I normally agree with this but.....


If you want to do a quick check to see if it is a temperature problem, try testing your RODI and see if it reads less than zero.

I used distilled water so maybe that caused the issue. Mine is an atc refractrometer but I recall the water tds being 3ppm

 

[Brew12]

Just checked with rodi .. its way lower than 0 ...

For now, you may want to calibrate it at zero each time you use it until you get your calibration fluid. It won't be perfect, but it will give you a much better idea of where your salinity is actually at.

 

[Jason mack]

I have had problems last month because id been calibrating it with rodi , then i found out that iT was way off , so ordered the fluid a month ago , in the mean time i get iT checked Every couple of weeks at lfs , frustrated !

 

[Brew12]

I have had problems last month because id been calibrating it with rodi , then i found out that iT was way off , so ordered the fluid a month ago , in the mean time i get iT checked Every couple of weeks at lfs , frustrated !

Do you know if your refractometer uses ATO (Automatic Temperature Compensation)? If it does not, and your home isn't the same temperature as the LFS, than calibrating it there is useless.

 

[Jason mack]

Do you know if your refractometer uses ATO (Automatic Temperature Compensation)? If it does not, and your home isn't the same temperature as the LFS, than calibrating it there is useless.

Yes mine has ATC !!

 

[Jason mack]

IT must be the refractor .. cant just dive so low like that in 1 day , lfs is open in 12 hrs .. i Will get iT checked first thing in the morning , im not panicking, ( much).. I also suspect I might have a faulty heater as well , because of the warm weather here now I'd turned it down because I kept seeing it coming on even though the tank was at 27 .. this tank just does not want too settle down, Can't get it stable .. seem too go from one problem into the next .. tank is 6 months old ... getting a triton test tomorrow got it on order ..rant over

 

[Jason mack]

Video taken yesterday !

 

[Brew12]

Your system looks fantastic! If you call that struggling I am going to recommend you drink more of the good Holland beer and stress about the tank less!

 

[Jason mack]

Thanks Brew12 , but I've lost a couple of corals lately , green Formosa , an acro , a dragons eye , I've got zoas shrinking away , and my pulsing xania is almost melted away , and they are supposed too be bullit proof , so for me something is a miss , can't put my finger on it .. my parameters are a little high from raising the salinity
Calc 485 Colombo
Nitrate 2.5 saliferts
Phos 0.03 - 0.16 saliferts
Mag 159o saliferts
Alk 8.3- 8.6 saliferts
Ph 8.3
Temp today hit around 28 normal 25.9 -26.2

 

[Jason mack]

It was the refractor !! Tank is good .. is calibrated .. got my triton test too , so that's getting sent of today as well !!!!!