why does my salinity keep falling from 1.026 to 1.20

[stevediaz1]

i just purchased this to calibrate my refractometer is ok 53.0 mS standardized fluid for calibrating the PINPOINT® Salinity Monitor with conversion chart

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

i just purchased this to calibrate my refractometer is ok 53.0 mS standardized fluid for calibrating the PINPOINT® Salinity Monitor with conversion chart

That's a good fluid.

 

[twobytwo]

thats what i was scared of but how can i do this I'm not aware when its replacing any water back into the tank

The part of the hose that goes to your sump/tank, should not be submerged in water.

 

[wpeterson]

You've gotten good advice here so far, most likely one of these things is happening:

• Your freshly mixed salt water is too low in salinity, causing tank salinity to drop - check your measurement/prep methods
• You are adding too much freshwater as topoff, you should be able to mark/measure your water level in your sump or display and see this happening
• You are leaking/exporting saltwater from your tank and ATO is replacing it with freshwater, at the proper water level

I would guess the freshly mixed saltwater is your problem, perhaps you can make your saltwater recipe more controlled by using the same volume of water and weighing out the entire salt amount as a whole (vs. measuring cup by cup).

 

[melev]

For calibration solution, I use AccuraSea from Two Little Fishies.

 

[stevediaz1]

i want to thank you all for your help but i want to ask one more question regarding mixing salt i think this is where my problem is just as wpeterson mentioned could you please specify the procedure of mixing your salt water correctly may be ill see what I'm doing wrong i feel so dumb asking people how to mix salt but for my tank's sake i gotta ask....... ok ill weigh from now on any suggestions on how much in weight per gallon to get to 1.025 salinity with redsea coral pro? and how long do i have to mix? it is water temperature a factor? because i keep my brute bin outside and it gets pretty cold at night

 

[wpeterson]

It's easy to make a mistake if your salt preparation has a lot of manual counting or steps. I came from a 29gal nano where 5 gal water changes meant 5x 1/2 cup scoops of salt to doing 25gal water changes in our bigger tank.

If you try to measure 25x 1/2 cup scoops, you're bound to make a mistake. If you're doing larger batches of salt water, it's easier to measure your full dose of dry salt by weight. It takes me about 8.5lbs of salt to make 25gal of saltwater - which is much easier to measure/manage than 25 scoops.

You should figure out what the steps are for your salt water preparation steps and find a way to make it simple and reliable. Using a fixed volume of fresh water and a known quantity of salt by weight is an easy way to do that.

 

[Archwien]

cek your temperature and PH

 

[Archwien]

cek your temperature and PH

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

i want to thank you all for your help but i want to ask one more question regarding mixing salt i think this is where my problem is just as wpeterson mentioned could you please specify the procedure of mixing your salt water correctly may be ill see what I'm doing wrong i feel so dumb asking people how to mix salt but for my tank's sake i gotta ask....... ok ill weigh from now on any suggestions on how much in weight per gallon to get to 1.025 salinity with redsea coral pro? and how long do i have to mix? it is water temperature a factor? because i keep my brute bin outside and it gets pretty cold at night

I don't really see the method of mixing being a factor in salinity as long as you are measuring the salinity after it is mixed, but generally here's how to mix (IMO) to avoid calcium carbonate precipitation (which does not impact salinity noticeably but can reduce alkalinity and possibly calcium)

Start with the container full of water and mixing. Add the salt slowly so it doesn't all collect in a big pile on the bottom. Keep stirring until it is dissolved. I usually stir overnight. Some people stir less and some more. Some mixes with very high alkalinity and pH are more prone to precipitation than others, and some recommend only a few hours stirring to avoid the heat of the stirrer which might induce more precipitation.

If you intend to heat the water, when to do so is a matter of debate and the different technical arguments can support either heating the water before you add the salt, or after. I actually don't heat mine at all since my water changes are very slow and in small amounts.

Measure the salinity when the batch is done mixing, and realize that all salinity measurements are strongly impacted by temperature, but that some devices automatically correct (or at least try to) for changes in temperature over some reasonable range of temps that you might encounter.

 

[TheEngineer]

^-- that's what I do too, with a couple differences. I fill my container and let it aerate for 24 hours with just RODI. For me, it helps pull down any remaining excess CO2 and bring the water up to room temp. I add salt slowly like Randy does and measure salinity as I go. I let it mix for an hour and then throw the heater in. Once it is at temp I do the water change.