float valve
- Thread starter baileycm
- Start date
Bifferwine
I am a girl
You mean for an auto top off system? They are very beneficial and useful. It means you don't have to manually top off for evaporated water every day. You will need a sump and a reservoir for RODI water to use it, though.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Only use fresh water to top off evaporation. When water evaporates, it leaves the salt behind. If you top off with salt water, you will be raising your salinity over time.
flip777
Flip
How would you be raising the salinity levels over time if your topping off with same salinity levels?
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Because when water evaporates, it leaves the salt behind in the tank. Only pure water leaves the tank via evaporation -- no salt. So the water that is leftover has a higher than normal salinity. If you top off with freshwater, it puts the salinity back in balance. You are replacing pure water with pure water. If you top off with saltwater, you are replacing pure water with saltwater, and adding saltwater to a tank that already has higher than normal salinity.
Have you been topping of your tank with saltwater for the past 9 months??
Have you been topping of your tank with saltwater for the past 9 months??
flip777
Flip
That makes alot of sense I never thought of it like that
dcantucson
Reef pro
That's a scary thought. :shock:
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flip777
Flip
Yes I have been for nine months and my salinity has always stayed around 1.025
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Didn't you just ask about calibrating your refractometer in another thread? You'd better double check that.
flip777
Flip
I have 3 refractometer. I have 1 digital, one cheap one, and and the other one is a 40 dollar one off e-bay. I want my digital calibrated. If you noticed in that thread I said it was .010 off
flip777
Flip
The reason for calibrating the digital is because I am selling it . I dont like them
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Do you calibrate the rest of them? They should all be calibrated using calibration fluid every 6 months or so. Otherwise you have no way of knowing if they are moving. Since you asked where to buy calibration fluid, I assumed that you hadn't calibrated any of them.
dcantucson
Reef pro
+1 Biff
If you top off with saltwater then you levels would have to rise. If you do find your refractometer is off be sure you lower your salinity SLOWLY. I had a problem once and lowered it in about 30 minutes (because I freaked out) and I killed everything. So be careful and lower over a period of a week or two. Do very small water changes with RODI water.
If you top off with saltwater then you levels would have to rise. If you do find your refractometer is off be sure you lower your salinity SLOWLY. I had a problem once and lowered it in about 30 minutes (because I freaked out) and I killed everything. So be careful and lower over a period of a week or two. Do very small water changes with RODI water.
flip777
Flip
I ran out of the solution and couldn't get none till you gave me that e-bay site. I like calibrating them atleast 1 time a month. The place I got my last batch went out of business
flip777
Flip
I take my water in once a month to the pet store and double check everything. I want to make sure I am reading things correctly. I seem to be the same as the pet store to. I did 1 water change in 2 months. I found this last test that my ammonia was .25.. I am working on getting that down.
