hello i have only had my aquarium set up for about a month now, still no live stock in there but it seems that every time i top off the aquarium the salinity level goes down, im not adding any more water than what was originally in there so i am stumped on what could be causing it, any ideas and suggestions will be helpful..
why when i top off my saltwater aquarium does the salinity level drop..
- Thread starter JeremyEck
- Start date
kbuser92
Breeder
It drops? That's weird. I would say you're probably adding too much. Just check what its at and add a little at a time to get it back down because it should raise slowly until you top off.
kbuser92
Breeder
Okay. When you top off to the same spot, it will drop to 1.024, but it will slowly rise as water evaporates back up to that 1.025, just to be topped off and brought back down. That's the point, to keep it stable.
kbuser92
Breeder
I'm thoroughly confused. If you read right away, then yes. The freshwater has to mix in and create a homogeneous mixture to read accurately. But if your tank is 20 gallons at 1.025, say 4 cups (1/4 gal) evaporates daily. This would raise your salinity to, say 1.026. When you top off with that 4 cups, it will lower your salinity back to 1.025, but immediately may read 1.016 or something like that because it has not mixed. Just like a new batch of saltwater may read 1.042 right away because its not dissolved properly and mixed thoroughly. If you top off, check before and 30-60 minutes after adding and compare. Once you get it all down, its really easy to maintain. Also, always shoot for the same salinity when you are doing a water change. Stability is key. And if you have the funds available, investing in an ATO system will automate your top offs as long as you keep the reservoir full and you don't have to worry about a thing.
kbuser92
Breeder
P.S. Those numbers shouldn't be relied on, I just typed some in to illustrate what's happening.
bjohanson1234
.........
Also, just to throw it out since kbuser seems to have you covered, if there is any salt creep around, from splashing water, the salt is no longer in the tank. So it is possible that the salinity would be lower, but I doubt it would be significant.
reeffreak
Reef pro
Don't forget if you are running a skimmer that you you lose saltwater from the collection cup.Especially,if you are wet skimming
i am not running a skimmer yet, but i do plan on it just waiting for it to arrive in the mail.. what do you mean wet skimming? is it a bad idea to have a skimmer? also this is all the equipment i have in my tank is this all good stuff to have ? I have a cascade 700 canister filter, heater, 200gph powerhead ,800 gph wavemaker. then once the skimmer arrives i will have that in there also.. thanks for the help..
reeffreak
Reef pro
There is wet skimming and dry skimming.It is just a preference depending on the individual choice.Wet skimming is when you run the skimmer to produce a lighter brown/green waste water.You typically have to empty the collection cup more often which btw is saltwater.Dry is darker skimmate,less emptying but darker skimmate.
Most reefers don't use canisters because they can become nitrate factories.Any mechanical filtration(floss,filter pads) need to replace often.in those.IMO,every two weeks.
Most reefers don't use canisters because they can become nitrate factories.Any mechanical filtration(floss,filter pads) need to replace often.in those.IMO,every two weeks.
Sakura2282
Reef lover!!!
You will have to change the filters every week If you have a high bioload.
