Salinity / Specific Gravity

[jay]

My tank has just come to the end of it's cycle ... which is good news, but I just did a Salinity test and the results are coming in a little on the lower end of what's recommended. I got a reading of 1.0205 / 28ppt. Should I be worried? If so, what can I do to fix the problem. (do a small water change with Salt mix and not just RO?)

Suggestions would be great.

Thx A Bunch, :langle
Jay

 

[Jennie]

You can top off with Saltwater or even skip a topoff all together which will raise the salinitiy.

HTH

 

[gparr]

do a small water change with Salt mix and not just RO?)

Are you suggesting by this statement that you've been doing water changes with plain RO water? If so, that would explain the lower sg/salinity level, assuming your original mix was higher. Top off should be with RO water, but water changes should be with salt water mixed to a specific gravity level equal to that in the aquarium (I keep mine at 1.027). Hope I'm not insulting you, but your statement raised a red flag for me.
Gary

 

[jay]

do a small water change with Salt mix and not just RO?)

Are you suggesting by this statement that you've been doing water changes with plain RO water? If so, that would explain the lower sg/salinity level, assuming your original mix was higher. Top off should be with RO water, but water changes should be with salt water mixed to a specific gravity level equal to that in the aquarium (I keep mine at 1.027). Hope I'm not insulting you, but your statement raised a red flag for me.
Gary

Thanks for the comments..... after reading what I wrote, I can see where I may have raise a red flag. No worries, I don't feel insulted. I'm a newbie to SW and just worded it wrong. I understand what you're suggesting and that's what I'm following.

Jennie - a BIG THANK YOU for the little chat earlier, it was a nice helping hand. I just want to make sure I was on the right track.

Everyone here at Nanotank.com have always been helpful in answering the toughest or even smallest of questions.

Thx Nanotank Gang!
Jay :gcool

 

[carlkeef]

Hello all...Just a quick question...My tank is on the down side of cylcling,but my salinity is only about 1.016,but on the other hand my heater went out and my tank dropped below 72 degrees.Does temp have an affect on salinity or is 1.016 ok for the tank,and if not how do I raise it,do I just add some salt or test again when the temp gets back to normal.It is a 29 gallon bio-cube.

 

[Snaredrum]

Hi Carl Keef.

 

[Trogdor]

Temperature will only affect your reading if your measuring device doesn't auto compensate for temperature. Most newer refractometers have an auto-compensate feature and will not be subject to temperature changes within a certain range.

You need to increase your salinity to around 1.020-1.026 depending on what you plan to keep and what your opinion is on where you want to run. My tank is a 29g tall with coral, fish and invertebrates and I run at 1.025. Personally I wouldn't use anything other than a refractometer. I had a bad experience with the float hydrometer where it read 1.024 and my refractometer read 1.033. So some caution should be exercised when using any instrument.

You can do water changes and mix your new water with a higher salinity than what is in your tank. Another way is to top off with saltwater and not freshwater. Hope that helps.

 

[skinson]

I checked my float hydrometer against my lfs readings and they are the same. so I'm happy with that.
dave