Raising Salinity

[Derek]

So, I discovered tonight that I did not calibrate my refractometer properly so essentially my salinity has been getting lower with each water change. I did two larger water changes this week which took my salinity down to about 1.021. My corals are not very happy right now. My fish are fine though.

I have been attempting to raise the salinity by dissolving salt in RO/DI water. Is this the best way to do it? I haven't been trying to make it jump to 1.025, just trying to get it nudged in the right direction, maybe raise it up to 1.025 over the course of a few hours.

[Rjohn]

I may not be the best source but I would do it over a couple or three days at the least, not a few hours.

[Derek]

Thanks Ric. I will do it over a couple of days. I am just hoping that my corals will not suffer any permanent damage.

[cmanning]

What we've done in the past is: When the system needed top off we add mixed saltwater (salinity: 1.025). In our case, our 215 reef tank usually needs top off twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, around 3-5 gallons ea. Or when it was time to do a water change we would just increase the salinity enough to make a difference but not too drastic of change....slower increments is better for your inhabitants.

-Cindy-

[Derek]

Sweet. I can mix up a jug in the morning and use that as my top off.

[absolut_racer]

I had used this online salinity adjustment calculator a long time ago when I installed my ATO sensor's incorrectly.

http://www.saltyzoo.com/SaltyCalcs/SalinityAdjust.php

Hope this helps!

[Derek]

Thanks everyone. I had no losses over night. My critters seem happy. My corals are still a little agitated but I am hoping that they will all be fine. I don't think the salinity dropped low enough to cause any damage... thankfully.

[+lewk]

I ran into a similar thing recently, I realized my hydrometer was off and I was sitting at around 1.022. I mixed up a small batch of saltwater at 1.028 and would add a small amount to my sump each day until I got up to 1.025. I have since gotten a refractometer.

[DaJMasta]

There's the option of just making your water change water a little bit saltier than your target and continuing as normal - this will slowly raise the salinity with each water change so long as the mixed stuff is higher than what's in the system. If you've got a little extra space in the sump or display though, you can just slightly overfill it with normal saltwater - that way when it evaporates all the salt in the additional water will remain behind and raise the salinity of the tank.

Both are pretty gradual, but I suspect using 1.026-1.027 mix and doing water changes with that would be slower because of the infrequency of the changes.