Where is my Salt Going???

[FloridaBoy]

Help! There has got to be a logical explanation for this. When I set up my tank a few months ago, I knew I was going to go with a reef system, so I targeted my SG to 1.025 to start out on. I’m using Instant Ocean Reef
Crystals as my salt mix. I’m mixing with Distilled Water (It's a 24 gallon nanocube, so not expensive to use distilled for water changes). However, my SG keeps going down to 1.021 inbetween 10% water changes. This does not make sense. Where can the salt go. I’m using the Instant Ocean brand hydrometer. I let the hydrometer soak in the water for ½ hour before I take a reading, and I mix the water to 1.025. I noticed that the SG in the tank was at 1.021 last weekend, and I thought I must have mixed up the last water change too “light” via a bad SG reading, so I slowly raised the SG up to 1.023 over the weekend. I mixed up another batch of water to today to continue raising the SG to 1.025 this weekend, and on a whim, checked the tank again, and it’s back down to 1.021! Salt doesn’t evaporate, in fact, evaporation should be increasing the SG, so where can the salt be going?

Can the rock be reacting / absorbing the salt?

Has anyone else experienced this?

Does anyone have a refractometer I could borrow to make sure my hydrometer is not defective???

Thanks in advance! Steve

[victoly]

First thing that catches my eye is using a hydrometer. They are notoriously inaccurate. Before you take any remedial action, take some water to an Lfs so they can check with a refractometer. Until then, it's shooting in the dark.

**edit** refractometer != hydrometer.... I'm tired...

Edited October 25, 2013 by victoly

[(Bio)³]

The store will check with a refractometer. I think victoly was multi tasking

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[+o0zarkawater]

The store will check with a refractometer. I think victoly was multi tasking one handed typing.

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Like they said, refractometer is your best start. They may seem expensive but are a very good investment.

[Planeden]

Are hydrometers random? If sample A constantly reads 1.025 and sample B consistently reads 1.021, doesn't that imply it is not just hydrometer error?

That said, unless your are having major salt creep, or having a leak, I can't imagine wat it would be. I would not figure rock would be eating it. But I have accidentally lowered my SG by acclimating fish, discarding the water, and forgetting until I top off with fresh water. Cat went swimming and did it once, to.

For what it's worth (I haven't admitted this one to anyone here) but to raise my salinity I just let the water evaporate to the SG I want and then use SW to top it off. Seems easier to me than to mix SW to various levels and doing lots of math.

[Richard L]

I never trust hydrometers. Instead I use a Hewlett-Packard 5710-A dual-column gas chromatograph with flame analyzation detectors to test my salinity. If that's not available to you I'd recommend a refractometer.

[bige]

Are hydrometers random? If sample A constantly reads 1.025 and sample B consistently reads 1.021, doesn't that imply it is not just hydrometer error?

That said, unless your are having major salt creep, or having a leak, I can't imagine wat it would be. I would not figure rock would be eating it. But I have accidentally lowered my SG by acclimating fish, discarding the water, and forgetting until I top off with fresh water. Cat went swimming and did it once, to.

For what it's worth (I haven't admitted this one to anyone here) but to raise my salinity I just let the water evaporate to the SG I want and then use SW to top it off. Seems easier to me than to mix SW to various levels and doing lots of math.

Not necessarily. There are variable with the hydrometer that don't play in so much as a refactometer. Ie not rinsing properly. But I don't think it's a big deal. How old is the tank? Ime new tanks take awhile to settle down. After a few months of keeping it at 35ppt or what ever your shooting for, it seems to stay pretty steady. I would check it against a refactometer.

[sifuentes31]

I never trust hydrometers. Instead I use a Hewlett-Packard 5710-A dual-column gas chromatograph with flame analyzation detectors to test my salinity. If that's not available to you I'd recommend a refractometer.

Is that powered by 1.21 JIGAWATTS OF ELECTRICTY to propel the fish INTO THE FUTURE....??????

[FloridaBoy]

My preferred instrument would be a Perkin Elmer ICP Emission Spectrometer Plasma 400 (Inductively Charged Plasma Mass Spectrometer) but even used they are pretty pricey, and the Argon for the plasma generator is really expensive. Being a cheap Scott, I’ll stick with my $8.00 hydrometer until I can order a refractometer.

Anyway, Planeden makes a good point: It’s the old Precision vs Accuracy issue. If I can take 3 readings over the course of a few hours and get the same readings 3 times (Distilled water 1.000, Tank 1.021, Fresh Mix 1.025) then my hydrometer is precise because the results are repeatable.

I’m starting to think that there may be a reaction occurring between the salts and the O2 emitted by my Macro Algae, causing some of the salts to chelate out of solution. The reason I think this is that every day when I come home from work, my macro is covered with a white powder. The powder does not appear to be created during the night when the lights are off, but only after the lights have been on. When I first noticed the powder, I thought some of the Macro was going sexual from the stress of acclimating to a new tank, but it’s been happening for about 5 weeks now. Also, the water is clear, not cloudy as some have described when macro go sexual.

I’m going to test this theory over the weekend by bumping up the SG, leaving the hydrometer in the tank 24/7, and taking readings every couple hours for few days. (Evil mad scientist laughter - Mwu-Ha-Ha-Ha!)

[+etannert]

Hydrometers are notoriously inaccurate, even when the readings are repeatable (when an upward swing of just a few ppm can kill all your livestock, it's pretty important to be correct). Why not go to an LFS, ask them to check with a refractometer, and be sure? The worst that can happen is that they say your hydrometer is dead on. And you might find out that it's not. Better than spiking your salinity up to 1.031 and killing everything, and won't cost you anything but your time and gas.

[(Bio)³]

So its either your hydrometer or your making water with salt from the bramuda triangle.

I bet hydrometer.

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[FloridaBoy]

Hydrometers are notoriously inaccurate, even when the readings are repeatable (when an upward swing of just a few ppm can kill all your livestock, it's pretty important to be correct). Why not go to an LFS, ask them to check with a refractometer, and be sure? The worst that can happen is that they say your hydrometer is dead on. And you might find out that it's not. Better than spiking your salinity up to 1.031 and killing everything, and won't cost you anything but your time and gas.

Yes, definitely going to do this before trying to bump up the SG again. Was going to pick up a refractometer for myself this week, but none of the LFS's I've visited seem to carry them. Guess I'm going to have to order one. Any recommendations?

Thanks! Steve

[(Bio)³]

Isn't there some in the hardware classified ads on here

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[Planeden]

i got mine at aquadome. i think i saw them are RCA, too.

[sifuentes31]

Saw one from RCA. It was the BRS model but don't remember the price... Just give Jake a call.

[FloridaBoy]

Awesome - Thanks everyone!

[esacjack]

I never trust hydrometers. Instead I use a Hewlett-Packard 5710-A dual-column gas chromatograph with flame analyzation detectors to test my salinity. If that's not available to you I'd recommend a refractometer.

does it come turbo charged?

[esacjack]

Help! There has got to be a logical explanation for this. When I set up my tank a few months ago, I knew I was going to go with a reef system, so I targeted my SG to 1.025 to start out on. I’m using Instant Ocean Reef

Crystals as my salt mix. I’m mixing with Distilled Water (It's a 24 gallon nanocube, so not expensive to use distilled for water changes). However, my SG keeps going down to 1.021 inbetween 10% water changes. This does not make sense. Where can the salt go. I’m using the Instant Ocean brand hydrometer. I let the hydrometer soak in the water for ½ hour before I take a reading, and I mix the water to 1.025. I noticed that the SG in the tank was at 1.021 last weekend, and I thought I must have mixed up the last water change too “light” via a bad SG reading, so I slowly raised the SG up to 1.023 over the weekend. I mixed up another batch of water to today to continue raising the SG to 1.025 this weekend, and on a whim, checked the tank again, and it’s back down to 1.021! Salt doesn’t evaporate, in fact, evaporation should be increasing the SG, so where can the salt be going?

Can the rock be reacting / absorbing the salt?

Has anyone else experienced this?

Does anyone have a refractometer I could borrow to make sure my hydrometer is not defective???

Thanks in advance! Steve

How are you topping off? Have you verified you don't have a leak?

[Richard L]

I never trust hydrometers. Instead I use a Hewlett-Packard 5710-A dual-column gas chromatograph with flame analyzation detectors to test my salinity. If that's not available to you I'd recommend a refractometer.

does it come turbo charged?

Only on the floor models!