ATO failure whilst on 10 day holiday………..

[Lineatus]

I’ve just come back to my aquarium after a ten day holiday to see the family over Christmas. In typical fashion my ATO decided to fail and hasn’t added a drop of RO during the whole time I’ve been away. My tank is only 2/3 full and my salinity is a whopping 46ppt. Thanks to some miracle all of my coral and fish are alive (tho not looking happy) apart from a sarcophyton that is slightly bleached (which is of course, my favourite coral in the tank).
How quickly should I raise my salinity? The tank is 10g and only has hardy soft corals.
unfortunately the tank is in my bedroom and because it has a HOB filter. Because of this it’s making a ridiculously loud splashing noise. I go to bed in 5.5 hours, would it be mad to raise the salinity all the way up to 35 in this time frame?

 

[slojim]

I think the bigger risk to your livestock is losing flow on your HOB - I would at least quickly raise up the level enough to ensure it pumps well. For many fish, I think you could get away with refilling, but I'd try to stage it over the course of those 5 hours by adding some every 15-30 minutes. Good luck.

 

[HankstankXXL750]

Rapid changes can be harsh. What about refilling with salt water to make the change less noticeable and then do water changes daily to slowly bring into line?

 

[Tired]

Do NOT change your salinity by 10+ points in 5 hours. Increase it as little as is possible to get the filter reliably working, or, alternately, unplug that filter and stick a temporary pump in there.

Rapid changes can be harsh. What about refilling with salt water to make the change less noticeable and then do water changes daily to slowly bring into line?

This is a good idea. Maybe refill with slightly-below-normal-salinity saltwater to try and start the decrease.

 

[Lineatus]

I think the bigger risk to your livestock is losing flow on your HOB - I would at least quickly raise up the level enough to ensure it pumps well. For many fish, I think you could get away with refilling, but I'd try to stage it over the course of those 5 hours by adding some every 15-30 minutes. Good luck.

Great thank you luckily the hob intake is at the very bottom of the tank so it’s working just fine! One of my gorgonians is full of micro bubbles because it’s being slammed by water from the outlet, so raising the water level does need done ASAP.
thanks for the advice, I’ll just slowly raise the water back up in the five hour period.

one more question. The tank is well due a water change and if I don’t get one done tonight I’ll have to wait until Monday. would it be mad to do one straight after the water level is back to normal? Or would that do more harm than good!

 

[Lineatus]

Rapid changes can be harsh. What about refilling with salt water to make the change less noticeable and then do water changes daily to slowly bring into line?

thats a definitely something I could do if absolutely necessary. However the tank is making an absolute racket. I’ve got a 14 hour shift tomorrow and would really like some peace and quiet to get some sleep. Do you think it’d be worth the risk to fill it up slowly over a five hour period?

 

[Lineatus]

Do NOT change your salinity by 10+ points in 5 hours. Increase it as little as is possible to get the filter reliably working, or, alternately, unplug that filter and stick a temporary pump in there.


This is a good idea. Maybe refill with slightly-below-normal-salinity saltwater to try and start the decrease.

Good idea. I’ll mix up some high salinity water now. Thanks for the help

 

[Tired]

thats a definitely something I could do if absolutely necessary. However the tank is making an absolute racket. I’ve got a 14 hour shift tomorrow and would really like some peace and quiet to get some sleep. Do you think it’d be worth the risk to fill it up slowly over a five hour period?

Filling it with saltwater, thus lowering the salinity only slightly, should have little to no risk.

 

[Dom]

Osmotic shock is the risk here.

I would just drip RODI to the tank over the course of 24 hours until you are back at your proper level.

Use a powerhead to create flow until you have enough water to run you HOB.