Salinity Stability

[Flyangler33]

Hey All,

Tank rebuild is in full swing. One issue I am having is salinity stability. I am mixing my own water and testing everything to 1.026 also double checking it before adding it to the tank with my water changes and it checks out. However, over time it drops. It seems to be dipping from about 1.026 to 1.023 over the course of a week. To combat this is there any harm in just using salt water for my ATO vs RO water? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

 

[TX_REEF]

The only way salinity should drop is if your ATO is slowly raising your total water volume, or if you have a leak somewhere. I would not recommend using salwater in your ATO.

 

[Malum Argenteum]

Calibrate the refractometer before each use. I'd suspect this is most of the issue, since that's a very big drop to be real -- 34.5 to 30.5 ppt

Make sure new water is fully mixed before use (overnight with circulation, at least).

Make sure skimmer isn't running wet.

 

[Waters]

As stated, impossible for salt levels to drop unless fresh water is being added or you have a tremendous amount of salt creep. Most likely a testing error with the new or existing salt.

 

[Glowurm]

Hey All,

Tank rebuild is in full swing. One issue I am having is salinity stability. I am mixing my own water and testing everything to 1.026 also double checking it before adding it to the tank with my water changes and it checks out. However, over time it drops. It seems to be dipping from about 1.026 to 1.023 over the course of a week. To combat this is there any harm in just using salt water for my ATO vs RO water? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Dont use saltwater in your ATO.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Dont use saltwater in your ATO.

Why not? If I wanted to raise salinity and did not have an autowater changer, and did not use kalkwasser by ATO, that's how I would do it.

 

[Flyangler33]

Well I do not have a leak from anywhere that I can see, im going to guess its gotta be the testing equipment. I do have quite a bit of salt build up near the filtration chamber, not sure if this is because its not mixed well enough or not. I usually mix the water in a 40 gallon brute trash can and run a power head in there over night and into the next day.

 

[Flyangler33]

Turns out it was the equipment. Appreciate everyones input