low salinity

[Welvin]

Hi guys,


Now we almost done about our new cycling tank...phosphate,nitrite,ammonia ect. is undetectable our tanks is getting clearer and better..but the problem is our low salinity,,..we only measured at the salinity of 20 ppt and after adding calcium hydroxide,calcium chloride, sodium bicarbonate and vinegar the salinity is getting lower,,,from 20 ppt to 17 ppt. then become 15 ppt. we stop the calcium hydroxide in our kalkwasser reactor and replace with natural sea water,after 3 days we have the salinity of 19 ppt. we still continue the salt water until now, but the salinity becomes lower it measured this morning for only 15 ppt. we dont know what to do..we do water change last week for two times about 30%...please help..i dont know if this added solution will affect the salinity...any advice pls..

 

[DaveK]

First off, why are you adding "... calcium hydroxide,calcium chloride, sodium bicarbonate and vinegar ...", especially on a new tank? Usually you don't want to start using additives until the tank is cycled, and then limit their use.

Second, how are you measuring your salinity? It sounds very likely the whatever method your using is not giving you accurate results. Most people use a refractometer to determine salinity.

What is the salinity of the natural sea water your using? Often that can be low. Test it before using it.

I suspect that the best solution for you now is to stop using the additives and make large partial water changes. Make sure the water your using has the correct salinity before use. You may need to do about 6 water changes of 50% to replace most of the water in the tank.

 

[saltfan]

+1 to the above you shouldt be adding anything. I would recommend a salt mix instead of natural sea water.

 

[goma]

First off, why are you adding "... calcium hydroxide,calcium chloride, sodium bicarbonate and vinegar ...", especially on a new tank? Usually you don't want to start using additives until the tank is cycled, and then limit their use.

Second, how are you measuring your salinity? It sounds very likely the whatever method your using is not giving you accurate results. Most people use a refractometer to determine salinity.

What is the salinity of the natural sea water your using? Often that can be low. Test it before using it.

I suspect that the best solution for you now is to stop using the additives and make large partial water changes. Make sure the water your using has the correct salinity before use. You may need to do about 6 water changes of 50% to replace most of the water in the tank.

This is the answer ^^^^

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

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Start a tank thread & share your tank with us so we can follow along, we love pics

 

[theplantman]

+1 to Dave K's post. Not sure what your salt measurement converts to in the following measurements. Specific gravity typically targeted is 1.023-1.026 which is 31 to 35 PSU (practical salinity units).

I would say stay away from seawater as well. If you are collecting anywhere close to a river that empties into the salt body, the salinity will be different than that found on a reef with no tributaries. Go with a decent salt mix. Plus you have no idea what kind of organisms you may be adding to the tank by harvesting seawater.

 

[Welvin]

thank you DaveK for this reply,

We add the additives to get the exact reading of calium,alkalinity and phosphate we add also vinegar to lower the nitrate and phosphate because of the hairy algae bloom. we dose 100ml everyday for calcium and 100ml everyday for sodium bicarbonate and now for my 2nd week we dose 60ml for the vinegar.its sounds terrible.

We meaured our salinity using refractometer now this morning my salinity is still low 16ppt.

In my water tank where the natural sea water place we add 80 liter of RO water for every 200 liter of natural seawater...we measured for the salinity of 35ppt or sometimes becomes 34ppt or 1.026sg. 1.025sg.

Maybe thats the best solution to do Davek change the water.....Im new in yhis hobby so Im thankful for your advice hoping I can hear more advice from you soon.

 

[Welvin]

thanks Greg..yes I got it....

 

[Welvin]

thank Saltfan,

some recommendation says to add additives for the hairy algae bloom during cycling,
and salt for the aquarium is not available here and i dont know where I can buy without any hassle....natural seawater is easy access for me

 

[Welvin]

thanks theplantman,

We use refractometer for the salinity measurement but it reads very low, now i have only 16ppt for my one tank and the other tank is good in reading. without any additives but the same water source and salinity.

natural seawater is our easy access to have it we collect the natural seawater like a wheel near the shore it filtered already in there before we get it and before we transfer to our water tank we use also filter to remove all the small like dust stuff...thank you michael

 

[DaveK]

thank you DaveK for this reply,

We add the additives to get the exact reading of calium,alkalinity and phosphate we add also vinegar to lower the nitrate and phosphate because of the hairy algae bloom. we dose 100ml everyday for calcium and 100ml everyday for sodium bicarbonate and now for my 2nd week we dose 60ml for the vinegar.its sounds terrible.

...

Just about the worst thing you can do as far as water quality goes is to use additives to chase a number, trying to get the readings "just right". If the numbers are within a normal range and the livestock is doing well, do not use the additives.

In addition never just add them on a regular basis unless you have established that you actually need them. In other words, you need to test the water, and find it way outside the normal ranges and then use only enough to get back to within the normal range. Also, and this is extremely important, don't try to test other parameters like calcium, alkalinity and so on until you get the salinity at normal levels.

I would discontinue the use of vinegar. This is going to play havoc with your pH, alkalinity, and calcium balance. Note that pH, alkalinity, and calcium are all very closely related and changing one parameter can change the others. Algae issues are best dealt with by controlling nitrates and phosphates. You need to limit what goes in to the system and use various methods such as water changes, and/or various nitrate and phosphate removal media, and/or a refugium or algae scrubber lower nitrates and phosphates.

If your getting a reading of 16 ppt using a refractometer, your at about 1/2 normal SW strength or the refractometer is way off. Check the refractometer by using a calibration solution, or at least test the SW you collected.

Consider the advice on water changes repeated. It's just about the most effective thing you can be doing right now.

 

[Welvin]

hi DaveK

I dont really understand whats going on with my tanks..and thank you for your very informative advice..I did not not change my water yet but instead I just use SW as top off since I was read your message I dont know what will happen in the following days but still it measured 16 ppt....aside from that after 6 days of turning off the lights now its on..almost hairy algae are dead I try to back it on the lights until I detect algae growth and if that so I will off it again until I get some cleaner rangers like crabs..shells etc. what do you think of this off and on process?...I dont have idea anything about additives all i know is to use it thats it...now i know its not daily basis but dose only if needed....or maybe i used it very much early for my tank.thank you Davek...your my fav. advicer now..

 

[alberthiel]

+1 to Dave K's post. Not sure what your salt measurement converts to in the following measurements. Specific gravity typically targeted is 1.023-1.026 which is 31 to 35 PSU (practical salinity units).

I would say stay away from seawater as well. If you are collecting anywhere close to a river that empties into the salt body, the salinity will be different than that found on a reef with no tributaries. Go with a decent salt mix. Plus you have no idea what kind of organisms you may be adding to the tank by harvesting seawater.

Not sure that this is totally accurate ... not saying it is erroneous, but many report good success using NSW as long as it is collected off shore and treated if needed ... Perhaps you can elaborate on what your concerns are ... Thanks

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members

 

 

[gbose]

Welvin,

I'm not sure about mixing 80 Liters of Ro with 200L of salt water. That itself would dilute the salinity a lot. Try not doing that.

GBose

 

[Welvin]

Hi GBose

okay thanks I will try not doing this,,thank you so much............