Lowering Salinity

[bigJPDC]

Hello!

 

Dbartco has shown me the error of my swingarm ways, and now that I am armed and deadly with the refracto, I am trying to figure out how to get my main tank down to 1.025-ish, from the 1.027-ish it is currently at.

 

What I've tried is to remove one gallon of tank water and let the ATO fill it back with RO\DI. I've done that three times in the past week now and my salinity is still right at 1.027-ish.

 

Is that not supposed to work? I know that just adding RO shouldn't do anything, but I thought I was replacing sw with RO, and that should lower the SG. Should I be doing one gallon water changes with 1.023-ish sw? Any advice is helpful,

 

thanks! Of course nothing is wrong in the tank, but I need to fix it anyway.

jp

[rsarvis]

How big's your tank? If it's big enough, you'll have to replace quite a bit of water to make a major dent...

 

Hello!

 

Dbartco has shown me the error of my swingarm ways, and now that I am armed and deadly with the refracto, I am trying to figure out how to get my main tank down to 1.025-ish, from the 1.027-ish it is currently at.

 

What I've tried is to remove one gallon of tank water and let the ATO fill it back with RO\DI. I've done that three times in the past week now and my salinity is still right at 1.027-ish.

 

Is that not supposed to work? I know that just adding RO shouldn't do anything, but I thought I was replacing sw with RO, and that should lower the SG. Should I be doing one gallon water changes with 1.023-ish sw? Any advice is helpful,

 

thanks! Of course nothing is wrong in the tank, but I need to fix it anyway.

jp

[YBeNormal]

I would continue as you are doing now, removing a small portion of water and allowing the ATO to replace it with RO/DI. 1.027 is not that high so there is no rush to get it down to 1.024-1.025. Take your time.

[dandy7200]

The ocean is 1.027ish......Don't sweat it JP

[bigJPDC]

you guys ROCK! I will stay the course.

 

The main tank is 65g. The 10g nano was up around 1.030, and only by taking an 8 oz cupful out a day, plus a 1g water change I now have it to 1.026. What the heck was I thinking with that swingarm?

 

Nice to know I'll be using less salt now too. The refracto will pay for itself over time.

 

thank you and have an awesome weekend!

jp

[Connor]

im still using a swing arm salinity checker and want to get one of the electric ones because they are more reliable so my questions is what kind of refracto did you get and where did you get it

[bigJPDC]

I got this guy, seems to be a bare bones instrument but feels solid and was calibrated out of the box.

 

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod...p;N=2004+113761

 

$44.99

 

jp

[NRehman]

An almost 5 gallon bucket of RO water seems to brings down the salinity of a 90-100g system by .001. Try not to change any more than .002 a day (gleaned from readings...).

Edited July 13, 2007 by NRehman

[ArtC]

im still using a swing arm salinity checker and want to get one of the electric ones because they are more reliable so my questions is what kind of refracto did you get and where did you get it

 

When Steven Pro talked at CMAS last winter, he said:

 

HYDROMETERS Cheap plastic or precision instrument?

Tested 12 plastic hydrometers and all matched the refractometer readings!

The plastic hydrometers need a little more effort in keeping clean in order to keep accurate...but they will give you a good reading! Rinse them with tap or DI water. Instant Ocean brand uses a higher grade plastic that allows for temperature fluctuations... accurate from 68-90 degF.

 

He bought 12 IO hydrometers in 12 different cities, and they all read the same (and right.) You have to keep the swing arms clean and avoid bubbles, but they are reliable (and cheaper!)

 

Meeting notes at http://www.cmas-md.org/forums/showthread.php?t=55362

[bigJPDC]

I totally bought into that article, and I periodically would soak mine in fw.

I was blown away when Doug showed me how much it was off by, and my new refracto matches his readings.

 

I'll play with that swingarm and see if I can perform some kind of voodoo on it to get it to match the refracto.

 

Other than cost, there isn't any other redeeming quality for the swingarm - the refracto is way easier and less messy to use.

 

jp

[treesprite]

I totally bought into that article, and I periodically would soak mine in fw.

They have to be rinsed very VERY well - soaking doesn't do a darn thing other than keep them sitting in water that will have whatever in it that youre trying to get out or off of the device to begin with.

 

I compare to the bag's statement of what the salinity will be if 1/2 cup of salt is in 1 gallon of water - so far it's always on target, and as long as it is, I will trust its accuracy with proper application and maintanence of the device.

 

Things people do that make accurate ones give a wrong reading:

 

1. measuring while holding the device in hand - the lightest tilt or motion will give the wrong reading even with an accurate device, so they must be completely flat and still

2. failing to thoroughly rinse them with fresh water after use - if left to dry with saltwater on them, deposits can form which will affect future readings and may make the arm stick

3. measuring before salt in new mix is 100% dissolved

4. measuring when ones hands have grains of salt on them

5. measuring with water on hands that drips into the device

 

The plastic hydrometers that are most likely to be bad are the little rectangle ones, simply due to design - I would not use one of those. The water has to be up exactly on the red line, not slightly lower or higher, and that has to be determined by eying it, while the angle at which it is eyes affects how the level appears in relationship to the line. The ones that allow the water to run out the sides automatically put the water at the right level if they are set down flat without being tilted.

Edited July 14, 2007 by treesprite