What can cause the salt to decrease overnight?

sassiegemstone · Post by **sassiegemstone** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 3:42 pm

I have been taking notice that my salt levels lately are crazy.

One night it could be 1.020 and about two days later it is back at brackish levels, is there any underlying cause for this? I was told that the salt could dissolve and completely evaporate.

I'm using Coralife salt.

How often should I take a salt reading since i just got the salt level back up to 1.020? Did a water change last night.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 4:14 pm

I'm guessing you are using a hydrometer to test your salt levels. They can read differently from one minute to the next. I would recommend investing in a refractometer. I think a lot of people on here have gotten theirs on ebay. I don't have a brackish tank anymore so I don't have one yet.

If the salt levels were actually fluctuating a lot, your tank would probably be cycling constantly.

Liz · Post by **Liz** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 5:57 pm

I agree, I haven't had too many crazy stories with my hydrometer but it does vary. Once it read 1.026 or something, after previously reading around 1.023. I keep it right around 1.022 to give it some elbow room, or something.

sassiegemstone · Post by **sassiegemstone** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 7:47 pm

It is actually more stable now. It is right at 1.022.

I took out the two whisper internals and just using the penguin I bought yesterday. I also took notice that my water was not clearing up as it does normally after a water change. It is coming back to normal.

Phaedrus · Post by **Phaedrus** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:21 pm

A refractometer is definately worth the small investment. They can be had very cheaply and take all the guessing and worry out of it.

PetPirate · Post by **PetPirate** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:31 pm

1.020 is still heavy brackish IMO....

sassiegemstone · Post by **sassiegemstone** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 12:32 am

Oh boy, I must have misunderstood what is salt and what is brackish. The LFS said that 1.020 and 1.022 were good normal salt levels.

What are consider safe salt levels? I do not want to go too low or too high.

I've been telling my hubby the wrong numbers. He has been helping me take the readings.

I'm looking into that refractometer. I'm waiting till this Tropical Depression is over. Been raining on and off all day.

PetPirate · Post by **PetPirate** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 4:03 am

Don't get me wrong... marine fish (if acclimated properly) will live just fine at 1.022, or maybe 1,020. Some people (not me) prefer to maintain these lower levels as the dissolved oxygen is slightly higher.

But the oceans have a specific gravity of around 1.026 - 1.027. That's what corals should be kept at...

Mind you, if you have an inaccurate hydrometer, the real salinity could be anything within +-0.05 of what it says. So maybe getting it up to a level where it reads 1.027 would be dangerous.

sassiegemstone · Post by **sassiegemstone** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 5:27 pm

My puffer is supposed to have a salinity level of 1.020 to 1.025. It is now at 1.024. My one neighbor is moving and is not maintaining a salt tank anymore and was glad to help me out with a refractormeter and some other supplies they were not using.

He was just going to throw it out but remembered seeing me with a bucket of marine salt and was more than happy to give it to me for free. I guess I got lucky.

Now I have the chore of bringing up the salinity levels in the smaller tank so I can get a Toby puffer. I'm not sure of the species yet.

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What can cause the salt to decrease overnight?

What can cause the salt to decrease overnight?