first post - salinity question

[shirley knott]

i got my first tank last month, and after the first cycle now have two clownfish. everything looks peachy, except the salinity is too high (off the scale, ie. >3.4%).

do i just add clean purified water to bring it down, after taking out 5-10% as a water change? help! this is all new to me....

i don't know how to rig up my r/o water maker, the instructions don't mention all the parts that came with it

 

[MarineDreamer]

Hang in there, Shirley! I'm sure that one of the more experienced people will pop in here and have great solution momentarily!

(By the way, WELCOME TO REEF FRONTIERS!!!)

 

[plack]

What ? 3.4% salinity would be almost tap water do you mean Specific Gravity ?
It should be 35% wich equals about 1.026 Specific Gravity This website has a great picture of refractometer and the scales are you using one of these or a hydrometer or something else we need to know specifically. Yes eventually you need to bring it to the desired level but lets first determine where it's at and sooner is better

 

[wrightme43]

If you are using a hydrometer (plastic box) and the needle is pointing at 34 you are doing pretty good. They are usually off some anyway. If you have a camera and can resize a photo maybe take a picture of your hydrometer with saltwater in it and post it.

 

[shirley knott]

newbie needs help

i meant the hydrometer - it reads 1.034, which is as high as it goes (i.e. it could be higher).

i'll be making my owm water using a shop-bought reverse osmosis machine and mixing up salt mixture from the aquarium shop. trouble is ..... the salt doesn't say anywhere on it how much to use per unit volume of water (!) .... and i can't figure out how to put all the bits of rev-os machine together. i'll post a pic of all the bits in case someone here recognises it. then presumably i age the mixed up water in a bucket in the dark for a few days.... is this right?

thanks for the welcome. i'm a first-time marine tank owner, and will need a lot of hand-holding :lol:

 

[shirley knott]

r/o help needed

this is my reverse osmosis unit's operation manual - link

and here it is:

this is my breakdown:
1 reverse osmosis unit
2 element for 1
3 and 4 prefilters
5 waste water outlet?
6 tap water inlet?
7 is this where the good stuff comes out? into what?
8 think the unwanted stuff comes out here?
9 attaches to a water pipe
10 hosing - for what?
11-17 no idea

help me out here: how does hose 10 attach to 9 and 6?
how do outlets 7 and 8 to goodness/waste buckets?
12 fits onto the big cap on 1, but what for?
somebody?

 

[NaH2O]

shirley - Welcome to Reef Frontiers!!!

Here is a link for you: SaltyZoo's Salinity Adjustment Calculator. Only use values in ppt (Don't use SG values). The specific gravity (i.e. 1.034) calculates funny readings

Salinity Conversion - this will convert specific gravity readings to ppt

It will tell you what salinity to have your water change water at, and how many times to do a water change at that salinity. I don't think I would change more than 1 ppt per week. IMO, shoot for a target salinity of 35ppt, which is 1.026. Also, if you can check your water against someone that has a refractometer. There could be a chance that the hydrometer is not reading correctly.

When mixing up salt water, test the salinity frequently until you get your salinity. After awhile, you will have a routine down. I know how many of my scoops per 25 gallons makes the water to my salinity. Does this make sense? I also have my water mixing for at least 24 hours before using in the tank. I do double check the salinity again before performing the change. Last water change I did, I checked the mix water, and the salinity was only at 20. It had been mixing for 2 days. I remembered that while I was adding the salt mix, my little one needed me for something. I never went back to finish, and forgot. Good thing I checked.

I'll take a peek at your unit.

 

[shirley knott]

why thankyou mr seawater

i used the conversion tables (my 1.034 was 45ppt) and discovered i need to do 4 or 5 weekly changes each of 4 gallons to get it down by 2ppt each time, reaching 35ppt five weeks from now. so it looks like i'll be needing clean unsalted water only for a while yet.

okay, i got the r/o unit hooked up by just ignoring several of the parts, so it looks like i just need to attach the inlet tap to a copper mains pipe ( :shock: :exclaim: ) and divert the two output pipes to the drain and collecting bucket. should this be in darkness or is that not important?

i have to admit some trepidation on piercing my mains water pipe. what about when i move house? should i ask a plumber to fix a side-arm or something first?

so many questions.

 

[Jiddy]

Your not destroyin the pipe just piercin, if your goin to hook it up that way you will have to shut the water off to unhook it anyways, so you can just caulk (whatever plumber glue) the pipe then, my suggestion if you have any doubts and its convienant for you is to hook the RO up to a hose, either garden or laundry. For me this was more accessible, plus i rent!

-Jidz

 

[wrightme43]

Another way to lower your salinity is to take out a gallon of saltwater, and add back a gallon of rodi water. Just do that everyday till it gets back to where you want it. Steve

 

[Katchupoy]

Hi Shirley, welcome to RF.

I dont know what salt you are using... but in my experience...
I use Instant Ocean... 4 heap cups of salt per 5 gallon of water.

Also.... that you maintain you water level.... it means that normally water evaporation takes place in our reef tanks and this evaporation needs to be replaced by fresh ro water.

sometimes it 1 gallon a day...depends on how big your tank size is. and how hot the weather.

good luck

 

[NaH2O]

Also.... that you maintain you water level.... it means that normally water evaporation takes place in our reef tanks and this evaporation needs to be replaced by fresh ro water.

Good point, Cesar. To top off your water, use fresh RO/DI water. If you add salted water to the tank, in order to maintain the water level, then your salinity will rise.

OK - on your unit. I see you have figured out how to get it started, did you get the tubing installed? Can you list which parts you left out? Your #12 is to unscrew the cap on #1, in order to change/install a membrane. #13 is an O-ring, that is either an extra, or possibly fits the RO module (#1). #14 looks like it is for the tubing....one side appears to screw into something, and the other side looks like it will hold the tubing. #16 looks like it might fit into #11? Not sure about that. I hope this helped a bit.

and divert the two output pipes to the drain and collecting bucket. should this be in darkness or is that not important?

How long is the water going to be stored for? You can put a lid on the collecting bucket, but if it isn't used right away, then I suggest to add a powerhead or pump of some kind to keep the water circulating. The lid will also protect the water from things falling in. I keep a lid on my water because of the ever flying cat hair. For waste water, if you can run the waste line directly to a sink. Then you won't have to worry about flooding the waste bucket. I run mine to my washing machine for laundry sometimes, but most of the time I have it going into the utility sink.

One other point I need to make. When you first start making water, discard the first 2 hours worth (per manual). There are disinfection liquids contained in the RO module (used for storage purposes), and you won't want to use that water. After 2 hours, the storage liquid should be washed out. Also, only use cold water.

 

[shirley knott]

Can you list which parts you left out? Your #12 is to unscrew the cap on #1, in order to change/install a membrane. #13 is an O-ring, that is either an extra, or possibly fits the RO module (#1). #14 looks like it is for the tubing....one side appears to screw into something, and the other side looks like it will hold the tubing. #16 looks like it might fit into #11? Not sure about that. I hope this helped a bit.

yes, you did, thanks. i eventually realised (actually my wife did, and had a good crow over it) that #9 and #11 were alternatives, and so i used #9 on the outdoor tap with good effect. #17 got used where the tubing needed to be held snug in a fitting, and #12 is on as decoration, rather than as a spanner. #13 is a spare washer (not used) and #14-15 didn't get used either, as they are for use with the pipe-piercer #9.

i got it going, and it made RO water at about 3L/hr. So for my 340L tank, i'm gonna do a weekly 20L change i think - 6-7h RO water manufacture into a tub with a heater in it, siphon 20L tank water into the drain, add the salt to the RO water, mix it up and test its salinity, then siphon it in.

yay, this is great - my livestock looks very happy, and we all thank the kind board members here for their help.

 

[Boomer]

The arrow is a little crooked so time to fix things


What ? 3.4% salinity would be almost tap water do you mean Specific Gravity ?

No 3.4 % = 34 ppt. Seawater is 3.5 % or 35 ppt or 35,000 ppm

It should be 35% which equals about 1.026 Specific Gravity

No Only if the water temp is the same temp the SG meter is calibrated to. If the water is in the low 80's that 1.026 changes to 1.025 = 35 ppt( if one is using a floating hydrometer)

Salinity Conversion - this will convert specific gravity readings to ppt

No, same as above

i meant the hydrometer - it reads 1.034

Who's hydrometer ??


(my 1.034 was 45ppt)

More like 46.6 ppt when corrected for error

 

[Boomer]

75 F SG table

 

[Boomer]

77F SG Table

 

[shirley knott]

nice work, Boomer
click to activate bobblage (unless the admins can edit out the 'thumb_' from the script)

 

[Boomer]

That post will get you in reallllllllly big trouble