Evaopation/ Salinity relation

by **blueshoes2208** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 3:07 pm

ok so i have found out that my tank evaporates water very fast so i thought it would b good for water changes because i would just have to add water BUT:
a) water evaporates not salt so the salinity would shoot up if i added more salt water to it
b) water evaporates not the bad shit in it so basically theres still bad shit in the water
how do i solve this problem

by **snowboss** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 5:39 pm

add RO water only.......not more salt and yes you are corect, the bad shit doesn't evaporate...............in theory, if you never added water you would end up with the salt you added to make the salt water to begin with, lol i wouldn't recomend waiting that long

I lose a 1/2 a gallon a day in my 20 long..........i have a buddy with a 300 that adds 8-10 gallons a day to his setup - -so while big tanks don't get as violently "sick" as little ones, they use more water, salt, chems, etc etc

Boss

by **saltwaterpimp** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 5:58 pm

The only solution to polution is dilution.....

by **blueshoes2208** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 6:15 pm

so just add the 5 gallons and check where my salinity is

by **fihsboy** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 8:52 pm

invest in an auto top off. Google automatic water top off and you will get a TON of options. Set up a bucket next to or around your tank and it will keep your water a constant salinity. Thats my next project.

by **snowboss** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 8:55 pm

top the tank off wait 10 minutes for it to mix and check your salinity.....yes - - - if it's high syphon some water out and add stright water again .......do this like one gallon at a time till you get close......................from there only replace the amount of salt water you remove with the same amount of salt water ...............sometimes i'll even top off the tank before i do a water change so the level is the exact place when i started................................if your salinity is low, syphon some off and add a little stronger salt mix back, again about 1 gallon at a time and wait longer between doses so you don't shock the tank - - -like 6-8 hours

also .............please be premixing your salt water and not hot mixing - - hot mixing is when you get your bucket, add water add salt, stir it up and test then dump it in the tank - - - salt will continue to disolve and your salinity will continue to climb for up to 24 hours ...............then you have a hot tank again
A tub from wally world a power head and small heater work great .......ive always got 3 gallons of mix running incase i need to do a quick change..........plus i can adjust it over the week to get it perfect before the regular sunday water service

Boss

by **fihsboy** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 12:54 am

boss knows what hes talking about...........keep some salt water on hand mixing....thats the best thing in the world.

by **blueshoes2208** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 3:53 am

haha well i guess its good i made that post because im the textbook definition of hot mixing... :/

by **newbie916** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 4:58 pm

I probably add about 3-4 gallons of RO water every other day to maintain my salinity in my 100 gallon. The water definitely evaporates faster if you have a lot of lights and fans for cooling. You'll get used to what your tank needs. I could usually tell by looking at the water level in my sump/refugium and can gauge how much water I need to add.

Evaopation/ Salinity relation

9 posts