fishiefish Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 okay so due to a horrible red sea(wife)hydrometer my salt levels are off the chart...fish are doing great snails not so hot I have already done a 15 percent water change with ri/do water no salt!:eek:...should I do another?(scary) I am now using 2 six inch deep hydrometer (rock2)I just want to drop my levels safly but quicklyany advice? please help and please check your red sea hydrometers(flame) thanks for any help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef-fisher Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Had the same issues as a newbie.. Dont go too fast!!! Whatever is living in the tank is used to the salinity by now. Take your time lowering the salinity a day at a time. If you lower it too fast, it may shock whats in the tank and die-off may occur...Take your time(scary) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 How high are they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishiefish Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 thanks I'm trying to be patient I think I'm gona do a 10- 15 as well, not only was my hydrometer way! off but I was making my top off water a week in advance and not taking into account that water evaps but salt does not.....LESSON LEARNED. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishiefish Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 Its at 1.032 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriswaters Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Ouch. That is a little on the high side. I am not sure what the upper limits are. You are doing the correct thing by taking our salinated water and adding non-salinated. Make sure you circulate 1-2 hours to get an accurate reading. Have you picked up a refractometer yet? Considering the cost of livestock etc...it would definately be worth it. Make sure it is calibrated before use. Good luck and don't panic.... Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishiefish Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 yeah I'll be getting one soon...or a pinpoint....just tested it again be alittle over a hour since water change now at 1.029 so not touching it till morning.....I think it'll be fine do you think by morning it will have droped all that it would from that water change? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgreenthumb Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Yea definitely get a refractometer. Easy to caliberate. Those ones with the floating gauge are worthless. I once had three different ones made by 3 companies and all 3 gave different readings, and all 3 readings changed each time I used them. I agree wsith everyone else too just make sure to take the salanity down slowly. Day by day little by little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister crabs Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 you said you were making your TOP OFF water or your WATER CHANGE WATER a week in advance? please clarify as the next part of your statement about water evap. and salt not evap. has me worried. there should be NO SALT in your top off water. just fresh RO-DI. maybe i just misunderstood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishiefish Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 nope you got me correctDOH! making both with salt....not doing that anymore thankfully I was told that this was the best way now i did normally make it lower but still my levels as you can see were (scary). I'm blessed it didnt get worse. I was told if you just put ri/do water in even small amounts it will possibly do damage and kill them...........I am learning to take everything with a grain of salt(scratch) all my fishies are out and eating and I sitting at 1.028 by to different hydrometers...will get a refrac soon......deal with them at work....maybe they wont notice if I borrow one tonight(nutty) lol just kidding thanks everyone for your fast help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JManrow Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 I was told if you just put ri/do water in even small amounts it will possibly do damage and kill them........... I suggest you get your advice elsewhere, than from whoever told you this one! You have done a fine job of dropping the S.G. (Specific Gravity) of your tank in daily .002 changes using RO/DI water. Glad to hear your fish are doing ok now.(rock2) How are the snails and inverts? Thanks for sharing. This is partly what this club is all about... learning from each other's successes and mistakes! This forum has some very knowledgeable people. (We all do our best to keep each other in check on accuracy of our advice!(enforcer)(laugh)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgreenthumb Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 The amount of misinformation in this hobby blows me away!! I agree with JManrow, seek out your advice elsewhere!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishiefish Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 yeah I will be, this has been going on for awhile without my understanding what the problem was.I've lost several snails....not to many hermits but a few. I lost my xenia though very sad I'm Thinking that this is probably why(scratch) ...I had four little ones two from dsoz and two from breefcase and lost them all in a 48 period did water tests like crazy and besides some alage nothing apeared to be wrong.....then my hydrometer started sticking and tests with 20 min. spans were completly different. someone told me to make sure of no bubbles in it but by that point I had a gut feeling of what was happening and sure enough I go on line and everyone is telling me how bad these hydrometers are.......first I had heard of it(flame) my zoas are hanging in there and starting to look happy again except for most of the fabulous one that breefcase gave me(it had green bay packers on it which are gone and these neat orange ones(sad)(sad)(sad)(sad)), though it will probably be a day or so till they open back up. and my sun coral and little accro is doing fine it is now (my specific gravity(naughty)) at a nice 1.026 and I did just a little top off this morning....I'm bummed I really loved the xenia but atleast my babies were okay.....I kinda started freaking out and pulled my spawning maroon and put them in the quaritine tank , which they seemed to like(laugh). but there are now back in my display tank and I think everythings gonna be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plack Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Later on if it gets too low and you decide to add salt. PLEASE do this very slowly daily bump it up .02 or less or you will harm things. :-) Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Don't forget to calibrate your refractometers people!! If you are just using RO/DI to calibrate may give you a false reading. Quote from this page http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=12084776 "Refracts, like we use, are set to table salt which is not seawater i..e, 36.5 ppt NaCl , table salt Salinity = 35 ppt NSW Salinity . You can not change it. The scale on the refract is for table salt and not seawater. However, we can cal it with 53 mS and it is good for seawater for a narrow range. There is no such thing as a hand-held seawater refract." Here is some good reading http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-12/rhf/index.php Making your own calibration solution http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/rhf/index.php If it wasn't already confusing enough!!! (laugh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriswaters Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Definately agreed on proper calibration! And to boot...I have a few kenya tree if your interested! Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishiefish Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 yeah I would be if you wernt far away...maybe one day but with gas prices I'm trying to stay put.....with the comments about a reactor maybe I'LL just get a pinpoint......oh well this hobby sure is expensive. my husband is very tolerant of my splurges and my" oh honey I need it" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishiefish Posted June 7, 2008 Author Share Posted June 7, 2008 just eye balling my water params everythings still looking good.....still at 1.026 so do you guys think the high levels would have affected the xenia? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgreenthumb Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 hard to say xenia can definitely be finicky. Seems its a weed from some people and an orchid for others. Either way you decide to go with the refract or the pinpoint, just remember the key to accuracy is caliberation. I have to agree with impur too, skip the ro/di caliberation, use either 53 ms or the DIY method, but perferably both. I found that my refract was reading 5 ppt higher then it actually was when I switched caliberating methods!! Things were still alive and growing at the lower salainity, but I'm pretty anal about my water params, so I found this quite disturbing. I will say even the 5ppt high reading was still more accurate IMO then the floating hydros. There are just to many variables with them, the most common being the sticky float gauge. I wish they would not even make those dang things!!!! I had one that would not go past 36 ppt no matter how high the salanity actually was!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister crabs Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 I personally have had good luck with my hydrometer. I tested it against a properly calibrated refractometer so I knew where i stood. my hydrometer is of by a bit so I have to remember to compensate. I always clean it realy well in hot water to get all the salt off after testing and most people dont know but for some reason the manufacturers reccomend u submerge a new hydrometer in fresh saltwater for 24 hours before using. But, FWIW, Refractometers are DEFINATELY the way to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 I personally have had good luck with my hydrometer. I tested it against a properly calibrated refractometer so I knew where i stood. I did the same and thought I was good. But the hydrometer continued to shift and I was having unexplained die off. I fixed every level I could test for and they were all good. Then I bought a refractometer. My hydrometer was reading my salinity at 1.025 while the refractometer was at 1.034. Things have been better since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishiefish Posted June 12, 2008 Author Share Posted June 12, 2008 wow glad its better now I cant wait to get one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 I noticed when i used a hydrometer that the white arrow thing (i donno what its called) that points to the SG started to bend. Over the course of a few months it was to the point that it hit the side, and i know it was giving me terrible readings as a result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgreenthumb Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I vote to boycott all hydrometers!! It seems everyone who has had one has a bad story to go with it. We invest so much money in our tanks why skimp on something so important? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undrtkr_00 Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I vote to boycott all hydrometers!! It seems everyone who has had one has a bad story to go with it. We invest so much money in our tanks why skimp on something so important? I agree. Trusting my hydrometer has been my worst mistake to date. Seems like a refractometer should be standard issue with a new saltwater setup... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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