[ianizaguirre]

ever since i got my new light fixture 2 days ago .... i have been noticeing now that my water is evaporating alot more then before so my question is do i just add normal FRESHWATER into my saltwater tank .. would this change the saltnity levels ????? like what if theres a situation were theres alot evaporated and i add about 3 gallons of freshwater would the salnity levels change ???

[Hosser]

Speaking from the only experience I have, (which isnt much) a friend loses about 5-7 gallons a week, his top off water IS non mixed RO water.....however of the 7 gallons lost he uses 5 mixed and his salinity stays they same. The salt doesnt technically evaporate with the water, that said though you will more than likely need to keep up on it till you find a system for your paticular circumstance. It took us a few weeks to get his set right when losing that much water. IMH and unexperienced opinion.

[unclejed]

You should be o.k. if you are doing water changes every 3-4 weeks. By adding fresh water over that period you won't dilute the salt content. Contrary to belief of some, you can over time dilute the salt in your tank. Before I got a refractometer my salt got to .030 sg. from a faulty hydrometer. I removed about 2 gal. every other day and replaced with fresh for a total of 4-5 times. The salt came down to .025 sg. So, yes, you can dilute the salt content.

[Hosser]

Thanks Leon for making that more clear I should have made it more clear that even though salt doesnt evaporate the salinity will fluctuate.

[jimw369]

Originally Posted by unclejed

You should be o.k. if you are doing water changes every 3-4 weeks. By adding fresh water over that period you won't dilute the salt content. Contrary to belief of some, you can over time dilute the salt in your tank. Before I got a refractometer my salt got to .030 sg. from a faulty hydrometer. I removed about 2 gal. every other day and replaced with fresh for a total of 4-5 times. The salt came down to .025 sg. So, yes, you can dilute the salt content.

Im unclear here. ( happens often as I get older)

Replacing evaporated saltwater with fresh water does not change any chemical properties nor does it change salinity.

If you remove saltwater and replace it with freshwater as unclejed suggests then yes you can "dilute" or lower salinity.

[jimw369]

I was thinking I should also add...If you keep letting water evaporate and do NOT replace it with freshwater your salinity will rise.

[WILLIAM1]

Ya never top off your tank with saltwater its a no no. +1 Jim

[ianizaguirre]

yea ok ill get a new jug of freshwater for top off

[WILLIAM1]

When the water in the tank evaporates the salt stays in the tank so if you keep adding salt water your sal will keep rising. So all you need to do is top off with RO water. if you take a gallon of water out of the tank and add fresh RO water the sal will drop...

[pogodzib]

Make that Jim +2.

Replace evaporated water with pure RO/DI water to keep your salinity constant. Remove saltwater from the tank and replace it with RO/DI water to lower your salinity, and not replacing your evaporated water will increase your salinity if too much evaporates without replacing it with RO water.

[ianizaguirre]

yea got you thanks

[REEFMASTER]

Originally Posted by WILLIAM1

When the water in the tank evaporates the salt stays in the tank so if you keep adding salt water your sal will keep rising. So all you need to do is top off with RO water. if you take a gallon of water out of the tank and add fresh RO water the sal will drop...

I stand by this one. I have always just topped off with RO water. I go thru about 6-8 gallons a week,(depends on how hot it gets), but then I change water every week

[Jason L]

water evaporates salt does not.. Just add RO water.. Not reg water you will screw up your tank..

[ianizaguirre]

why not regular

[pyromaniac398]

What I'm assuming Jason meant by "regular" is conditioned tap water. The reason you don't want to add this is the tap water might have thing dissolved in the water, such as excess nitrates, phosphates, etc. This, of course, would lead to those things getting into your tank. What you want is some RO/DI water. If you don't have an RO filter you can get them for some pretty decent prices (they range from 100). You can always just grab a bottle of Distilled water from walmart or other local store if you wish. Doing this however will cost you more money over time then just getting the RO/Di filter

[ianizaguirre]

ok got it thanks

[Jason L]

yes that is what I ment...I know what i do is buy gal of ro from publix put in some mag and and a half a capful of prime and pour in

[Wizarwar]

Hello all, I have a 90gal with a 20gal sump. I RO about 25 gallons of water a week for my WC. The change is 20 gals and I reserve 5 gals in a 5 gal bucket with a snap tight lid. I top off with this water. My question is simple, since I got the tank, i've added glass tops...I still lose about 5 gals a week to evaporation. Is all that escaping from the sump? there is never condensation or such under the tank...I find this to be pretty incredible. Mike.