[cajuninfl]

Checking my salt levels today found a level of 1.030
Checked it with a hydrometer as I have for 2 years now
Purchased a new one and still have the same reading
My last water changed i used IO salt that was solid rock due to me not closing the lid tight
Could that have caused the spike and how do I fix it
All fish OK for now
No sighs of stress yet

[unclejed]

I had the same issue and it was from the hydrometer. Even if it is new, you should take to a lfs and have it calibrated. I opted for the Refractometer, pin point accuracy at a price ($50.00) but to me it's worth it. Change about 3 gal. a day with fresh water and you should be good after about 4 days I think it took, I have a 55 gal. also. Make sure the hydro is accurate first though.

[cajuninfl]

I will have the hydo checked, and look for a refractometer, they are running around $100
here in the panhandel of Fl.
Do you think I should get a new pan of salt or is it still OK to use

[czarkasm]

You can get one for about $50 from here Saltwater Aquarium Salinity & Specific Gravity Testing: Portable Refractometer
also, search google for a $5.00 off coupon code and you'll save even more. Geesh, I kinda sound like a commercial

[unclejed]

What do you mean a new "pan" of salt?

[cajuninfl]

Thanks, will check it out and let you know what I find

[cajuninfl]

I wanted to type a new "pail of salt"
Cool, I can type in cajun also

[unclejed]

You could use the old salt.

[cajuninfl]

I did 2 three gal water changes and I am back down to 1.025 do you thing that I should drop it more

[unclejed]

>025 is good for corals and such. ..020-.023 is good for fish only. I'm glad everything is in controll.

[cajuninfl]

At this time I do not have any corals but may want some at a later date. DO you think I should just leave things as is
Ps
Lost all fish and inverts only have LR left so if you can think of any changes I need to do now may be the time to do so

I thank you for all the info you have given me thus far

Merci Mon Ami
(Thank you my freind)
Ray

[unclejed]

Well, in your first post you say all fish are o.k., now you say you lost them all? If they died since your first post, it was probably a result of the high salt although it must have jumped quickly. Since you plan on corals down the line, I would raise the SG to .025 now. Remember, a lot of lfs keep their fish tanks at .019 or .021 so when you buy anything (fish, inverts etc.) you must acclimate them slowly and over a longer period of time. I would suggest adding 10 ml. at a time every 15 min. for 1 1/2 hours. As the (floating) bag gets more full (after first 45 min.) pour out or siphon out 1/3 of the bag water. This will insure that at the end of the acclimation the entire bag will be your tank water or close to all your tank water. I personally use that method and never have a problem. Also, I would suggest trying to acclimate crabs and snails first to see how they respond. Snails are a good test as they, like crabs, are sensitive to the salinity.

[cajuninfl]

Will do as you instructed in last e-mail and let you know how things go on this end.
First I will bring up the salt level
Will or did the salt malfunction harm the LR

[nunch]

Probably not. Most people keep the salinity high when curing LR to kill off any unwanted hitch-hikers.

[nunch]

As the (floating) bag gets more full (after first 45 min.) pour out or siphon out 1/3 of the bag water.

DO NOT pour the LFS water into your tank! You might get lucky for a while but eventually you'll be
sorry. parasites and such...

[unclejed]

Yes, I thought it was understood to siphon or pour the water in the sink or bucket, not in the tank. I take painstaking efforts to try to explain things in detail to avoid problems because you never know the experience level of others. I should have perhaps pointed that out. Thanks for getting my back nunch!

[nunch]

Thanks for getting my back nunch!

No Problem