Oh for pete's sake, guess what I just did.

[Hal1]

YESTERDAY: Hmm, evaporation in the sump. I should top off, but I don't have any RO water handy. I think I'll just direct drip the output of the RO unit into my sump for a gallon or two.

I'm tired. Time for bed. . . .

TODAY: Hmm, how are my new clownfish in the QT tank doing. Hey, is my return pump working? The water level in my sump is rather high. [best Homer Simpson impression] DOOOOOOOH!!!

Salinity is now 1.020, down from 1.025. Snails are still sticking to my glass, so that's good.

Should I be worried? Do I need to do an emergency salt addition to the water in my sump? If so, will adding the salt direct cause more harm than good?

 

[Will C1]

do it slowly try 5 gal at a time, mix it first dont directly add it as this will piss the fish off, possibly causing an ick episode. 1.020 is fine it wont really harm them just bring it up slow.

 

[Hal1]

Should I just let evaporation do it for me? That would be slow enough I would think.

 

[Will C1]

let it evaporate to the normal level then check the salinity, if its closer to normal leave it if its not do changes to make it so. you said this is a q tank so it will eventually have to match the salinity in your main tank anyway,

 

[Anonymous]

The best way to raise salinity (SLOWLY) back to 1.025 is to do water changes at the current salinity the tank is at until it reaches 1.025. sounds like it won't work, I know, but it will.

Absolutely no harm was done if the bottom only reach 1.020. The key is carefully and slowly bring it back up. Going down fast is no problem, going up fast can be fatal.

 

[Anonymous]

Snapper said:

The best way to raise salinity (SLOWLY) back to 1.025 is to do water changes at the current salinity the tank is at until it reaches 1.025. sounds like it won't work, I know, but it will.

Really? I'd like to hear the explaination of how doing WC's at "current salinity of the tank" will somehow miraculously raise the salnity to 1.025?

Louey

 

[Expos Forever]

The best way to raise salinity (SLOWLY) back to 1.025 is to do water changes at the current salinity the tank is at until it reaches 1.025. sounds like it won't work, I know, but it will.

Not sure I understand how replacing water at 1.020 with water at 1.020 will raise your salinity, no matter how much you change. I would say add more water at 1.020 (or very slightly higher) then let evaporation work it's magic until you reached your ideal salinity and water level.

 

[Expos Forever]

Ya beat me to it Louey!

 

[vpham97]

Your clown should be OK. The snail might be picky with low salinity. To speed up evaporation: point a big, powerful fan over your sump, use a Powerhead to stir surface.

If your sump can handle it, slowly pour in some salt water at a higher salinity along with the evaporation.

-Just my 2 cents.

 

[The Pirate]

Often LFS keep there holding tanks at 1.020 to 1.022. This lower salinity can kill off some parasites without harming the fish. In fact some people recommend it to remove ick and flat worms. The corals would be my concern.

To raise the salinity back up I would pump out water until I got to where I could do my normal evaporation makeup and drip in saltwater instead for however many days it took to reach 1.025. At the same time I would increase my B-ionic dose.

 

[Anonymous]

Often LFS keep there holding tanks at 1.020 to 1.022. This lower salinity can kill off some parasites without harming the fish. In fact some people recommend it to remove ick and flat worms. The corals would be my concern.

To raise the salinity back up I would pump out water until I got to where I could do my normal evaporation makeup and drip in saltwater instead for however many days it took to reach 1.025. At the same time I would increase my B-ionic dose.

a specific gravity level of .020-.022 will do absolutely nothing to affect parasites negatively

i have seen outbreaks of ich occur in stores where the s.g. was kept at .018

 

[Anonymous]

It does, however, allow for a slightly better O2 saturation, especially helpful if the sys's are running on the warmish side (80F+).

 

[aquarist=broke]

good point Seamaiden...
8)

 

[The Pirate]

Often LFS keep there holding tanks at 1.020 to 1.022. This lower salinity can kill off some parasites without harming the fish. In fact some people recommend it to remove ick and flat worms. The corals would be my concern.

To raise the salinity back up I would pump out water until I got to where I could do my normal evaporation makeup and drip in saltwater instead for however many days it took to reach 1.025. At the same time I would increase my B-ionic dose.

a specific gravity level of .020-.022 will do absolutely nothing to affect parasites negatively

i have seen outbreaks of ich occur in stores where the s.g. was kept at .018

I believe you may be right. However there also may be some weaker parasites or weaker stages in it's life cycle that lower salinity may work against just as some fish are more susceptible to ick then others. I don't know. I don't know you or that you know either. The one fact remains that this is not unhealthy for the fish. That was the point I was trying to make. If you read the original post that was his concern.

 

[Hal1]

Actually, the tank doesn't have any fish in it yet. I was concerned about my snails, shrimp, crabs. I have not added any corals, the only ones that I have are whatever hitched in on my LR.

I had forgotten about the fan. Good idea.

Thanks all for the timely responses. I think I'll let evaporation do its job.