Specific gravity question

[jbeanz]

Hi everyone, I filled my tank for the first time saturday afternoon 90gfowlr using instant ocean I used the salt according to the instructions on the bucket, so i used 45 cups I waited until the salt was fully dissolved and tested i got a reading betwwen 1.024 and 1.025, today i tested and it was 1.026 what can I do to get it to a more desireable level.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Add RODI water slowly to dilute and compensate for evaporation. An auto topoff would be advisable for a tank that size to avoid salinity swings.

 

[OctaviousMonk]

I second the auto top off recomendation, it is a very wise investment and there are many options on how to go about it. You can buy a system, or build one like with parts from http://www.autotopoff.com

 

[ZANYMASTER]

What if you don't have the room like me?I live in a apartment,my wife would kill me if she saw a big ass tub of water in that room.I do it manually.I have a 90 too.

 

[jbeanz]

Yup same here I live in an apartment as well auto top off is really not an option for me

 

[JBNY]

If you have room under the tank you should be able to fit a 5 gallon container to use for topoff. I used to do that with my 180g tank before I moved the setup.

As far as getting the SG lower, next few times you do a water change just mix the sg around .020 and you should be all set in a few water changes. 1.026 is not going to cause any problems.

 

[Lenny718]

What if you don't have the room like me?I live in a apartment,my wife would kill me if she saw a big ass tub of water in that room.I do it manually.I have a 90 too.

Same problem. I have a 95 and no room for "auto top off" so I do mine the old fashion way.:banghead:

 

[timdmb]

how much salt should u be adding per gallon for a new tank

 

[juiceguy]

if u can swing it, put a 5 or 10g tank in your stand, they don't take up much room

 

[JBNY]

how much salt should u be adding per gallon for a new tank

That depends on the salt, I usually add about 1 cup for every 2-3 gallons. But again it depends on the salt mix. I try to mix to 1.025

 

[meschaefer]

For what it is worth, I intentionally keep my SG at 1.026.

I also second the auto top off. All you need is a small 5 gallon glass AGA tank, it is very compact and holds enough water to last a few days. I did this on my 65gallon, I had it next to my sump. With a 90 gallon tank, you should have room under your tank. If you don't I have seen people build a small shelf over the sump to hold the fresh water resivoir. (For my current tank I use a 35 gallon tub )

 

[Eznet2u]

You could use one of these...

It is for wrapping paper storage. I almost used one, but went a little more industrial. 15g barrel.
You could paint it with some Krylon to make the it more appealing to the wife...:hug:

'cuz when Momma's happy...