Raising and lowering salinity to fast?

naka · 03/09/2007, 02:16 PM

I did something stupid yesterday by leaving my wc valve open while filling it w/ RO water. When I got home this morning my salinity dropped to 1.017!!! I panicked and raised it back to 1.024, but raised it in 3 hours. Has anyone done something like this before? I'm concerned about my corals, but all the polyps were extended when I left earlier. I guess this is what happens when my mind is somewhere else.

Thanks,

JB NY · 03/09/2007, 03:14 PM

I've alway thought it would be bad to raise the SG too quickly. But then I think that many corals, in the wild, are exposed to the air during low tide and I'm sure sometimes it's raining and they probably don't die, so your probably ok.

invincible569 · 03/09/2007, 03:37 PM

naka, I have done this about 4 times with my old 100g and it was full of SPS. i thought i was going to kill some corals, but nothing never happened. Think of it this way... its like you buy a coral from a store which is 1.023.. then you take it home and acclimate to 1.026. The coral survives. You may be ok. Just bring it back to your nomal salinity levels.

t0mmy108 · 03/11/2007, 12:35 AM

don't you guys remember? I did the exact same thing and wiped out most of my corals from going back up too fast. Mine dropped over the course of a weekend from leaving a RO line on to top off and nothing had died until I brought it back up over a couple hours. You haven't replied in a couple days. What happened?

BTW: I forgive you. CONGRATS on your new BABY!! You never told me boy or girl. Name?

naka · 03/11/2007, 01:01 AM

Thanks Tom, everything is fine now. All the corals/fish are doing great. I panicked and raised the salinity really fast, and got lucky.

Here's my son Noah.

invincible569 · 03/11/2007, 07:39 AM

By the way.. get a Kent float valve and have it auto shut off into a separate reservoir. Then like mine, just have the auto leveler fill it up when it drops. I never had any problems since.

asm481 · 03/11/2007, 09:38 AM

I too overdosed my tank with RO/DI and in a panic raised it quickly. I actually think the quick raise was better as the tank had not adjusted to a lower SG yet. If it was low SG for a few days I would assume slow increase better. Think of a hurricane over a reef. Lots of fresh water that locally must decrease the SG for a short bit.

03/09/2007, 02:16 PM	#1
naka Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 1,544	Raising and lowering salinity to fast? I did something stupid yesterday by leaving my wc valve open while filling it w/ RO water. When I got home this morning my salinity dropped to 1.017!!! I panicked and raised it back to 1.024, but raised it in 3 hours. Has anyone done something like this before? I'm concerned about my corals, but all the polyps were extended when I left earlier. I guess this is what happens when my mind is somewhere else. Thanks,

03/09/2007, 03:14 PM	#2
JB NY Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 9,207	I've alway thought it would be bad to raise the SG too quickly. But then I think that many corals, in the wild, are exposed to the air during low tide and I'm sure sometimes it's raining and they probably don't die, so your probably ok. __________________ -Joe TOTM Sept 2002 \| Reefland April 2004 \| CORAL Magazine Nov 2007 Featured Tank "Coral Reef Aquarium" 2011 \| Reef Spotlight 2018 Current Tank Info: 270G SPS Tank, 140G sumps, 35G Frag Tank, Ultra Reef Akula UKS-200 Skimmer, Apex, Giesemann Spectra 3x250W MH 4x80W T5, 2xReefbrite Tech 72" Blue LED, Triton Dosing, ARID C30 Algae Reactor, Maxspect Gyre

03/11/2007, 12:35 AM	#4
t0mmy108 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 694	don't you guys remember? I did the exact same thing and wiped out most of my corals from going back up too fast. Mine dropped over the course of a weekend from leaving a RO line on to top off and nothing had died until I brought it back up over a couple hours. You haven't replied in a couple days. What happened? BTW: I forgive you. CONGRATS on your new BABY!! You never told me boy or girl. Name? __________________ Tom Current Tank Info: 180 AGA SPS Reef . Deltec APF600 skimmer & Aqualogic 1/3hp chiller, 5X250watt Phoenix 14k, controlled by an Aquacontroller II. PM Dual chamber calcium reactor.

03/09/2007, 03:37 PM	#3
invincible569 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 5,715	naka, I have done this about 4 times with my old 100g and it was full of SPS. i thought i was going to kill some corals, but nothing never happened. Think of it this way... its like you buy a coral from a store which is 1.023.. then you take it home and acclimate to 1.026. The coral survives. You may be ok. Just bring it back to your nomal salinity levels.

03/11/2007, 01:01 AM	#5
naka Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 1,544	Thanks Tom, everything is fine now. All the corals/fish are doing great. I panicked and raised the salinity really fast, and got lucky. Here's my son Noah.

03/11/2007, 07:39 AM	#6
invincible569 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 5,715	By the way.. get a Kent float valve and have it auto shut off into a separate reservoir. Then like mine, just have the auto leveler fill it up when it drops. I never had any problems since.

03/11/2007, 09:38 AM	#7
asm481 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Kenosha Wisconsin Posts: 593	I too overdosed my tank with RO/DI and in a panic raised it quickly. I actually think the quick raise was better as the tank had not adjusted to a lower SG yet. If it was low SG for a few days I would assume slow increase better. Think of a hurricane over a reef. Lots of fresh water that locally must decrease the SG for a short bit.