help with raising salinity

[cymbal67]

my tank has had water in it for 4 days. my salinity is at 1.023 and want to get it to 1.025. its a 118g corner and i am wondering if i add 2 gallons of salt water, what salinity should that be at? when i topped off today, instead of using fresh ro water (i heard when topping off add fresh ro water because the salt doesnt evaporate, the water does - only add salt water when doing water changes), i used salt water for top off to try to get salinity up...it was only about a gallon, and the salinity level on that was 1.026. after a couple of hours salinity didnt move in tank. about what salinity should i add to it to get it up. is there a formula for that based on the size tank you have? oh and i sure do like the refractometer (came in today's mail) better that the hydrometer.

 

[mcsd22]

I have no idea about the formula but if you come across a math wizz I am sure you can get an answer. Your salinity is not that low so i would just continue to add saltwater as you top off water. It will take some time until you reach .025 but it will get there. If no I would try like.040 or even 50 and will still take time at that level.

 

[trainfever]

You dont want to raise the salinity too fast. Take a glass of water from your tank or a glass of RO water and add a few tablespoons of your salt mix to it and mix it thoroughly. Then pour it into your sump or directly into your tank in an area of high water flow. Do this for a few days until the salinity is where you want it. Changing the salinity too quickly could cause the fish to go into shock. The main reason we acclimate our fish is to adjust them to the salinity in their new home.

 

[cymbal67]

cool thanks....the only fish i have in there now are 2 chromis, only because a lfs i went to (to see if they had a refractometer) said it would help my cycle if i put them in there and he just gave them to me, didnt charge me for them or the food to feed them with. and he said to get the refractometer on line, so i didnt even buy anything while i was there. they have been in there for 2 days and so far so good.

 

[cgrant]

Just about only thing that will live thru a cycle is damsels, IMO they are basically saltwater rats.
The LFS is trying to sell fish, you need to keep that in mind when purchasing anything.
Best way to cycle a tank is with LR or a raw uncooked shrimp.
When i get new fish i acclimate them for 2 hours cause no 2 tanks will be the same. PH, Alk, ca, salinity, nitrate, etc. will most likely be different than your tank at home.
If you dont alreay have a refractometer get one, hydrometers are junk, my deep six was way off when i had mine.
They already explained about bumping the salinity, do it slow so the fish dont stress.