this is just hard for me to understand..

[jonathon0883]

ok so i have been keeping my tanks going for over 6 months now...and i have a 10 gal that i do weekly water changes to and now a 29 gal that i change about a gallon a week. I understand that as the water evaporates that most of the salt stays in the tank thus increasing the salinity as the water level decreases. but for some reason i guess i dont understand how some of that salt doesnt disappear (salt creep mostly) and with tanks that are small like mine, how just topping off will keep my levels stable. On the 10 gal i am going to continue to do weekly water changes but on the 29 gal would it be better if i just topped off when needed and changed a couple gals every few weeks? sorry if this sounds dumb but it just bothered me thinking that i was doing something wrong

 

[steven the fish]

The salt will not evaporate, by toping it off its kinda like diluting the salt a bit, is that what you were looking for?

 

[reefnut]

If you’re concerned just monitor it closely to see if it starts dropping. I have found that salt creeps do not make a noticeable difference... even in the 6g. Unless you have some serious salt creeps happening you shouldn't have to worry about it.

 

[marvida]

I've often wondered about the amount of salt lost due to skimming. I have yet to find a volunteer to taste the skimmer gunk to see if it is in fact salty. Just have to monitor SG & make adjustments.

 

[marvida]

I'm not even going to ask.......

 

[nm reef]

LOL....not that anybody has actually ever tasted the skim gunk!
...but I'd also think it was a bit on the salty side. So yup...you'd see a decrease in SG from the skimmer...also from salt creep...but the loss would be fairly minimal. Doing regular water changes will definitely help to keep levels stable. On a small system the SG would fluctuate more but if the SG was monitored daily and small water changes were made on a regular basis then there should be no problems. If the display SG decreases simply adjust it via water changes.The more water volume the smaller the fluctuations and the less adjustment needed.
But the loss via a skimmer is very small and if saltcreep is kept to a minimum then there should be very little change in specific gravity.

 

[lopeyc]

... to crumble your salt creep back in to the tank.
That's because, salt creep is not a balanced version of the salt in the tank, so its subtle tendency is to unbalance the chemistry of the salt you have. This, allegedly, can be a bigger deal than a slow, steady drop in your specific gravity/salinity.

 

[krishj39]

I've heard the arguments for and against putting the salt creep back into the tank. I put the little I get back in, mostly because I'm too lazy to put it anywhere else. However, I just wanted to make the point that if you do add the salt creep back to your tank, don't add it to your show tank if you have corals. Make you you add it to your sump, or dilute it with water before adding it back in. Just like the normal salt you add, creep will burn your corals if it touches them.
jonathon, as best I understand your question, I think NMreef gave you a good answer to it.

 

[squidd]

Hey, Just for grins i "tested" the salinity of the skimmate in the cup...
It came out exactly the same as the tank.
(I know, I got WAAAY Too Much Time on my hands... )

 

[waterdog]

Be careful that you regularly check your chemistry levels. I forgot about that with my first tank and when i tested my calcium it was below 200!! My salinity was ok, but that is the only thing that was acceptable. Check your levels often!!!!!!!!!! Especially in a small tank!