Ok, my saltwater tank finished cycling a few days ago and I added fish, earlier today I checked the sp gravity and it was at 1.030! I freaked out and did a water change and got it back down to 1.023. Will this hurt my fish if it is too high? This is my first SW tank, and I'm taking all my precautions. I checked the sp gravity the day I put my fish in, and it was OK, but I added the salt 3 weeks ago, I dont know how it shot up so high.....
Salinity too high....
- Thread starter fishRmylife
- Start date
Sudden changes are very dangerous - this sort of change shiuld have taken a few hours at least. 30 is so high - how often are you checking it ? With a small tank (20 or below) you should check every day really. Are you using salt or freshwater for top offs due to evaporation? The water evaporates leaving the salt behind, and thus you should use fresh, preferably RO or distilled.
Try to change a little less water each week rather than a huge amount in one go.. This also has less of an impact on the tank.
As said above, you need to replace evaporated water with freshwater as the salt stay in the tank.. You also need to check the SG every day for a week after you put in a new fish, it is a good idea to check everything each day IMO.
The SG is not great at that amount, but rapid fluctuations in tank conditions hurt them more...
Best of luck.
As said above, you need to replace evaporated water with freshwater as the salt stay in the tank.. You also need to check the SG every day for a week after you put in a new fish, it is a good idea to check everything each day IMO.
The SG is not great at that amount, but rapid fluctuations in tank conditions hurt them more...
Best of luck.
A common mistake, believe it or not, is to add salt in the thought that water evaportates and takes the salt with it. What i do to keep the water and salinity at the same level all the time is to make a little mark on my tank so i know where to fill the water up to keep my salinity at or near 1.023-1.025, and when the water line drops below the mark, i add some more water to make it the right salinity. This might help you if you have a small tank (less then 50 gallons). I have a 20g, and it's working out to be a great way to keep the levels the same.
oh, and also, it helps to have a very tight fitting hood so as the water cannot evaportate as quickly, messing up your salinity.
oh, and also, it helps to have a very tight fitting hood so as the water cannot evaportate as quickly, messing up your salinity.
Due the common Ick infestation of most common pet stores, they actually keep their specific gravity at ridiculous levels. If you are planning on buying a fish from somehwere, first test your specific grravity, then test the specific gravity of the tanks at the pet shop. Pet stores keep such low specific gravity because Ick is intollerant to low salt levels. If the store you are buying from has a low specific gravity (the Petco near me keeps 1.016,) try to slowly lower your own to specific gravity by no mroe than .004 points to accomidate the new fish and avoid high risk of salinity shock. Once this is done, you can slowly raise your own salinity back to normal. I learned about PetCo's salinity the hard was when I lost a new coral banded shrimp durring the first night. My specific gravity was at 1.025 (almost a .010 point difference!) Also take extrta care in adjusting the fish to the new water conditions.