My salt water fish tank hydrometer is at a 1.018 do I need to add salt or remove salt?

Question

I'm not sure how to get my saltwater to the right level. The hydrometer needs to go up. How do I get the salt water right?

Answer 1

Easy answer is add salt to increase salinity but there are a ton of more variables to consider.

What type of tank is it?

If fish only or fish with live rock then an SG (salinity) between 1.018 - 1.020 is fine (most stores keep it at this level). If it's a reef tank then you want it closer to 1.025 SG.

What do you use to measure salinity and have you calibrated the device?

Swing arm and floating hydrometers are known to not be as accurate as a refractometer for example so calibrating the device in distilled water to measure it correctly and adjusting for temperature is equally important.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-07/rhf/index.php
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=9957

Lastly it's very important to properly mix your SW for 24+ hours with a power head/heater to have it match the main tanks ph/sg/temp before adding since salt is caustic to fish/inverts/coral if not properly mixed and could cause adverse effects or possibly death.

Answer 2

Salt Hydrometer

Answer 3

Your salt in your tank should be between 1.021-1.025. To get the salt to this level, ALWAYS PREMIX SALT IN A BUCKET AND NOT DIRECTLY IN YOUR TANK! Continue to add salt to the bucket of water until you reach your desired salt level. Tap the hydometer on the counter once you have the water in it. This will knock and bubbles off the dial that can give you a false reading! Always let the water sit at least 1/2 hour to make sure the reading is right. If the salt was not mixed well enough or didn't dissolve fast enough this will give the wrong reading! Let it sit then retest the saltinity using your hydrmeter, before adding to your tank.......You do each bucket the same reading. If you need to do two buckes and your first bucket is at 1.025, then the second bucket should also be 1.025. This will make your tanks salinity at 1.025. It is trial and error. Add the salt slowly, mixing well, testing after each scoop to get it where you want it. It it is to high say 1.027 add fresh water, a little at a time till you get it to 1.025. Let it sit a half an hour and retest making sure it is still at 1.025. If you tank is at 1.018 you have to increase your salt level slowly. Each time you do water changes bring the level up slowly. Net time you do a water change make the salinity 1.020, the following time 1.022, third time at the water change 1.024 until you hit the 1.025 at the final water change. You can not do a drastic water change at once as this will stress your fish and kill them. Once you get to 1.025 stay there. don't go back and forth. Alway use stress coat to dechlorate the water before adding it to your tank!DO NOT GO FROM 1.018 to 1.025 in one change. Do it slowly each time you do your water changes. Hope this helps! Good luck Julie

Answer 4

Depends what you're keeping. If you have fish only, then 1.018 is adequate, although you may want to increase it to about 1.020 - 1.022. If you are keeping invertebrates, you will need more, because natural seawater has a salinity of 1.024-1.026 and Inverts need this level.