High Salinity

Question
It made me ask a new question. I am not sure what was going
on, because when my husband checked it about 2 hours later
it was the needle was laying right above 1.026.  I took out
about 2 1/4 gallons and put in the same, it dropped it to a
needle below 1.026. I was thinking of doing the same today,
does that sound like a good idea, since it is dropping it
slowly but it is dropping. I thought this would be gradual
and should not shock their systems. I buy my water premix,
I think I may have to change my source. When I cleaned the
tank on Wednesday, I also think I may have accidentally
dropped of the salt in that i was cleaning from the back of
the light and the rim of the tank. I thought it was falling
on the cover and it must now have. That could also explain
why it went up. I see that I will need to be more careful
in the future, if that is what happened. I am definitely
going to try changing sources for a while. They do not have
the facilities or the need to keep large amounts premixed
so they do it when you buy it, I am questioning that the
salinity they are measuring is correct since it is possible
that not all the salt is dissolved when they are measuring
it, but it ends up in my tank. When I first started buying
there the salinity was a little low, now it may have gone
the other way. Anyway, does my idea of doing a couple a day
sound like it would work effectively and safely.

Answer
Hi Debbie. It sounds like a good plan. Newly mixed saltwater needs to sit for at least 1/2-1 hour before being tested for salinity. Salinity will also change with temperature and if the water is too warm or too cold this would cause the salinity to be slightly off as well. If the place you are buying from is mixing it up on the spot and sending you on your way and you are not retesting the salinity before you add it to your tank this may be the cause of all your trouble. Try a different source for a while or try just buying the RO or distilled water and mixing it your self. This would be the most accurate way to get your salinity where you want it since you would be the one doing all the mixing and you wouldn't be able to rely on what someone else is telling you. Some stores that sell premixed saltwater will also use a very cheap brand of salt mix in order to get the best profit. Some of the lower quality salt mixes will support your fish but have some nitrate and phosphate in small traces. There are only a few brands of sea salt that come highly recommended. Good that you are lowering the salinity gradually and it sounds like you are on your way to fixing this water problem. Just a note; knocking the salt creep off of your tank and letting it fall back into your tank will not raise your salinity. The water is where the salt came from in the first place. When the saltwater dries up and all the moisture has been evaporated the salt is what is left behind. Since it already was in your tank, it won't hurt if it falls back in.