new tank qs

Question
i have a 14 gal. saltwater aquarium with 1 clown fish. the fish has only been in the aquarium for 3 days. i tested the salinity with a hydrometer and it read 1.026. how do i get it down to the desired level approx. 1.022. the pH is fine at 8.2. also with one fish how often should i change the water. should i change the whole tank or just part of it. also should i remove the fish during changes. and one more q's do i add salt directly with fish in tank? thx for your help it's my first aquarium.

Answer
Hi Jason. First of all your salinity is not that bad. It is about the same salinity as natural seawater. The best way to bring it down if you want to is to simply take out about a half a gallon of saltwater from your tank and replace it with some fresh. Give it about 20 minutes to circulate and retest. Keep doing this until you have your salinity in the correct range. You should be doing partial water changes on your tank every two weeks. Change about 25% of the water each time you do your partials. Get yourself a five gallon bucket and start filling it up using a one gallon container. Mark off the gallons as you go along so you will always know how much water is in the bucket. When you do your first partial start siphoning the water out of your tank from the bottom working over the entire area as you go along. Leave the fish in the tank. It is way too hard and too stressful on the fish to remove them from the tank. Siphon out around 3-4 gallons of water using the marks you have made on the bucket earlier. Empty out the old water and refill the bucket to the same mark with your fresh make up water. Mix your salt at the rate of about 1/2 cup of salt per gallon of water. Stir it up a little and give it at least 15 minutes to dissolve. Test the salinity. If it is low, add a bit more salt. If it is high add some more fresh water. Do this until you get the desired salinity then slowly put it into your tank.