Water Top Off

[blazzent]

I have a 55g mini-reef that I just started and have a question about water top offs. I under stand that you are supposed to use fresh water and not salt water because the salt doesnt evaporate with the water. Would this give you a high salinity reading? If your salinity reading is normal and you add salt water to top off, will your salinity reading be ok?

 

[SkiFletch]

How much water are we talking here? A half a gallon, or a gallon of freshwater added to a system wont change your salinity much at all. 5 gallons is a different story, but something tells me your evaporation rate isnt that high . Salinity USUALLY creeps down over time as salt is expelled from the tank in salt creep and removed during the skimming process. In which case it may be necessary to add some saltwater for topoff. You'll get a feel for that as you work with your tank though

 

[blazzent]

How much water are we talking here? A half a gallon, or a gallon of freshwater added to a system wont change your salinity much at all. 5 gallons is a different story, but something tells me your evaporation rate isnt that high . Salinity USUALLY creeps down over time as salt is expelled from the tank in salt creep and removed during the skimming process. In which case it may be necessary to add some saltwater for topoff. You'll get a feel for that as you work with your tank though

Thanks for the help SkiFletch