The swing arm was waaaaay off! It was reading really really low. The refractometer is reading 1.030-not good at all. So now I am freaking out because it is way high. Swing arm was reading 1.023
no need to freak out, just Slowly bring it back down.
take out a gal of tank water in the morning and replace with rodi
and another at late afternoon within about week or so you should be at 35PPT
Don’t rush it, a lot of inverts are very sensitive to shifts in salinity
[quote=“JCoyne, post:41, topic:4082”]
The swing arm was waaaaay off! It was reading really really low. The refractometer is reading 1.030-not good at all. So now I am freaking out because it is way high. Swing arm was reading 1.023[/quote]any way to take a sample to a lfs to have them read it and compare THAT to your refracto, and the swing arm, just to get a third opinion. and yes, as hudzon says, do not freak and make sudden large shifts.
One thing to remember about this hobby -it’s VERY easy to freak out. The key is NOT TO 
Yeah I know, much easier said than done. Inverts can be very sensitive to salinity changes, but to give you an ide aof how strong they and how easily they can adjust - I frequently let my sump get too low, I have no ATO, I often “top off” by dumping 5-6 gallons of fresh RODI water in the sump at once - you can actually watch the fresh water “swirl” drift through the tank and dissipate. My animals do very well this way - but they’re used to it too.
Before I top off my salinity is probably close to 1.030 (if not higher) - after I top off it drops instantly to 1.025 - I think I can hear my lobster shout “For Christ sake man THAT HURT!!!” but everyone else just keeps on with their daily routine.
Don’t panic - as hudzon said, take a gallon of tank water out, add a gallon of RODI, do it twice a day if you want, or once a day, either way it should be right where you want it (1.025) in just a couple days and your animals will be fine.
Thanks guys! I can’t believe they sell swing arm hydrometers. Why sell something that is so innacurate when you are dealing with such sensitive creatures?!?!?! :GOLD) Well, they have been used to the high salinity for a while now because I keep it pretty consistent.
On the upside, I have noticed more growth on my corals and my kenya tree is shedding again- >LOCO<. Everyone is doing well so far.
How’s it going? make any adjustments yet? Btw, your skimmer might need some adjusting after changing the salinity, it’ll probably foam a little less at a lower salinity, no big deal, just something to check once you get the salt where you want.
You know Saltcreep, funny you should mention the skimmer. It wasn’t foaming at all so I opened the air valve all the way and now I’m getting some-not much but some-. I am thinking its time to replace it anyway. I would like to upgrade.
The salinity is now at 1.028, on the way to getting better. I am trying to take it REALLY slow. Knock on wood- everything is doing well in the tank.