Went away for a week, came back to 1.60 salinity...??

[gobytron]

The proof is in the pudding.
fish were lethargic and almost all coral gone other than some zoas and palys that look like they might come back.

A couple of LPS seem to have fared the best.

I assure you, my refractometer is regularly calibrated and this isn't the only tank in my house so I know the reading is accurate as my 14 gallon and 60 gallon tanks are still right around 1.024-1.025. I've been reefing for about 10 years, I'm well aware that you should clean your refractometer with fresh water before and after each use.

I also calibrate is every couple of months.


Guys, I'm seriously looking for suggestions here and not banter.

If you don't have suggestions beyond my own personal error please don't post here.

[sphelps]

Ok, gremlins probably went to the LFS and bought two pails of salt, then when you were away they dumped the two full pails into your tank. It's always the gremlins.

[gobytron]

Really.
Thanks very much for your help Sphelps.

Maybe someone else here might benefit from your wisdom though.

I think you've just about maxed out your usefulness on this thread.

Gremlins or measurement error indeed.

[sphelps]

you're welcome

[gobytron]

I hope a lot of newbies read this thread and think twice before asking for help on this board.

Sphelps is what you'll get.

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by gobytron

Sphelps is what you'll get.

LOL, you've been around for awhile and you're just figuring this out now?

[christyf5]

just because someone has 4200 posts doesn't mean they're an expert. I consider myself an excellent case in point as I am no expert.

Ok so you've measured 2 other tanks with the same refractometer and both of them come out normal? Yet your "problem" tank was 1.060 correct? And now you've gotten the salinity down to normal? (sorry its been a very rough morning and the caffeine hasn't kicked in yet).

I don't know what to suggest, frankly I don't think there is any way fish could live in that environment as the constant clearing of chloride from their system would overwhelm them osmotically and they'd kick off after mere days. I have no idea how corals regulate themselves but I would imagine they'd be stressed all to hell.

Definitely puzzling.

[gobytron]

Originally Posted by christyf5

just because someone has 4200 posts doesn't mean they're an expert. I consider myself an excellent case in point as I am no expert.

Ok so you've measured 2 other tanks with the same refractometer and both of them come out normal? Yet your "problem" tank was 1.060 correct? And now you've gotten the salinity down to normal? (sorry its been a very rough morning and the caffeine hasn't kicked in yet).

I don't know what to suggest, frankly I don't think there is any way fish could live in that environment as the constant clearing of chloride from their system would overwhelm them osmotically and they'd kick off after mere days. I have no idea how corals regulate themselves but I would imagine they'd be stressed all to hell.

Definitely puzzling.

An expert on being a prick maybe.

[Aquattro]

Clearly we can't have a mature conversation about this, so everyone needs a break.
sphelps, next time you post as a condescending *****, you'll be leaving us.

[Myka]

Originally Posted by gobytron

The proof is in the pudding.
fish were lethargic and almost all coral gone other than some zoas and palys that look like they might come back.

If you don't have suggestions beyond my own personal error please don't post here.

There is no reason to start getting rude. Your story doesn't make sense, so either there is a hole in the story or there is user error. That error could be with handling the refractometer or it could be something like adding SW instead of FW. It makes perfect sense that someone would say user error, and you would say the same thing. I have about 20 years of reefing experience and I still make stupid mistakes...it happens.

You didn't say the corals were lost. You said "my coral are affected" which really makes it sound that simply the corals are irritated.

When was the last time you checked the specific gravity of the tank and had it within normal range? If you checked just before you left, and you came back after a week to 1.060 then someone added A LOT of salt to your tank. Evaporation would not account for that amount of salt in the system even under extreme circumstances - maybe if you had a flat dish of water with a fan blowing on it. If you are sure no one added salt directly to the tank then I think your refractometer is not reading the high SG correctly, and it was probably more like 1.035-1.040 to begin with. Given the right conditions I could see SG getting that high with no FW top off, but not under normal conditions. How much FW did it take to lower the SG?