HOW DO I LOWER MY SG? HELP!

[remora420]

MY SG IS OFF THE METER HOW DO I LOWER IT? DO I ADD A COUPLE GALLONS OF DISTILLED WATER? IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN ADD TO THE TANK TO BRING IT DOWN? THANKS

 

[madhatter208]

Are you useing a hydrometer or a refractometer?
How big of a tank?
What is your SG reading atm?

Hydrometers can be off by a fair amount. Mine was reading 1.020 yet my refractor was reading a 1.025. they hydrometer has since been retired.

If you'r looking for a refractometer...

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=9957&N=2004+113761

(Deff worth the extra bucks for the refractometer)

Next would be..
Do you have any live stock in the tank?
If not then just keep adding Clean water RO/DI perfered.

If you do have live stock Make sure the water temp is the same as the tank water.

If I missed anything I'm sure others will post.

Hope this helps

 

[seaham358]

If it is high then lower it slowly, if all the critters are fine then rushing to lower it could do more harm then good. Take is slow... Over time take out SW and add fresh, do it over several days to lower it..
Post your numbers.. and like MHat says it could be your tool that you use to check SG.. Check several time with a hydrometer, a bubble in the wrong place can mess with the swing arm.

 

[lando]

Regardless of how high your SG is, it is very important to lower it slowly. While a high SG is not a good thing, most livestock will tolerate that a lot better then a rapid change in SG.

First things first...get a conformation reading. If you are using a swing arm hydrometer it may be off considerable from what your SG really is. I like the idea of using a refracto instead. We need to know the size of the tank and what your SG reading is before we can really recommend agood way to reduce it.

Next, examine whay it got so high to begin with. Are you replacing evaporated water with FW or SW? Could it be caused by a mis-calculation during a water change?

 

[tecwzrd]

Just to add beyond making sure your have an accurate reading and that you lower it slowly:

To lower your SG you remove about 1/2 to 1+ gal of salt water from your tank and replace with fresh.

i.e. if you have a 30-55 gal tank I'd remove 1 gal of SW, replace with FW and recheck your SG level. Then the next day do it again till you get your SG level down to where you want it.

If you have a 75+ gal tank you will need to remove 2+ gal of SW and replace with FW to lower it so you notice.

Point is as already mentioned is to do it slowly so your stock has time to adjust. You want to drop (or raise it) about .002 per day i.e. if your SG is 1.028 then a .002 drop moves it to 1.026

Lastly just like top off water the 1-2 gal of FW replacing the SW does not need to be brought up to the same temp as your main since the small amount will have no effect on the main tanks temp.

 

[melosu58]

Yes as stated above slowly is the key. What size tank do you have and are you adding FW to your tank for the evaporated water?