invert salinity question

[sentencedme]

Hello,

I did a 25% water change today not realizing that I did not have enought salt to bring the salinity back to 1.023. After the water change, the salinity is only at 1.020. I am sure that all the fish are happy, however ALL of the stores are now closed around here. I will not be able to add more salt for another 12 hours (have to buy some then add on my lunch break). Will my shrimp and crabs die?? It is only 12 hours being at 1.020.....but please any input is welcome.

Thanks!!

 

[shuguley]

If the drop in salinity was very fast, then your inverts could be in trouble, if the drop occurred gradually over an hour or two, they will probably be ok. But I think I read somewhere that marine life can withstand rapid drops in salinity better than they can stand rapid rises in salinity. But either way, I think the damage is done, so you may just have to cross your fingers and hope for the best.

But I would suggest, when you bring your salinity back up, do it slowly over a couple days, bring it up .001 per day until you get back to where you want. You will also find that most people here keep their salinity at 1.026, so you may want to consider bringing iit up to that over the course of a week.

Also, do not just dump salt into your aquarium, you should raise your salt by doing water chnages or topping off with premixed salt water. if you just dump salt into an aqaurium with fish/inverts in it, you could do them a lot of harm. Most people mix, aerate, and heat saltwater for 12-24 hours before adding it to their aquarium.