Everything almost dead.HELP!!!

3 days ago i did a 20% water change.I added my water and salt and when i went to went to grab the hydrometer to see what my levels were at it was gone.No where to be found and it was late so no stores were open.So for about 18 hours my tank started dwendeling so i knew something was way off.When i got home the nest day i adjusted the salt.(was not enough) Now my corals showed some change but not much.Fish are fine but is there anything i can do to save my coral.

 

How are you adding the salt to your new water? Are you just dumping it in the tank? And how did you add more salt the next day. Probably is a salinity problem, adding salt directly to a tank can raise/lower your levels very quickly.

 

So you did a water change and that threw the sg. off?

You should never mix the salt and water in the tank. Always pre-mix and check the specific gravity before adding to the main system.

 

Let's start from the beginning...

I get the impression you are doing your water changes by adding pure water and salt directly to the tank, and allowing it just it mix in? This is bad on multiple fronts, and will surely cause you many problems. New salt water should be mixed continuously, with a pump, in a separate container for at least 12 hours (preferably 24 hours) prior to performing a water change. You should be testing this water BEFORE you add it to the tank, to ensure it's salinity and parameters are consistent with what you desire.

How do you know your salinity was low? Did you check it the next day? Please list the full run of parameters of where your water is currently at (salinity, temp, pH, Ca, Mg, Alk, nitrate, phosphate, etc).

Assuming all your parameter are now in check, there's not much you can do but give things time. Running some GAC wouldn't hurt.

 

+1 120%

Never EVER dump dry salt mix into your tank. It is caustic before fully mixed and can cause serious injury or death to your livestock.

 

I added the water and then diluted the salt in a smaller container and then added it as needed.I didnt directly add dry salt just added a concentrated amount a little at a time.which normally i am pretty good with getting it right hydrometer always reads 1.025 or 1.026 but when i didnt have it i guess i panicked and didnt ad enough.When i got to checking it yesterday it was at 1.018 and had i assume been that way for 18 hours so over the next 3 hours i added concentrated salt water to

 

what is GAC

 

Granulated Active Carbon.

Tip: if you pass your cursor over acronyms and abbreviations most will pop up an explanation. Cool little add on the Kingfish added to the site.

 

That's not much better as your salinity is still swinging wildly until you get the right amount into the tank, which is not good for the long-term health of your inhabitants. Your makeup water needs to be thoroughly mixed and adjusted to the proper SG before adding it.

GAC=Granular Activated Carbon.