How To Check Salt Content In Water

Salinity is the measurement of salts dissolved in a solution of water. Salinity is measured in percentage (%) or parts per thou (ppt) and is tested either with a electrical conductivity meter, hydrometer, or refractometer.

Salinity is an important water parameter to measure in terms of h2o quality as unlike crops, livestock, and aquatic organisms require dissimilar salinity environments to survive. Pocket-size fluctuations in salinity can pose issues such as stress, or tin can even be fatal to organisms, which has a devastating effect on surrounding ecosystems.

Different water bodies take different common salt content/salinity ranges; freshwater has a common salt value of >0.5ppt, saltwater ~34-36ppt, and brackish water is a mix of both so information technology can vary. The salinity of brackish water fluctuates depending on how much fresh or saltwater flows into the water body.

How to Examination the Salinity of H2o

Salinity tin can exist tested in three different ways:

Handheld Refractometer
Hydrometer
Conductivity meter

The most important cistron when testing the salinity of the h2o is to sympathise salinity measurements depending on the type of water you will be testing.

Handheld Refractometer

This tool looks similar a telescope and is the simplest style to mensurate the salinity of h2o accurately. They work by measuring how much low-cal bends or refracts (refractive alphabetize) when h2o is added under a plate, and are most commonly used in aquaculture industries such as aquariums.

How to use it?

Calibrate information technology first to get an accurate reading.
Open the plate to expose the prism.
Pipette the solution you wish to exam.
Add a couple of drops of the solution being tested onto the prism.
Close the plate gently.
Await through the round end of the meter to read the salinity level. You will see a scale, most likely in parts per thousand (ppt) ranging from 0 to fifty.
Record the result.
Gently wipe the prism with a cloth or tissue.

Hydrometer

This is the most inexpensive tool to test the salinity of water, whilst giving reasonably accurate measurements. Hydrometers measure the specific gravity of water that uses the Archimedes principle. They are great for measuring salinity in aquariums but cannot exist used for testing the salinity of h2o in soils.

If using a hydrometer, you must note the temperature when it was calibrated to calculate an authentic salinity reading. It is recommended to calibrate a hydrometer to sixty °F (16 °C) or 77 °F (25 °C), as these are the general standards for testing the salinity of water.

Hydrometers come in 2 types: swing-arm hydrometers and drinking glass hydrometers.

How to use them?

Accept a water sample and place it into a container ensuring the container has been cleaned with the water beingness tested to avoid any errors. You will demand plenty water so the hydrometer tin exist submerged deep plenty.
Measure the temperature of the h2o existence tested – this is needed later to calculate the salinity level.
Clean the hydrometer in freshwater.
Identify the hydrometer into the sample. Note that, glass hydrometers will float, this is normal, so never try to fully submerge glass hydrometers as this will give inaccurate readings.
If in that location are whatever air bubbles on the hydrometer, gently shake the hydrometer until they are gone as bubbling tin can affect the reading.
If using a swing-arm hydrometer, whilst keeping it level, read the measurement, this will be pointing to the specific gravity of the water sample.
If using a glass hydrometer, the measurement volition be where the surface of the h2o touches the meter – make sure you measure out the flat water surface, non the meniscus.
Convert the relative specific gravity (sg) into salinity if needed.

Electrical conductivity Meter

Conductivity meters practise not provide direct salinity readings, instead, they measure the conductivity of h2o (mS/cm: S=Siemens, an electrical electrical conductivity unit. mS=milliSiemens), which is why they are called electrical conductivity (EC) sensors. EC sensors are used to test the salinity of water as they tape the number of total dissolved solids (TDS) in water. High conductivity readings from EC sensors signal water with a high salinity, which is why they are most normally used.

EC sensors use an electric current that passes between 2 metal plates of electrodes, measuring the current that travels betwixt the two plates. Conductivity is the measurement of electrical period through the water, which is directly related to the ion (table salt) concentration of water.

Conductivity probes ordinarily come in two types, a regular conductivity probe and one for industrial industries. The great thing with EC probes is that they do not only measure salt content in h2o. Almost EC probes volition besides measure nutrients and impurities in the water, covering a wider range of industries similar hydroponics, aquaculture, and freshwater systems for instance.

How to use them?

Calibrate it first to ensure an accurate reading.
If testing salinity in the soil, mix the soil with distilled h2o (1 role soil, 5 parts water).
Remove the protective cap on the EC sensor.
Dip the EC probe in the sample to the required level – most EC probes accept a marker on them. Ensure that you lot only submerge the probe in the sample as EC sensors are not waterproof.
Motility the probe upward and downwards to remove any air bubbles.
Conform the temperature as some EC meters automatically adjust which can give you inaccurate readings. If your EC meter doesn't have this function, you can manually correct this afterward using a chart.
Read the result from the display. Most EC sensors are measured in mS/cm, so if you crave the salinity issue to exist in ppt, y'all will need to convert this.

Why is Testing the Salinity of Water Important?

It is of import to examination the salinity of water for many reasons. Salinity meters well-nigh commonly measure the salinity of water in 4 main industries:

Wastewater
Surface Water
Groundwater
Agriculture

Wastewater

In wastewater treatments, salinity must be tested to determine the common salt content of the water before it reenters the surrounding environment.

Salinity enters the wastewater organisation via agronomical, sewage, and stormwater runoff. Therefore, it is of import to measure salinity as any minor changes in levels can cause problems to plants, animals, and the environment.

Surface Water

Testing salinity is vital in surface waters and aquaculture, as different aquatic organisms have different optimal levels to survive. Organisms living in saltwater have an optimum salinity level of 40 ppt, and freshwater organisms cannot tolerate salinity levels exceeding 1 ppt.

Organisms that live inside brackish conditions must exist able to tolerate salinity changes as the inflow and outflow of h2o tin can fluctuate depending on how much fresh or saltwater enters.

Groundwater

Measuring the salinity in groundwater indicates the salt content in surface soil. By testing the salinity levels in soil, you can see how much salt will be extracted via the plant'southward roots. Testing salinity levels in the soil are usually done afterwards the irrigation season as this is when salinity is at its highest.

In addition to regular salinity testing, samples tin can be sent to a laboratory for further assay. In lab settings, samples can be screened to look at ion content, TDS levels, total hardness, carbonates, sodium absorption ratio, and sodium analysis.

Agriculture

The salinity of water is measured in the agronomical industry to bank check if the water is safety and clean for irrigation and livestock, and in industrial settings to ensure that industrial discharge is free from high levels of dissolved salts.

Testing the salinity of water is besides useful within the health and manufacturing industries to measure the water quality, and is besides paramount for bones field testing.

Salinity Values & Their Uses

Water is an extremely valuable source, covering a broad range of uses in unlike industries. Depending on the salinity value, depends on what industry the h2o is used for.

Salinity Status	Salinity Value in %	Salinity Value in ppt	Use of Water Body
Fresh	<0.05	<0.5	Drinking h2o & all irrigation
Brackish	0.i-0.two	1-2	Irrigation for some crops
Saline	0.2-one.0	2-ten	Livestock
Very Saline	1.0-iii.5	10-35	Saline groundwater & some livestock
Alkali (seawater)	>3.5	>35	Mining & industrial uses

What Are the Furnishings of Salinity?

Salinity is found in dissimilar bodies of h2o and is ever irresolute due to factors such equally runoff or inflow and outflow of fresh or saltwater.

When the salinity in water increases it can cause many ecology and economical problems, such as:

Affecting crop yields: poor wellness & growth to salt-tolerant crops.
Poor health or fifty-fifty death of plants, reducing biodiversity, and increasing salt-resistant species in an expanse.
Salt can corrode infrastructures such as bridges and roads costing money to repair and requiring regular maintenance.
Killing aquatic organisms that require low or specific salinity levels, or they will need to larn to accommodate to changes, however, not many species tin can practise this.
Additional water treatment solutions may need to exist created.

How to Adjust Salinity?

In nigh situations, salinity must remain stable. Afterward testing you may find the salinity level is too high or besides depression, therefore yous volition need to adjust it.

If the salinity level is also low, you tin merely add saltwater in small quantities until the ideal salinity level is reached. For precision, sometimes a titration method is used.

If the salinity level is as well high, you lot volition need to change the balance of the water. To reduce the salt content in water, the easiest mode is by adding freshwater, or in agricultural industries, irrigation methods are used.

Summing Upwardly Testing Water Salinity

Salinity is a vital water parameter to exam in different industries as h2o is such a useful resource. Salinity can be defined equally the number of salts dissolved in a solution of water that is measured either in percentage (%) or parts per thousand (ppt).

Earlier purchasing any testing equipment like a refractometer, hydrometer, or conductivity meter, make sure you know it volition provide you with authentic readings and that you feel comfortable using information technology.

If yous accept any questions regarding testing salinity, the conductivity probes nosotros take to offer, or any other water parameter testing kits, please experience gratuitous to reach out to our world-class team at Atlas Scientific, we are always happy to help!