A storage subsystem monitors one or more conditions related to the probability of a data error occurring. Based on the monitored condition or conditions, the storage subsystem adjusts an error correction setting, and thus the quantity of ECC data used to protect data received from a host system. To enable blocks of data to be properly checked when read from memory, the storage subsystem stores ECC metadata indicating the particular error correction setting used to store particular blocks of data. The storage subsystem may be in the form of a solid-state non-volatile memory card or drive that attaches to the host system.