Salinity Poll

[griMReefer]

what do you try to keep your salinity at in your main tank?

 

[Tonyscoots84]

i voted for 1.025 but its between there and 1.026 at all times...

 

[DevIouS]

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8439&highlight=salinity



I'm still @ 1.025 - .026

 

[masterswimmer]

I'm still at 1.0265 (or as close as possible)

NSW = 1.0265

master

 

[alrha]

I keep it at 53 on my pinpoint salinity monitor

 

[[email protected]]

i try to stay around 1.021 - 1.023

 

[tcmike64]

I have a 300gallon FOWLR tank, I am intersted in starting a reef tank. I usually keep my salt level at 1.022. Looking at the results would you suggest I keep my salt level higher to 1.025? just wondering if this level is for reefs or for salt water tanks in general, thanks..

 

[masterswimmer]

i try to stay around 1.021 - 1.023

Bobby,
Natural sea water is 1.0265. If you're planning to stock more LPS, then I'd suggest raising your specific gravity (using a refractometer for measurement) up to at least 1.025.

Russ

 

[kimoyo]

I've been trying to decide on this also.

Does anyone know why 1.026 is optimal (obviously nature decided it to be )?

I recently lost like 9 frags and I was going crazy trying to figure out why. I realized that my salinity had gone to 1.031 but I still didn't understand that small of a raise could affect the tank so much. Then Rich explained he had some problems also because his salinity went down to 1.020.

I'm thinking I will keep it at 1.025 until I get an automatic top-off. When I do my new sump I'm going to try to minimize salt-creep as much as possible also. Right now I have pipes going all thru the sump and they get salt all over them.

 

[masterswimmer]

Paul, a jump from 1.026 to 1.031 is a considerable jump. It's quite far from a small raise. It's just about the same amount of a variance as Rich's drop to 1.020. I know I'm not telling you anything you don't know already, but stability is key. Those fluctuations are not stable.

As for why 1.0265 as the target......you said it, nature.

Q for you. Are you using a hydrometer or a refractometer? Or maybe a conductivity meter?

Russ

 

[kimoyo]

Refractometer, but I started the new job and just getting use to a new schedule made looking after the tank difficult. In addition I added salt water as a top off not thinking.

 

[Deanos]

Salinities & Temperatures

 

[kimoyo]

Salinities & Temperatures

Thanks! That was quick, I'll read thru it later.

 

[masterswimmer]

Good article Deano (once again).

A VERY brief excerp:

TEXT BY RONALD SHIMEK Ph.D. :

To keep the salinity at around the optimal reef values, at a temperature of 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius), the specific gravity should be no lower than 1.025 (35 ppt), and can range up to 1.027 (37.5 ppt). The middle value of 1.026 is a much better level from the point of view of the organisms. Keeping the temperature at a more reasonable 84 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius) would result in a lower specific gravity range because the water becomes less dense as it heats up — the range being from about 1.024 to about 1.025.

 

[kimoyo]

Thanks! That was quick, I'll read thru it later.

Thats by Dr. Ron :theyareon , I take that back.

 

[griMReefer]

Paul, a jump from 1.026 to 1.031 is a considerable jump. It's quite far from a small raise. It's just about the same amount of a variance as Rich's drop to 1.020. I know I'm not telling you anything you don't know already, but stability is key. Those fluctuations are not stable.

As for why 1.0265 as the target......you said it, nature.

Q for you. Are you using a hydrometer or a refractometer? Or maybe a conductivity meter?

Russ

is is true the saying "1.026 is 10 times saltier than 1.025" (and so on). i read that somewhere a couple places but forgot where.

 

[Deanos]

is is true the saying "1.026 is 10 times saltier than 1.025" (and so on). i read that somewhere a couple places but forgot where.

:scratch: I think you're referring to the pH scale.

 

[Deanos]

Reef Stability?

 

[masterswimmer]

Dean, I see a flaw in Shimek's theory. He tries to quantify the instability of the reef. He does that with very good evidence. I don't disagree with that. However, the stability comes on a daily basis, macro managed so to speak. If it were micro managed and the stability remained constant all day everyday then it would be the way we try to maintain our tanks.

The problem with his instability theory is that IF our tanks do vasilate in temp and SG consistently everyday the way the lagoons or atolls do, there would be no issues IMO as well as Shimek's opinion. However, the lagoons and atolls consistently change the same way. Look at the graphs. Our tanks are not consistent with their changes. It's very haphazard in the swings.

Russ

 

[kimoyo]

The problem with his instability theory is that IF our tanks do vasilate in temp and SG consistently everyday the way the lagoons or atolls do, there would be no issues IMO as well as Shimek's opinion. However, the lagoons and atolls consistently change the same way. Look at the graphs. Our tanks are not consistent with their changes. It's very haphazard in the swings.

Damn, thats hella insightful.