What is the correct salinty level?

[d88p]

Greetings to all.

I am just wondering what is the correct salinity that a tank should be? I have got 2 setups.... a 2ft and a 3ft tank

2ft tank: salinty reading at 1.028

Rocks, damsels, maroon clown, prawn, crab, hermit crab, star fish

3ft tank: salinty reading at 1.026

Rocks, corals, clowns, tangs, doctor fish, foxface, crab, prawn, slug, goby, star fish, wrasse etc

[Qxnviolet]

hrm, not really too sure about the "correct" salinity level but i think 1.028 is abit on the high side already, might wan to lower is abit....a good range would be somewhere in between 1.021 and 1.024

[arcanehacker]

actually it really depends.

Most will go for 1.021. Some experienced reefers go for 1.030. .. I for one will got for a 1.025+.

All it needs is the proper acclimatizing of new additions.

[d88p]

hrm, not really too sure about the "correct" salinity level but i think 1.028 is abit on the high side already, might wan to lower is abit....a good range would be somewhere in between 1.021 and 1.024

thats what i thought so too

[d88p]

actually it really depends.

Most will go for 1.021. Some experienced reefers go for 1.030. .. I for one will got for a 1.025+.

All it needs is the proper acclimatizing of new additions.

so i guess its in the safe regions

[arcanehacker]

so i guess its in the safe regions

yes.. and proper aclimatization esp if yours is on the higher side.

not to forget, different LSs come from different parts of the sea with different salinity levels.

[d88p]

can it also be that i got too much live rocks in the tanks?

[Qxnviolet]

Erm, i don't think having LRs will affect your salinity level....

[totoro17]

what happen if it is below the correct range? what will happen if not enough marine salt? is it better to have too much or too little?

[d88p]

what happen if it is below the correct range? what will happen if not enough marine salt? is it better to have too much or too little?

good question.... on my 1st marine tank try out (cycled for a month, never bought a salinty tester yet) any fish that i put in there died the next day. So when to buy a tester to test and the salinty level was around 1.018.

[arcanehacker]

too low would mean hyposalinity... which is good for 5 -10 mins to cure itch. any longer and your fishes would dye...

[d88p]

too low would mean hyposalinity... which is good for 5 -10 mins to cure itch. any longer and your fishes would dye...

i remember the clown fish's white markings became pinkish purple

[elimmel]

as a rough gauge, SG of seawater is ard 1.024.

most of us after deciding what SG level to have, try to keep it as stable as possible.

aim for a range between 1.022 - 1.026

[d88p]

elimmel, i have been adding in water but the salinty still remains the same

[elimmel]

elimmel, i have been adding in water but the salinty still remains the same

top up water will not alter SG much. you need to do this during weekly water changes. water change with fresh mix at lower SG than your tank SG. this has to be done gradually to lower the SG down. so maybe it'll take you 2-3 weeks to bring SG down from 1.028 to 1.024. give your LS time to adjust.

[totoro17]

mine is having 1.017. how huh? no matter how much i put the salt....still cannot reach the safe zone lehz...

[hondaker]

mine is having 1.017. how huh? no matter how much i put the salt....still cannot reach the safe zone lehz...

bro, u put the salt directly into the main tank or?

ok, here's what i will do if i had SG(Specific gravity) of 1.017

1) Mix a bucket of water with sea salt mix until a much higher SG is achieved, roughly 1.030-1.035. Mix well, try to obtain a final solution with any visible salt crystals left

2) Remove same amount of water from main tank

3) Mix in the newly mixed saltwater

4) Measure SG of main tank. If SG is not up to desired level, repeat steps 1-3 after waiting for 1 or 2 days(to prevent too much shock to LS)

I cannot decide how much water for you to change, have to gauge yourself.

If you really perfect the amount of salt to add, u can always use maths to calculate, which i don't really bother to do

Hope this helps

Cheers

[d88p]

i added in 5 x 1.25l of water and its still the same reading

[hondaker]

erm

what did u use to measure the SG?

swing arm type hydrometer?

glass floating type hyrometer?

refractometer?

[Qxnviolet]

Erm,totoro, did you measure the salinity of the 5x 1.25L of water before you add it in the tank? The salinity should be higher than whats in your tank. Otherwise no matter how much you add won't help. How big is your tank?

[totoro17]

i use NSW but becoz of shortage of NSW, i add on tap water. tts y. my tank is 1.5ft tank.

[Qxnviolet]

i use NSW but becoz of shortage of NSW, i add on tap water. tts y. my tank is 1.5ft tank.

Ermz, you mean you added tap water to try increase your salinity level? Btw, if you did, don't! Tap water by itself has a salinity of ZERO. Adding tap water to your tank will only cause your salinity to drop even further. And oh, usage of some anti-chlorine is advised...

[d88p]

erm

what did u use to measure the SG?

swing arm type hydrometer?

glass floating type hyrometer?

refractometer?

swing arm type

[hondaker]

swing arm type

swing arm types tend to deviate from actual readings after some time

i suggest getting the glass type, heard its better than swing arm

for best results, get the refractometer

btw, when u say u added in 5 bottles of 1.25L, what SG are they at?

and what SG is your tank before the water change?

are you doing water change or topping up water?

basically, to top off evaporated water, use plain water will do

to water change, mix a saltwater and obtain the same SG as your tank, and then siphon out the same amount of water, and pour in the newly mixed saltwater

[totoro17]

Ermz, you mean you added tap water to try increase your salinity level? Btw, if you did, don't! Tap water by itself has a salinity of ZERO. Adding tap water to your tank will only cause your salinity to drop even further. And oh, usage of some anti-chlorine is advised...

no lah i din add tap water to increase the level...wats refractometer