Salinity in the home aquarium

[VHO Guy]

Hi Boomer after you posted the follwing

Most reefers try to keep them a 1.026 or 35 ppt.

I decided to do some research using links that you have posted

The 4 polls you posted links to show the following

18% are 1.026
20% are 1.026
27% are 1.026
19% are 1.026

Can you please explain how you came up with 1.026?

Oh yeah and want salinity do you think would be best for people with smaller tanks say like 29 gallons and less. And them nanos have sure gotten popular, what should the salinity be kept at in nanos.

I do not know if this has been posted before but the company that has sold the most nanos in the world sells a 12 gallon nano and it is only 9 gallons. Has this been posted before?

Thanks in advance

 

[Krish]

I have a nano cube (24gal Aquapod) and I keep my specific gravity at 1.026. I have corals in my tank that are all from the waters here in the Bahamas that I have tested to be 1.026 mostly where I get them from. In addition, I have zoanthids in my tank that I get out of tidepools, that at some points of the day, sit in as much as 2 ft of water a few meters off of shore at high tide, and in the same spot at low tide, come completely exposed to nothing but air (which is when I usually get them). What this means is for a while as tide is going down and these tidepools form, water is constantly being evaporated and not being replenished thus shooting up the salinity/specific gravity and they all survive this everyday. Same goes for fish that are left behind in tidepools. The ones that don't go completely dry, the fish do survive this everyday as well (even with the constant changes in salinity and even temperature) so I figured with a small tank like mine, I would keep my salinity where I wanted it. I top off twice a day which equals to maybe a gallon of water and everything in my tank is doing great! Infact, I've been asked numerous times how I keep gorgonians alive

What I am trying to get at is I don't think tank size should affect where you keep your salt levels. You are still trying to keep basically the same species of living things which have the same requirements, but it is just done in smaller scaled tanks with smaller coral frags and fish. Topping off more frequently may be your biggest downfall/concern depending on how quick you evaporate water and how sensitive your corals are to changes in salinity, but going on what I see play out everyday in the wild, I don't think it is so much of an issue (atleast not in my case with what all I keep) if it is done once or twice a day. Just my 2 cents on the subject

 

[MikeS]

VHO Guy....

1.026 SG corrected for temperature=35 ppt salinity.... NSW has an average salinity of 35ppt or 1.026 SG....what's the problem?

This is the SG (or salinity equivilant if you prefer) of the NSW enviornment our corals evolved in and are adapted to...why not replicate that in the tank? And what difference does size of tank make? Evaporation rates will vary from tank to tank, depending on a great deal of varibles....What does tank size have to do with it? And why would you not want to make your SG/salinity level as close to NSW as possible?

MikeS

 

[spongebob lover]

i don't get the whole tank sizing but i agree that you should always try to keep your salinity at 1.025 or 1.026 .

 

[MikeS]

i don't get the whole tank sizing but i agree that you should always try to keep your salinity at 1.025 or 1.026 .

Well, let's see what VHO Guy's rationalle behind tank size and SG is.....

 

[VHO Guy]

Hi Krish, thank you for sharing your experiences with me. But you have to admit you are a very very dedicated reefer to be able to top off your tank 2 times a day. Heck if everyone in the hobby was like you as far as paying attention to your tank there would be far lower mortality rate amongst livestock.

But I have to know, even though you are living in paradise do you not ever leve your tank for 24 hours or more? Now think of the average person who might leave for a day or two or weekend and are unable to top off there tank for a couple of days. And they have no one they trust enough to let them top off their tank. I would think somewhere around 1.022-1.023 would be the right salinity for them.

Thanks again and when I get back to the Atlantis I will have to look you up!

 

[MtnDewMan]

24 gallon tank here, always strive for 1.026. If water starts to evaporate it will only increase not decrease in salinity. (remember, salt doesn't evaporate with the water, hence a higher concentration of salt when water starts to evaporate).

Basically no matter what size tank, large or small, you strive for consistent SG as much as possible. Whether that means autotopoff systems, or just putting in extra water every couple of days. Your SG won't change that much in that time.

 

[VHO Guy]

Well Mike it is called evaporation. What happens if you do not top off your tank everyday or every other day or even worse. If you are running at 1.026 where would you be after some of your tank water has evaporated?

And Mike since you think it is so important to mimic NSW why not post what NSW is like in the Red Sea?

And Sponge Bob when you say 1.025-1.026 do you run your tank at 1.025 and then get to 1.026 when your water evaporates, or do you have an auto topoff? I guess every single reefer who keeps their tank at 1.026 never has to worry about evaporation and having their salinity getting to 1.028 or higher. I could be wrong but I think at those levels some inverts would be stressed.

I find this so funny how everyone is just trying to disagree with me when the polls don't lie. And not only that Boomer went from saying most peoples tank are 1.026 to saying that most peoples tanks are 1.025-1.026.

And if anyone feels like really disproving me for every link you can post on here recommending 1.026 or higher I will post 10 links that recommend 1.025 or lower.


Please no more disagreements I have done nothing but post links and polls. It is not to smart to disagree with someone who is right just because you don't like them.

 

[steve-s]

Hi Boomer after you posted the follwing



I decided to do some research using links that you have posted

The 4 polls you posted links to show the following

18% are 1.026
20% are 1.026
27% are 1.026
19% are 1.026

Can you please explain how you came up with 1.026?

If your going to call someone on something, do them the kindness of actually relaying accurate information.

That is shear nonsense. Most reefers try to keep their SG around .1.025 -1.026. All you have to do is go look at all the polls taken on forums.

So if you add the numbers from those polls to include the 1.025 readings, you can't honestly expect to hold your ground on this one. You lost from the get go. :lol:

 

[MikeS]

Hi Krish, thank you for sharing your experiences with me. But you have to admit you are a very very dedicated reefer to be able to top off your tank 2 times a day. Heck if everyone in the hobby was like you as far as paying attention to your tank there would be far lower mortality rate amongst livestock.

But I have to know, even though you are living in paradise do you not ever leve your tank for 24 hours or more? Now think of the average person who might leave for a day or two or weekend and are unable to top off there tank for a couple of days. And they have no one they trust enough to let them top off their tank. I would think somewhere around 1.022-1.023 would be the right salinity for them.

Thanks again and when I get back to the Atlantis I will have to look you up!

Ok...first....show me some good evidence that salinity swings within acceptable ranges are harmful to the tank inhabitants....

salinity swings are going to occur as water evaporates from the tank, as we top off with fresh water, when we do water changes, ect.... as long as these parameters stay within tolerable ranges for the tank inhabitants, where is the danger? And even if they exceede the low or high end of the range, it's not like they are going to instantly die the minute you hit 1.028 SG...

Still trying to see the point you are trying to make here VHO guy.....out with it, please....

MikeS

 

[VHO Guy]

So Dewman when you leave your tank for a day or a weekend it is safe to say your tanks salinity gets higher then 1.026? What is the longest amount of time you have gone before be able to top off your tank? And at that time where do you think your salinity was 1.027, 1.028?

Thanks in advance

 

[VHO Guy]

Okay everone still want to disagree with me. I love just sitting back and making people mad beccause they can not prove me wrong and that is all they want to do.

STEVE LISTEN REAL CLOSELY AND I WILL QUOTE WHAT BOOMER SAID ORIGINALLY

Most reefers try to keep them a 1.026 or 35 ppt.

Now if what I am posting is true does my math add up now? A simple Yes or no will do? I do not care about opinions or donuts.

 

[steve-s]

I have a 5.5 gal tank that I left for 4 days over a long weekend unattended while I went camping. It is kept (as all my tanks are) at 35 ppt. No harm in a slight rise in salinity over a gradual time frame at all. Gradual increases are harmless, it's fast increases that are dangerous.

Please don't take this thread to extreme edges of "what ifs"

 

[steve-s]

Okay everone still want to disagree with me. I love just sitting back and making people mad beccause they can not prove me wrong and that is all they want to do.

Actually we try to teach the people that read these threads what is in the best interest of their animals, not their ego's. Truth be told your what referred to as a trouble maker, nothing more. Keep it up, you'll soon find out.

 

[MtnDewMan]

Bottom line is that there are people who keep their tanks at 1.026, some that keep them at 1.024, and some that keep them lower than that. So what? I really don't understand the point of this thread actually. I keep mine at 1.026. No disagreeing with you whatsoever because all I am saying is that I keep mine at 1.026. I would invite you to come take a reading but you may not believe what you read for some reason. After a few days of evaporation, sure it would raise, maybe to 1.027? My critters do not have a problem with that kind of swing.

Here is a good article by Randy Holmes Farley

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/1/chemistry/view?searchterm=salinity

 

[VHO Guy]

Dewman this is what happened and I think you already know this. I was making some posts that were not to popular amongst the community. So Boomer thought it was his job to help put my foot in my mouth but made a very poor inaccurate untrue statement that I have proven wrong over and over and over.

Boomer said

Most reefers try to keep them a 1.026 or 35 ppt.

This is untrue check the polls. I do not doubt what you are saying you keep your salinity at. I myself am very very lazy and might check my salinity once a month but I run a midsize system with an auto topoff so I get little to no variation. But I am happy with 1.024. But I do not keep any SPS except for Montis which are weeds anyway.

Once again everybody can come on this thread and say they keep there tank at 1.026, but the polls that Boomer posted proved his statement wrong. Now if Boomer was to come on here and say he had a brainfart or was thinking of something else or whatever I will drop the subject. The bottom line is he made an inaccurate ststement and I have done the same thing a million times. But when I found out I was wrong or was proven wrong I would correct myself. But some people are to proud to do that I guess.

 

[Krish]

Hi Krish, thank you for sharing your experiences with me. But you have to admit you are a very very dedicated reefer to be able to top off your tank 2 times a day. Heck if everyone in the hobby was like you as far as paying attention to your tank there would be far lower mortality rate amongst livestock.

LOL! Doesn't take too much dedication to pour a little water in my tank on my way to work in the morning and then again in the evening when I go to feed the fish or lock up the house. Small price to pay for a wonderful hobby like this which takes very little effort and time. If I ever thought topping off, changing water, feeding fish or even adding 2 part supplements to my tank was too much, then I'd be in the wrong hobby

But I have to know, even though you are living in paradise do you not ever leve your tank for 24 hours or more? Now think of the average person who might leave for a day or two or weekend and are unable to top off there tank for a couple of days. And they have no one they trust enough to let them top off their tank. I would think somewhere around 1.022-1.023 would be the right salinity for them.

Oh definately! I go away on vacation for sometimes 10 days at a time! I have friends and family that I can really trust that I will leave the keys to my place with that will come over to feed my fish and top off each day and this would be when I had my 75gal tank that had dual 250w metal halides on it and would evaporate a few gallons a day! I guess I'd call those people dedicated friends and family Back then, I'd just let them do one big top off each day. But now that I have my aquapod, the only reason I top off twice a day is because I don't want the pump for my hang on skimmer to come above water level during the day, suck in air and burn up because of how high I have the pump sitting, but that's the only reason. Not worried at all about any effects from salinity changes or anything at all because 1 gal evaporated from 24 gals won't change the salinity that much and at the rate it does evaporate it's not going to be a shock to the livestock anyways as they will have time to adjust with it just like when acclimating fish and corals. Oh yeah and as Chuck already mentioned...The salinity would rise not drop. I could lower the pump so I'd only have to top off once a day, but I feel where the pump is now, it will be more efficient. If I were to go away, I'd just lower it then so whoever was watching the tank, would only have to do it once.

In any event, where other people are concerned like you mentioned who may not (unlike me) have someone they can trust to top off etc each day, all they'd have to do is get an auto top off system, just like most people buy automatic feeders, and automatic dosers to keep things running smoothly while they are not around and if that is not an option, then either you don't go away and stay home to take care of your tank and the livestock you have in your care, or you find a new hobby

 

[MikeS]

Your arguement is silly, VHO guy.....

Yeah the salinity is going to swing, there is absolutley no way to keep it constant 24/7.....what is your point here?

MikeS

 

[Krish]

I guess I took too long to make my last post

 

[MtnDewMan]

Well then, if that is the case VHO, let's stop this thread now, call it a night, and move on to more peaceful discussions.