What salinity do guys have your tanks running at?

[lost66]

1.026. Why not something lower? Because most reefers I know have higher salinity and it is easier for corals/fish to acclimate to new environment when we have similar parameters.
I have recently sold 2 nice corals which were thriving at my tank and the buyer sent me a picture after 24 hours - both dead or almost dead. I blame salinity - 1.024.

 

[jskidds2294]

What salinity do guys have your tanks running at?

I keep mine between 1.023-1.026 95% of the time. The lowest it gets sometimes is 1.020 and the highest is 1.029. Saltwater fish and coral don’t seem to mind as long as it stays in the 1.02’s. I’m assuming because slight salinity flux is the norm in the ocean. Probably even healthy, as it keeps them adaptive.

 

[jskidds2294]

1.026. Why not something lower? Because most reefers I know have higher salinity and it is easier for corals/fish to acclimate to new environment when we have similar parameters.
I have recently sold 2 nice corals which were thriving at my tank and the buyer sent me a picture after 24 hours - both dead or almost dead. I blame salinity - 1.024.

That’s next to no difference. Simple evaporation over a week can swing salinity by .002. If your coral can’t survive that then something else is wrong with them.

 

[reefz]

35ppt

 

[lost66]

That’s next to no difference. Simple evaporation over a week can swing salinity by .002. If your coral can’t survive that then something else is wrong with them.

That's why we use ATO.

 

[CanuckReefer]

1.025 - 1.026.

 

[CanuckReefer]

If greater than 1.025 what is your reasoning for it?

Because I like 1.025 and if it goes higher its easier on the many invertebrates than a tick or two lower.

 

[davidcalgary29]

No one with a hypersaline Red Sea build of 36 to 38ppt?

 

[ReefingRookie]

Wow... Everyone is running some heavy salinity levels compared to me... I’ve been persistently at around 1.023 with no issues

 

[mdb_talon]

That’s next to no difference. Simple evaporation over a week can swing salinity by .002. If your coral can’t survive that then something else is wrong with them.

When looking at it in SG .002 does not sound like a big swing. When looking at it in PPT thats about a 2.6ppt increase (several percentage point increase in PPT) at 80 degress. I am not saying it is just going to just immediately kill everything, but it certainly can add to the stress a coral will already be under when being bagged and placed into a new tank.

 

[mdb_talon]

No one with a hypersaline Red Sea build of 36 to 38ppt?

Those at 1.026 and 1.027 are in that range at normal reef aquarium temps.

 

[mdb_talon]

Wow... Everyone is running some heavy salinity levels compared to me... I’ve been persistently at around 1.023 with no issues

If it working dont change it! I keep my fish QT tank at 1.023 because that is usually much closer to where the LFS is going to keep their fish systems at.

 

[Cory]

I try to keep mine at the average of the worlds oceans 1.0264 or 35ppt. But i dont freak out if its between 1.025 and 1.027

 

[davidcalgary29]

I understand Red Sea surface temps in summer are around 30C in the south. I'd be interested to see how that affects piscine physiology, although native fish must have evolved to tolerate such stresses.

 

[Big Smelly fish]

1.025-1.026

 

[kados]

1.020 on both FOWLRs

 

[ahiggins]

Fluctuates between 1.024-1.025

 

[shwareefer]

1.025. Nearly every LFS I frequent keeps it there, so it makes sense to match. I kept my first tank nearly 30 years ago at 1.022 ( the swing arm hydrometer said the sweet range was 1.021-1.023 so right in the middle) and corals and fish were always healthy.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

If greater than 1.025 what is your reasoning for it?

If lower than most of the ocean (worldwide ocean average is 35 ppt or sg = 1.0264), what's your reasoning for being lower?

 

[SlugSnorter]

What salinity do guys have your tanks running at?

4.7-5.0 ( fluctuates)

If your asking as to what saltwater you should have yours, check what your livestock likes