Salinity 1.020

drewdog82

drewdog82

Member
My Salinity is 1.020 and the LFS told me I should even go down to 1.018, is this true?
Also PH is 7.8-7.9..... Is this OK?
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
In my opinion salinity should be what is found in nature for your animals. Typically 35ppt-36ppt is normal. That equates to a Specific gravity around 1.026 at normal reef temperatures.
 
joe 09

joe 09

Member
i was told the same thing,to keep the salt at 1.018 to keep down the parasites.so far it has been 6mos.and so far so good.
 
sufunk

sufunk

Member
Thats not nearly low enough to kill parasites. All it will do is shorten the life of your fishies. Id say raise it to at least 1.021 but like bangguy said 1.026 is perfect.
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
I've found that running at 1.020 to 1.021 is a good range for FO systems. It doesn't wipe out parasites, but I believe it really limits their propogation. The parasites in tanks do best at the natural salinity level too, and they are frankly much more sensitive than fish, so it does help some. To severely cut down on them, you'd need to go lower... say 1.012-1.014, but I wouldn't risk my expensive fish to that. Fish stores frequently run that low, but consider how long the fish remain in their systems...
Lower salinities will also save you money on salt... some... but one dead fish caused by it will probably eat up a years worth of savings.
 
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