Salinty gravity 1.023 - too low?

[g8er_h8er]

Is there a nominal gravity you should keep your salt at? Am I within that range?

 

[bang guy]

Salinity should be around 35ppt. This is a Specific Gravity of 1.024 - 1.027 depending on the temperature of the water.
IMO you're probably a little low.

 

[roadrunner]

Bang if that is too low. . . how would you safely raise the salinity to 1.024 from 1.020?

 

[bryonrw]

You could do saltwater top off's.

 

[bang guy]

Yep. Just use normal strength saltwater to replace evaporated water until the salinity is high enough.

 

[megsm318]

My hydrometer says the salinity should be between 1.020 and 1.023 to be good for the tank. Why is that so low when compared to what you guys are saying? It was made by Coralife, so I'm kinda confused as to why they would make such a big mistake. Any ideas? :notsure:

 

[dskidmore]

What temperature is it rated for? The real number to look for is the PPT Salinity, specific gravity is a way to measure that, but the conversion is diffrent based on the temperature of the water.

 

[bigarn]

I keep mine between 1.023 and 1.025....No problems as far as I could tell.

 

[sergeant]

If you can take your hydrometer to your LFS. They might be able to test it for you and tell you if it is accurate or not. I took mine in and the guy told me that is reading -5 so i have a better idea what is the closest reading. But you do need to know the temperature of your water. Good luck.

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by MegsM318
It was made by Coralife, so I'm kinda confused as to why they would make such a big mistake.
Coralife? That pretty much says it all.
Just for reference - Natural Sea water Variers from 35ppt in most oceans to 37 - 40ppt in the northern Red Sea.
A specific Gravity of 1.020 at 83F (average tropical reef temperature) would be a Salinity of 32ppt. There's no ocean in the world with such a low Salinity and if there were it would be a good home for Brackish water fish, not reef animals.

 

[g8er_h8er]

Thanks Bang. My water temp is 78, so I think 1.023 puts my ppt a little low at around 32-33 ppt.

 

[angelcam]

Here is a website I ran across while doing research. Hope it helps.
www.algone.com
There is a section on that page called Saltwater Aquaria, click on Saltwater Salinity and Specific Gravity
:joy: