Specific Gravity Question

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xrobbx03

Guest
What should the gravity of a saltwater tank be around. Currenlty my SG is 1.021 is that to low? Does it need to be higher in order to keep corals and invertates. :help:
 
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xrobbx03

Guest
wow so im really low then huh. so you think i should boost it up a little. Whats the best way to boost it up.
 

littlebuck

Active Member
do you have anything in there? i woud do it over time add a litte more salt to the fresh saltwater everytime you do a change. i would put it at .025
 
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xrobbx03

Guest
yeah i have 2 false percs, YWG, camelback shrimp and a butch on inverts and snails. How do u suggest is the best way to do boost it up?
 
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xrobbx03

Guest
i think what im going to do to raise it is that right now i add a half cup of salt to every gallon which has been giving me thr 1.021 reading i will probably up that to 3/4 cup or lil more than a half cup per gallon that should get me start getting the gravity higher and higher every week or any other suggestions to get it to where i want.
 

celacanthr

Active Member
Like he said, I would make each batch of saltwater (for your weekly wc) have an SG of 1.022, until the tank begins to read 1.022, then make all batches of saltwater after that an SG of 1.o23, until the tank begins reading an sg of 1.023. then start making every batch of salt water with an SG of 1.024, until the tank starts reading 1.024. Then make every batch of saltwater after that with an sg of 1.025
Do you understand?
 
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xrobbx03

Guest
yeah i kno what your saying. Thanks for the help. Being at 1.021 is ok for now right since i have nothing but fish in there but in a month of so i will be turning reef.
 

celacanthr

Active Member
Well, actually, I feel that it is important for all invertebrates (and some chordates like tunicates) to be at full strength saltwater. So I would start doing this plan ASAP
 
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xrobbx03

Guest
ok i will then i will be doing my weekly water change on monday so i will start then. I been running my tank for over a month now with that SG and everything seemed to be fine so far thankfully but i will start boosting it on monday so it will be at 1.025 in a month when i plan to add my corals.
 

jumpfrog

Active Member
Another option is to add saltwater instead of fresh when you're doing your top offs for evapuration. It's slow and effective as long as you do your top offs regulary. Don't wait until you need to add several gallons at a time.
Just another thought!
Good Luck!
 

lion_crazz

Active Member
I like CELACANTHr's idea the best. It's slow and effective.
And for the record, I also feel that all saltwater organisms should be at a higher SG. I keep my tank at 1.025 (even when I did not have coral).
 

celacanthr

Active Member
How is 1.021 fine? All oceanic reefs have a significantly higher specific gravity than that. Obviously the reefs (other than human destruction) do wonderfully at that sg. So why would we put them at a lower sg?
 
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xrobbx03

Guest
yeah i think imma do the top off idea and when i do my water change jus start adding a lil more salt every week and it should get me there. I will keep u posted on my progress.
 

lion_crazz

Active Member
Originally Posted by CELACANTHr
How is 1.021 fine? All oceanic reefs have a significantly higher specific gravity than that. Obviously the reefs (other than human destruction) do wonderfully at that sg. So why would we put them at a lower sg?
I absolutely agree. 1.021 is not "fine", regardless of what your LFS tells you.
 

aufishman

Member
Originally Posted by CELACANTHr
Well, actually, I feel that it is important for all invertebrates (and some chordates like tunicates) to be at full strength saltwater. So I would start doing this plan ASAP

What do you base this on? Unless this guy has corals, the salinity doesn't matter that much as long as it remains constant. Most inverts do just fine at low salinity as long as they are properly acclimated.
 

fishydogs

New Member
Depends on what is in your tank. Inverts like a higher count like .024, the fish would probably enjoy it around .022
 

aufishman

Member
Originally Posted by CELACANTHr
How is 1.021 fine? All oceanic reefs have a significantly higher specific gravity than that. Obviously the reefs (other than human destruction) do wonderfully at that sg. So why would we put them at a lower sg?

first of all, a tank isn't an oceanic reef. Secondly, the only constant about salinity on a reef is that it is constantly fluctuating. During the rainy season the water on the near shore reefs here in SoFlo will be 25 ppt salinity or less, which is significantly lower than the 1.021 sg figure which you think is way too low. 1.021 sg (which is close to 29 ppt) is fine, and anyone who says otherwise is wrong. The main idea when dealing with salinity is to keep it at a constant level (that and buy a quality salt mix).
 

aufishman

Member
Originally Posted by FishyDogs
Depends on what is in your tank. Inverts like a higher count like .024, the fish would probably enjoy it around .022
That depends on the inverts. A lot of the shrimp and crabs would be plenty happy at salinitys that are too low to measure on most plastic hydrometers.
 
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