What salinity do y'all keep your reefs at?
- Thread starter hairtrigger
- Start date
hairtrigger
Active Member
Thanks for all the help. Good stuff. Thanks for that link Bang Guy... that's a nice one. 
bang guy
Moderator
Altitude... hmmmm That's a darn good question! I know for a fact that our critters naturally occur below Sea Level ROFL
I have never ever considered altitude. I will devote some time to pondering that question. Off-hand I don't see how altitude can affect Salinity and it's effects on saltwater animals... but it deserves some thought.
Guy
I have never ever considered altitude. I will devote some time to pondering that question. Off-hand I don't see how altitude can affect Salinity and it's effects on saltwater animals... but it deserves some thought.
Guy
broomer5
Active Member
Keeping a reef tank at higher than sea level conditions - will mostly affect the gasses in solution.
The atmospheric pressure at sea level is roughly 0.0 psig ( pounds per square inch gauge ) - or 14.7 psia absolute pressure.
The solubility of gasses in saltwater solution will vary with atmospheric pressure changes above that of sea level solubilities.
Vapor pressures and partial pressures will affect the gasses in solution and the evaporation rate of the tank.
Salinity - on the other hand - is mearly a ratio of stuff per stuff.
The mass of the sodium and chloride ions per the total mass of the solution.
35 ppt or parts per thousand - normal sea water salinity - is just that.
35 grams of Na+Cl- per thousand grams of seawater.
It's a measure of parts per thousand - at any given temperature and at any given pressure.
Stuff is stuff - matter is matter - and in a soluble phase - the pressure should not affect the ratio.
If you follow the specific gravity route - and look at a liquid's density as compared to the density of pure water - then the volume and temperature come into play.
What's the temperature of the hydrometer calibrated to, and what is the volume of water.
Actual water volume ( although most agree the volume of a liquid does not expand and contract or is compressible in practical terms ) does indeed expand and contract with changes in atmospheric pressure.
This certainly holds true UNDERWATER where density changes occur.
But if you're up a mile or so above sea level - living out in Colorado or something - I would imagine that the amount of volume change of the tankwater would be somewhat negligable.
If you continued on up to the outer edges of Earth's atmosphere, and out of Earth's gravity - all bets are off.
Anyone want to run a reef tank on the Shuttle. I'll go !
Better have a good lid on that tank.
Using ppt as your guide - the salinity should not change.
Using S.G. as your guide - yeah there may be a slight change in densities from sea level to a mile or so up - but what that change would be - I don't know.
Would have to really dig into this one too.
I would be interested in hearing more about this. Pretty wild to think about.
I think I'd be more concerned with how the pressure ( or lack of pressure ) would affect the tankwater chemistry, CO2 and O2, and how that would affect the total chemistry of the reef tank.
Most everything we read is always compared to "seawater" conditions ~ not keeping a reef tank in Denver.
The atmospheric pressure at sea level is roughly 0.0 psig ( pounds per square inch gauge ) - or 14.7 psia absolute pressure.
The solubility of gasses in saltwater solution will vary with atmospheric pressure changes above that of sea level solubilities.
Vapor pressures and partial pressures will affect the gasses in solution and the evaporation rate of the tank.
Salinity - on the other hand - is mearly a ratio of stuff per stuff.
The mass of the sodium and chloride ions per the total mass of the solution.
35 ppt or parts per thousand - normal sea water salinity - is just that.
35 grams of Na+Cl- per thousand grams of seawater.
It's a measure of parts per thousand - at any given temperature and at any given pressure.
Stuff is stuff - matter is matter - and in a soluble phase - the pressure should not affect the ratio.
If you follow the specific gravity route - and look at a liquid's density as compared to the density of pure water - then the volume and temperature come into play.
What's the temperature of the hydrometer calibrated to, and what is the volume of water.
Actual water volume ( although most agree the volume of a liquid does not expand and contract or is compressible in practical terms ) does indeed expand and contract with changes in atmospheric pressure.
This certainly holds true UNDERWATER where density changes occur.
But if you're up a mile or so above sea level - living out in Colorado or something - I would imagine that the amount of volume change of the tankwater would be somewhat negligable.
If you continued on up to the outer edges of Earth's atmosphere, and out of Earth's gravity - all bets are off.
Anyone want to run a reef tank on the Shuttle. I'll go !
Better have a good lid on that tank.
Using ppt as your guide - the salinity should not change.
Using S.G. as your guide - yeah there may be a slight change in densities from sea level to a mile or so up - but what that change would be - I don't know.
Would have to really dig into this one too.
I would be interested in hearing more about this. Pretty wild to think about.
I think I'd be more concerned with how the pressure ( or lack of pressure ) would affect the tankwater chemistry, CO2 and O2, and how that would affect the total chemistry of the reef tank.
Most everything we read is always compared to "seawater" conditions ~ not keeping a reef tank in Denver.
hairtrigger
Active Member
Wow... that altitude point was really good. Thats some great info broomer, thanks.
jefflg
Member
I said salinity but meant sg. Everything in my reef is doing well and growing and vibrant. It is just that I have never seen anything posted or written about altitude. Just value the experience shown on the board and thought someone would know of some research that has been done. Maybe I will run the experiments.
learninbutlovin
New Member
my tank is @ 1.024 also,,,and Bang Guy is a hoot!!!(intelligent &funny)
rsd
Member
The only thing I've come to understand is the gas exchange rate at higher altitudes can change. I've been told that if you are having problems keeping fish, especially ones that will try to sleep low and in caves (as most do) and are having a "die off" of fish at night or in morning that you could have an o2 problem. It seems that Your tank can convert/lose large amounts of O2 at night and the drop being largest just as your lights turn on and at higher altitudes your O2 levels can be really impacted.
I have known people who when they moved to higher elevations had a bubble wall placed into their sumps on a timer (to run at night) to help increase the air/water interaction to counteract this problem. Incidentally these same people moved an existing tank from at/near sealevel to a higher elevation and were losing fish left and right... 1 person noticed that his fish were really "breathing" hard in the mornings and were slightly discolored... litterally gasping for air.
He said he had a "damsel in distress".
Here at sealevel I couldn't cram more O2 in if I tried... at least so my test kit tells me so.
I have known people who when they moved to higher elevations had a bubble wall placed into their sumps on a timer (to run at night) to help increase the air/water interaction to counteract this problem. Incidentally these same people moved an existing tank from at/near sealevel to a higher elevation and were losing fish left and right... 1 person noticed that his fish were really "breathing" hard in the mornings and were slightly discolored... litterally gasping for air.
He said he had a "damsel in distress".
Here at sealevel I couldn't cram more O2 in if I tried... at least so my test kit tells me so.
jonthefb
Active Member
hey broomer, id be willing to send you a smaple of my water(up in beautiful colorado here) if you wanna test the sg at the altitude that you are at, or anyone else for that matter. this does really interest me because i am so high up 4,658 feet to be exact, so were not as high as denver, but still up there. i think im also going to have to splurge for a dissolved oxygen kit, cause i think it would be worthewhile to find out. this makes total sense, adn hen fish purchases here should wait for awhile after first being receive so that they can adjust to altitude as well as tank temp, salinity, etc. never really thoguht of this, just like someone coming to co, from ca or the coast! verrry interesting!
good luck
jon
good luck
jon
jefflg
Member
Would not a skimmer and wet/dry over bio balls in essence give you the O2 exchange we need in altitude? When I get new critters it will take me anywhere between 2 or 4 hours before I call them acclimated to my water. Just because I buy fish and corals at 4600 ft and then bring them up to 7200 ft. I know for a fact that my SG is lower than my LFS and critters I buy on the net. Not to mention the chemistry.
fishamajig
Member
1.026
escape2thewater
Active Member
Wow, this thread must have been buried deep into the swf.com archives! I keep mine at 1.027 though, at least on my pos floating arm sg meter.
Escape
:happyfish
Escape
:happyfish