What salt level

dreeves

Active Member
Same "salt level" as with any marine life...
The difference between the two you listed is simply a unit of measure...somethings are measured one way and some are measured another...
One is specific gravity which is the amount of salinity water can hold at a certain temp...as temp will effect the amount of salinity water can hold...similar to the relative humidity..warmer air holds more moisture thus spreading out the amount of available moisture...once that same air cools and with the same moisture content...the relative humidity will go up as there is less space for it to occupy...
The PPT is parts per trillion...how many parts of a given source per a trillion parts of the base medium being measured...
 

toddpolish

Member
1.024 is a good # to shoot for.
fyi, some LFS keep their FO tanks at about 1.021 to save $ on salt. so, you must acclimate your fish properly.
the key is that you want to keep it CONSTANT. I think I've read that anywhere between 1.022-1.024 for reef and 1.024-1.026 for FO is optimal.
 

bang guy

Moderator
ppt = the salinity of the water. Most reefs hover around 35 - 36ppt. This is a good number to shoot for.
S.G. = Specific Gravity. This is a measure of the density of the water. Given the density and temperature of the water we can infer the Salinity. If you're measuring S.G. you also need to measure the temperature and then look up on a reference chart to see what temp and S.G. correspond to a Salinity of 35ppt.
 

squidd

Active Member

Originally posted by dreeves
The PPT is parts per trillion...how many parts of a given source per a trillion parts of the base medium being measured...

I think thats Parts Per Thousand...:D
:cool:
 
Bang Guy
if that ppt is what most hover around, is there a min and a max that you know of, if so what are they
does it depened on what is being kept in the tank
i found a table to use and the range is so broad. What could happen if the SG went way north or south (in a reef). Loss of life or slow growth?
I curently have FO and am saving $ to eventually upgrade to a reef... 45 gal FO to 125 reef
just asking ?'s.
 

bang guy

Moderator
Guppy - The range is NOT wide. Reefs vary from 35ppt to about 36.5 in the northern Red Sea. To keep reef animals comfortable you need to be around 35ppt.
For some reason (old books perhaps) hobbiests have fixated on Specific Gravity. Specific Gravity is really not what we are trying to measure. Salinity is what's the important measurement. Most devices measuring S.G. are so inaccurate as to be useless. If you want a Fish Only then fish have quite a wide tolerance. If you want a reef keep the Salinity at 35ppt (parts per thousand).
 
i heard at my lfs that they keep their sg at 1.021 because it decreases the fish's metabolism and thus makes them live longer. Is there actually some truth to this?
 

bang guy

Moderator

Originally posted by sohalwutang499
i heard at my lfs that they keep their sg at 1.021 because it decreases the fish's metabolism and thus makes them live longer. Is there actually some truth to this?

None.
 
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