Does salinity matter?

[aandrews]

I've noticed that everyone with a reef(mainly sps tanks) keep their salinity at 1.025 or 1.026, does it matter? I keep mine at 1.022, should it be higher to maintain sps? I got a couple of frags. Had them for 4 weeks now and I get good growth but colors are fading. Could low salinity be the problem? Other pars are Ca-420, Alk-9 dkh, pH-8.2.

 

[EllieSuz]

I think it matters a great deal. The ocean is a tad over 1.026. I usually recommend 1.025 for small tanks because it gives you a little wiggle room, but 1.022 seems quite low. The easiest way to raise salinity is to add saltwater instead of RO/DI for daily top-off until the desired level is reached.

 

[downbeach]

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/rhf/#13

 

[CHSUB]

I've noticed that everyone with a reef(mainly sps tanks) keep their salinity at 1.025 or 1.026, does it matter? I keep mine at 1.022, should it be higher to maintain sps? I got a couple of frags. Had them for 4 weeks now and I get good growth but colors are fading. Could low salinity be the problem? Other pars are Ca-420, Alk-9 dkh, pH-8.2.

back in the day it was common to keep salinity low, even as low as 1.019; which i did for several years. however, now i keep it at 1.026.

 

[aandrews]

Thanks for the input...sounds like I need to up it a little.