High salinity

[Antman]

Hello all I know hydrometer is not the best tool BUT question what would the affects of running a reef at a higher salinity ..
Thanks

 

[mcgyvr]

define "high" ?

 

[Antman]

1.028 - 1.031

 

[Bananafish]

Sounds impossible, but some animals can dehydrate. If the salinity of the water is higher than their bodies, they will expel water to try to equalize with the salinity around them. They can be entirely submerged in water and yet "dry out" inside. You also need to account for what happens when fresh water evaporates and it gets even saltier.

Why would you want to run that high? I know a lot of people who run at 1.018-1.020 to try to keep parasites down to a minimum, but I've never heard of running saltier. Curious as to why.

 

[Antman]

I did not chose to run it that high But just found out the hydrometer i was using this past year was off ..I always aim for 1.026 but I did not top off few days last week and it went up to 1.027 and I took sample to LFS and It was actually 1.030 so i have been High for a year LOL

 

[mcgyvr]

As you have found its "alright" but there are no real facts that running outside/higher than the "natural" level is beneficial..

Get a refractometer

 

[Bananafish]

Then I guess it's OK, LOL. Never heard of it running that salty. But, I suppose if it's fine to run under by around .05, it should be fine to run over by .05, right?

 

[Bananafish]

As you have found its "alright" but there are no real facts that running outside/higher than the "natural" level is beneficial..

Get a refractometer

Oh, yeah, definitely! PM me if you want details, but I just bought a really great one from Amazon for $20.

 

[nereefpat]

Due to high surface and air temperatures, little rainfall, and not much connection to other bodies of water, the red sea has specific gravity in that range.

But yes, get a refractometer and a 35ppt standard.

 

[Ssteve]

There can even be some benefits to running higher salinity. I was just discussing this in another post. The more salinity means the more elements in the water etc.