Trying out my new camera

[GSMguy]

all i know is i keep my salinity measured by refractometer at 1.025-026 and i have great results with that

 

[redvipe2010]

Mine is at 1.026, measured with refractometer, auto top off so there is no flux. and I have great results.

 

[airinhere]

water is coming from a 5 stage ro/di unit. salt is the new red sea coral pro salt. I was using the coralife stuff until last month and am already finding it easier to keep my kh and ca levels constant in all my tanks. Someone posted in the unugly my bta thread about temp having an effect on sg readings. according to him my ppt of salts might be higher than yours if you keep your tanks cooler than mine. measured in ppt, 82 degrees w/ 1.023 sg > 75 degrees w/ 1.026 sg. I could easily increase my sg levels today when I do my water change, but I want to make sure this wont cause problems later on.

 

[airinhere]

Oh, I should point out that I use a pair of floating hydrometers for my reading.

 

[redvipe2010]

Can you get your hands on a refractometer? Borrow one? See what your Sg reading is at then. I personally will not trust anything other than a refactometer.

 

[airinhere]

I will try to poke around and see if I can find one. Maybe wait till tomorrow to do the water change.

 

[redvipe2010]

I would go ahead with the water change, and if you decide to increase Sg, do it by using premixed saltwater as your top off water. I don't suggest raising Sg fast.

 

[GSMguy]

my tank has 500w of light so it warms up to about 81 before the lights go out and 78 in the morning before lights

 

[RedSonja]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9385261#post9385261 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by airinhere
thanks gsmguy. redsoja, you touched on something about nitrate absorbtion via sodium nitrate. I was under the impresion that nitrate in any form was dangerous to anems. One of the reasons that live rock filled sumps excell over bioball-wet/dry sumps. both do ammonia and nitrite reduction, but bioballs built up nitrates and liverock reduced nitrates using anerobic functions. Is this wrong? Was this just an example? Please continue.

Daniel Knop's book on giant clams mentions it, as does Anthony Calfo's Book of Coral Propagation. I haven't tried dosing sodium nitrate myself as I haven't found a source for it (admittedly haven't looked very hard, but I just meant a local reefer who is a chemist so I may have a source that way). My bta propagation tanks run around 3 to 5ppm nitrates in spite of all the water changes and carbon changing out I do, with live rock and a very productive EuroReef skimmer on the larger (120g) system. My 'nems are healthy so I don't sweat it.

-Sonja