Salinity question

[Meredith]

I have the hydrometer that came with the tank, its a deep six. I have no idea how old it is, do they wear out over time? My temp in the tank is about 70* and the specific gravity is reading between 1.025 and 1.026. From what I know this is a little high. I guess my question is does it matter very much at this point with no fish in the tank?

 

[EJS4]

How's the tank today? Gotten rid of the worms?
No I don't think it matters that much since you'll probably going to be doing a water change soon (after worms are gone).
Have the LFS test your water and compare. If your unsure you could get a new one.
After you take out water for water change add fresh water to tank to lower SG. Then fill rest of way with SW.

 

[Meredith]

Its definitely the worms that smell baaaaad. I am pulling out as many as I can but there are TONS under the rock that I cant get to. Is it safe to wash the beasties down the drain? I have a septic.

 

[EJS4]

Dont see why you cant, its just decomposing meat.

 

[cardinal]

hi meredith...
up your temp a little ) .. also you want to get into a rhythm of gettin stuff right while there is no fish in there )
ssoo when u add fish ..its a walk in the park and your tank is right )
as for SG...yes the hydrometer will be untrustworthy...
do you have 1 you can borrow ?? if you dont trust it ... dont use it !!!!!
its a cheap thing to keep your mind at rest !
personally i threw my hydrometer the first day i used it !
get on ebay and look for a cheap portable refractometer...u will not regret it..
they r the most accurate way to get your SG right IMO !!
i keep my SG at 1024...but 1025 is not a problem at all
meredith the main thing is to enjoy the hobby and dont get too stressed..things do go bad sometimes...and i am sure that soon you will have a beautifull marine tank )
BTW i wish i had a 150 gallon..u lucky devil )

 

[mjvincent]

Your water temp is a little low. Shoot for around 78-80 degrees. Salinity measure will change on your deep six as the temp goes up too...

 

[ClamKnuckle]

I agree that a refractometer is the way to go...i know you just got your tank and probably the last thing you want to do is drop some more money on testing equipment but it is well worth it. If your LFS uses one they should be willing to test your water for you. I wouldnt trust the swing arms at all, that's speaking form experiance, and from what I have read from people posting in the forums. The floating kind can be just as inacurate as the swing arms as well.

 

[Meredith]

Thanks guys, I will definitely look into it!