FOWLR-salinity question

[amdninjaboy]

I have a 90 gal tank, has been empty now for 9 weeks after a velvet outbreak.. I am gonna start stocking again soon but have a question about salinity and inverts.. Ive read that its ok to run the tank around 1.018 or so to help keep ick/velvet etc at bay.. I have a few turbo snails, couple hermits and a few nassarius and 5 conch snails. Will they be ok at 1.018?? I am at 1.023 right now and am considering lowering it to 1.018.. Will the inverts be ok at the lower salinity?? Im gonna have a predator tank now with a porc puffer, harlequin tuskfish and a few other fish that may eat the inverts anyway but for now will they be ok at 1.018??

Thanks
Shane..

 

[hiltymj]

The lowest I would go is 1.021

 

[ccCapt]

1.018 does absolutely no good at all. It's not low enough to kill off parasites and too low to keep a fish healthy. There have been studies done showing that keeping fish at low salinity levels lead to kidney problems and premature death. Everyone should keep their salinity at 1.026 which is the salinity of natural seawater. Keeping it at anything lower only saves you a few pennies in salt costs.

 

[hiltymj]

Interesting thank you for sharing.

 

[FreezeFins]

1.026 isn't too high. Everything I've read says 1.020 - 1.025. Is there an advantage for maintaining levels at 1.026?

 

[ccCapt]

Is there an advantage for maintaining levels at 1.026?

That is the salinity of natural seawater on most reefs around the world. Why would you want to keep it at anything different? Do you know something Mother Nature doesn't?

 

[amdninjaboy]

Ya I've read that the salinty is not exact everywhere.. The red sea is is 1.035 or 1.036. I think I will run it at 1.021.. From the reading I have done it says that stability is much more important than the actual number..

 

[FTMMWS]

FWIW ,i keep mine at 1.021 ,,,been this way for over 5 years...I read a lot of info about keeping FO tanks lower because it allows for easier and better utilization of oxygen for the fish,,making it better for them to breath,because they are getting more oxygen...and tend to be more relaxed

 

[ccCapt]

Ron Shimek's Website...Critters
"Coral reefs are generally located in areas that have salinities in the range of 35 ppt to 38 ppt. Most of our corals, and the associated fauna including fishes, will live best at those conditions (Weber and White 1976)."

"The bottom line for salinities is simple. There is simply no reason at all to maintain the salinities of our systems below normal reef conditions. All reef inhabitants will suffer damage from prolonged exposure to lowered salinities. Invertebrates kept at low salinities often die within a few days to a few months. Given that corals, sea anemones, sponges and some other invertebrates have no old age or senescence (or to put it another way, they are immortal), low salinities result in a quick death. Some mollusks, crustaceans, and most fish kept at low salinities die of kidney failure; it just takes them longer. A fish which dies in a couple of years in a hyposaline aquarium may have had the potential to live more than 20 years had the salinity been appropriate."

 

[slitherbomb]

But not all fish are found near reefs?