I belive the 1.023 is a happy medium, but its not the "ideal" sg. Look
at that online graph of reef temps and SG of the world. The SG of
1.026 is closer to being actual than 1.023 is. I use sal****er that I
collect iunt he Gulf of Mexico and its always been pretty well dead on
1.026 as fas a sg is concerned and even in the pan handle region which
is not considered tropical or even sub tropics a water temp from about
May through October of 82 or more is not uncommon. Jusyt looking at
the online graph again depiects a reef temp of in the high 70's is not
in the range of the majority of reefs from where the majority of the
fish sold and kept comes from.

I really thtink by going at the mid to lower extremes one has a
better chance of possibly evading a problem on a screw up so its more
a safety margin. Its easy to see with a max SG of 1.026 and temps of
82 or so it leaves little rooms for error in a lot of cases.

Just my 2 cents on temp and SG parameters.

On Sun, 17 Dec 2006 17:09:14 GMT, George Patterson
wrote:

KurtG wrote:

Bought my tank setup, but the previous owner kept the salinity/specific
gravity at north of 1.026 to keep "parasites down". I've been slowly
lowering it to 1.024 which is at the top of the green zone for all my SG
float calibrations.

Keeping the salinity high dehydrates the occupants of the tank. Not a good idea.

But, then I read that anywhere between 1.022 and 1.026 is normal, but
that a low salinity is needed to get rid of parasites.

A low salinity will reduce parasites; in fact, a short freshwater bath will
eliminate many parasites. This is used by quite a few retail stores to reduce
the introduction of diseases when they buy livestock.

And, then what is the best level for a reef aquarium w/ anemone, corals,
and eventually a refugium.

Every text I've read says 1.023 is best.

Consider also the fact that your livestock supplier, whether local or mail
order, will be keeping stock in water very close to 1.023 sg. If your salinity
is significantly different, you subject every new purchase to unnecessary shock
when you acclimate it to your tank.

George Patterson
Forgive your enemies. But always remember who they are.



-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!