Nano Lagoon (10): Temp and Salinity

We discuss salinity, specific gravity and temperature maintenance in the Nano Lagoon reef aquarium. Salinity Salinity and specific gravity are related measures of how "salty" the seawater is. We use a simple plastic hydrometer to measure these levels. Our Instant Ocean Hydrometer cost about $9.00 at Wal-Mart. We begin by filling the hydrometer with tap water, and using a pencil or stiff wire to carefully knock any air bubbles off the indicator arm. The salinity should read "0" and the specific gravity should read "1.00." Next, we discard the tap water and fill the hydrometer with seawater from our Nano Lagoon. The salinity should be about 33 ppt (parts per thousand). Specific gravity should be about 1.024 units. If we are careful to keep the seawater level constant in our Nano Lagoon with daily additions of tap water as needed, the salinity will not vary much and can essentially be ignored. Nevertheless we should check this parameter twice a month with the hydrometer, just to be sure. If the salinity and specific gravity get too low, it means that the seawater in our Nano Lagoon is not salty enough. In that case we use seawater (instead of tap water) for our daily additions of makeup water, checking each day with the hyrometer until the salinity is back to 33 ppt. Temperature We use the digital stick-on thermometer to determine the temperature of the seawater. If you find the thermometer hard to read try briefly shining a flashlight on it. Ideally the temperature in the tank should be about 75 degrees Farenheit. An acceptable range of temperatures is about 70-80 degrees for the hardy species in your Nano Lagoon reef tank. We recommend keeping the tank at "room temperature" as long as it is not too hot or cold for prolonged periods. This way we can avoid using an in-tank heater. It's one less thing to buy and worry about. If the temperature in your house regularly falls below about 68 degrees Farenheit, then a small (25-50 watt) aquarium heater might be necessary. Please use only captive-bred organisms in your reef aquarium. To see more of our videos, click here: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=ipsfdotcom&view=videos Learn more about healthy reefkeeping at our website: http://www.ipsf.com