ATKINSON

Since I am starting a reef and it is recommended to use RO water, I am going to embarress myself alot with my stupid question. When, during water changes should I add plain RO water or saltwater and RO water mix? I am getting abit confused as to whether the salt will stay in the tank during water changes. Also what is the ideal salinity for a reef setup for corals,etc?

steed1172

"For coral, and clams, the specific gravity (salinity) your animals are arriving in will be between 1.025 - 1.028. Reef systems require the higher salinity for optimum growth and color.This is an excellent level to keep your home reef system at.".. found that off of google
as for your adding salt like question....
salt is removed when you do water changes and take out water
when water evaporates the salt is STILL on the tank.. salt does NOT evaporate with the water, so keep track on how much water evaporates (hoods REDUCE not stop evaporation)... if your water level if much lower than where is started without taking out water due to evaporation i should think it would be easier to replace the bit of evaporated water first and then change water to keep salinity correct easier,
best of luck...corals are awesome...P.S i have heard that a RO system is NEEDED not recommended cuz most water contains trace element that are bad for saltwater tanks and easily start algal blooms(algae blooms)

MAMW93

The best specific gravity is between 1.021-1.025. And you should only add straight RO water to the tank when the water level drops because of evaporation. DO NOT add saltwater when you add due to evaporation because salt doesn't evaporate. And it is best to pre-mix the salt and test it to make sure it has the same specific gravity as the display tank so there is less stress on the fish when you do add the new water.

charzar-g

The salt will stay in when the water evaoporates at the top and you're basically topping it up, but if you take water out yourself, then you need to add salted water back in, as you're taking the salt AND the water

I keep my specific gravity (amount of salt dissolved in the water) about about 1.021-1.025, normally mine is up the higher end of that scale