Specific Gravity swing in a 3 gal eclipse

[cenzo]

Is it bad to have a Specific Gravity swing 1.024 to 1.025 I have a 3 gal set up and It needs top off every day, about 6 to 8 oz

 

[brandon4291]

1.024-1.025 is not that bad of a swing. it would be fun to adjust a drip system to match your systems evap. rate so it wouldnt shift at all over a week's time.
Kent makes a 1000mL drip system for about $18 you could use to drip in a limewater solution, which should topoff as well as do some Ca+/alk maintenance for a 3 gallon pico. you wouldnt have to dose anything! I consider that very very low maintenance for a reef tank.
The key to this systems is, its gravity fed and the drip rate is not as steady when it gets to the bottom of the container. For your purposes, I think it would work just about right.

Brandon

 

[cenzo]

What would be a bad swing 123 to 125?

It seems that a little water loss can make a big change in my 3 gal well you may not call it a 3 gal being I have 5 to 6Lbs of live rock now its ony a 2 gal

 

[brandon4291]

.023-.025 is still not that bad of a swing as long as its spread out as long as possible. There are several species of corals that would tolerate that shift in a one or two day period, but some testy species such as some xenias may not appreciate it and shrivel up. I have inadvertently caused xenia death by increasing salinity from .022-.027 in one day, so I know at least that much of a shift is hard on marine inhabitants. I dont usually do this to my tanks, theres a longer story of why it happened that time. When that did happen, though, the xenia were the only ones to die. SPS and LPS made it just fine but I wont be doing that again.

Its hard to state absolutes on what salinity shift is detrimental to our reefs, we stock with so many kinds of inverts and fish, each with varying levels of tolerance, so its kind of a roulette game until you see someone shrivel up--then you know you have lost. Id say a shift of .001-.002 in a one or two day period is okay, but at that rate you could get stressful if you allow it to go another day without topoff for whatever reason.

imo Brandon

 

[cenzo]

Thanks for all your help.