1. It's probably due to evaporation. Remember to top off evaporated saltwater with freshwater. Otherwise the salinity can climb fairly quickly in a small tank setup.
2. Nope just add water with less or no salt and the readings will go down.
1.025 is arguably the reference standard salinity to keep fish and coral alive and healthy. Some people run their tanks slightly higher or lower for very specific reasons. If you are learning 1.025 is a good number to stay close to until you (if ever) find a good reason to change it.
It may help to look up an article on the effects of osmosis to animal cells. The very short story is if you get the saltwater too concentrated or too diluted you run the risk of cells shrinking or swelling in the animal. Neither result is compatible with life for very long.
Pure water should have a specific gravity of 1.000. By definition its a ratio of the density of one substance compared to the standard substance. So how would you get pure water at 1.00 to be more dense? Add salt. The more salt you add the more dense the higher the specific gravity.
I'm a noob to saltwater fish but I do have a background in science/medicine. So hope this helps give you a better idea of the "big picture" of why we care if that number is high or low.
2. Nope just add water with less or no salt and the readings will go down.
1.025 is arguably the reference standard salinity to keep fish and coral alive and healthy. Some people run their tanks slightly higher or lower for very specific reasons. If you are learning 1.025 is a good number to stay close to until you (if ever) find a good reason to change it.
It may help to look up an article on the effects of osmosis to animal cells. The very short story is if you get the saltwater too concentrated or too diluted you run the risk of cells shrinking or swelling in the animal. Neither result is compatible with life for very long.
Pure water should have a specific gravity of 1.000. By definition its a ratio of the density of one substance compared to the standard substance. So how would you get pure water at 1.00 to be more dense? Add salt. The more salt you add the more dense the higher the specific gravity.
I'm a noob to saltwater fish but I do have a background in science/medicine. So hope this helps give you a better idea of the "big picture" of why we care if that number is high or low.
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