what are the effects of high salinity on sps?

[LoJack]

Originally Posted by asylumdown

Really? I've had exactly the opposite experience. I went out of town for a week when my tank was about 5 months old. I didn't have the ATO system set up yet so I had the R/O float switch plumbed right in to the sump. When I left I set the skimmer cup to empty right to a sewer drain. Something in the tank made the skimmer go nuts while I was gone, and when I got home my specific gravity was 1.018. I think 4 corals out of 15 survived, fish were unfazed.

I think this is probably due to how fast your change took place. Your salinity dropped to 1.017 very quickly due to the skimmer malfunction, mine has dropped over the course of a year as my refractometer slowly went out of calibration over a long period of time.

I am now trying to bring it up equally slowly to prevent any issues with the tank. I am topping up with saltwater every other day to slowly increase the salinity without shocking anything.