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Jayhawk · Post by **Jayhawk** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 1:00 pm

I would never suggest just using measurements - I do have a hydrometer. But keeping my salt double sealed, there doesn't appear to be any change in measurement amounts due to moisture.

We all use measurements to some degree, otherwise we'd add one teaspoon at a time, test, add another, etc. Instead, we add what we expect to be correct, and then we test and add more salt or water to get where we want.

I always thought the point of BW fish it that they are adaptible and deal with changing SG all the time...am I wrong? Granted, I keep mine as stable as possible, but if the SG were to go up or down .001 or .002 I wouldn't panic.

Eric

Post by **Myaj** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 1:33 pm

I think the problem is more from the bacteria dying from a change greater than .002, and therefor having a tank that is cycling again... Though it can't be good for the fish to have TOO big of a swing.

YBeNormal · Post by **YBeNormal** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 3:00 pm

Exactly. Since this is a 10-gallon tank we're talking about, it would not take much extra/less salt during a water change to make a rather large overall swing.

Woland · Post by **Woland** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 3:46 pm

As I understand it; if variations in SG (or salinity) is over .002 you may seriously compromise the life of your nitrifying bacteria, without giving "the new bacteria" proper time to establish itself.

Thus; when raising salinity in a brackish aquarium one should be careful not to raise it with more than .002 every second week.

The fish is tolerant of changes in salinity, nitrifying bacteria is not...

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 5:23 pm

My LFS does have a refractometer, right before i bought the puffer, i had my water tested, and the salinity was 0.002.( i definitley have to increase that)

The F8 remains to be doing well, he has now eaten all 5 ghost shrimp. I cant think of a name for him/her though.

is there any way to tell the gender of a F8?

since i just put the nitra-zorb in the filter, into a already cycled tank, will i have to re-cycle the tank? and will the puffer be ok while its cycling?

can i use the nitrazorb in a bucket of fresh water, with a airstone, and then add the salt?

I will try and get a Picture of the F8 later.

thank you for all your help!

-John

Post by **RTR** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 5:56 pm

Yes you can use nitrate-adsobing materials in other containers to pre-treat the water but not in the tank - where they hinder nitrification. It would be most effective to use the Nitra-Sorb in plain FW and not add salt until after the resin is removed. Salt cause the material to release nitrate( normally recharged in salt solutions).

Post by **Pufferpunk** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 6:23 pm

I meant check your hydrometer against a refractometer.

Jayhawk · Post by **Jayhawk** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 7:43 pm

Woland and Myaj - good point about change of more than .002 being harmful to the nitrifying bacteria.

I wonder if certain hydrometer brands are more reliable than others. I'm using an Instant Ocean model because it measures all the way down to FW (I did try that with my tap water and it measured 1.000). My regular LFS uses the same brand of hydrometer. I'm sure if I felt really inspired I could find a local LFS with a refractometer.

I'm just not sure it's necessary in my case with expected measured amounts of salt matching the SG reading on my hydrometer (seems like that's a nice little double check in and of itself). I'd check it if I was using more or less salt than expected to make my measly 1.005 water

.

Eric

PetPirate · Post by **PetPirate** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 10:09 pm

I think comparing with a refractomter and then putting a felt-pen mark on the hydrometer for the salinity you want is a good idea.

Another major problem I had with my swing-arm type was lack of confidence -- calcium deposits, microbubbles, level surface, all impacted it to some extent. The "Fill to here" line was crude and required interpretation which impacted the reported SG. And to top it off the "pointer" was blunt and required some interpretation.

I'm pleased with the refractometer I got . .. couple of drops on the plate, look through the eyepiece, and then done. No dripping boxes or things floating in the tank.

Agreed it is not really a necessity... but what does it cost? Like 2x the cost of a hydrometer. Not all that much really.

Refractometers can be "off" too, but they are easier to calibrate/check... and they are generally more reliable than the swing-arm creaky boxes IMO.

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