Bringing Up to Brackish

mommyfox · Post by **mommyfox** » Sat Dec 30, 2006 5:45 pm

Thank you, Boxermom; that was just what I needed. I love the calculator, very handy!

Boxermom · Post by **Boxermom** » Sat Dec 30, 2006 5:48 pm

Anytime.

Post by **Pufferpunk** » Sat Dec 30, 2006 6:42 pm

I do think Dan06's post was a bit harsh but I did ask you about a measuring device several times, w/no response.

Post by **Myaj** » Sat Dec 30, 2006 11:06 pm

Either way.. .002 per week is the maximum you can raise your salinity without killing the bacteria and starting a cycle in your tank.

That being said, its much safer to raise it smaller levels.. you don't NEED to do .002 exactly, you can raise it slower and that is good, if not even better, for the fish and bacteria (and your pocketbook).

Even though the salt package has measurements indicated, its not always going to be exact, as Pufferpunk said, exposure to the air and various humidity levels, plus just the batch, can all cause variations in the resulting salinity level. So if you can't measure it exactly, its a heck of a lot safer for the fish to raise it smaller amounts than to play around with that dangerous borderline amount. Make sense?

mommyfox · Post by **mommyfox** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 2:15 pm

See, that's exactly why I was asking. .002 was the only number I'd heard bandied about for the amount to raise the salinity, presumably because it's the easiest to measure, maybe? So that's precisely what I needed to hear. I'm TRYING to do it the safe, conservative way. I'm going to cut the salinity increases in half, and add 2/3 cup of salt (dissolved in a bucket first, of course) every week, which should increase the salinity by approximately .001 every week, so by April the salinity should be around 1.016. And that's where I should stop increasing, right? Just checking my references on that ...

I got a better hydrometer last night, that measures all the way down to 1.000. The salinity is 1.002 now, and the puffer seems quite pleased with it, his colors seem brighter and he's a bit more active.

I'll do a 20% water change on Tuesday and measure the salinity in my water, see if I can't get it to .002 exactly. When I did saltwater many years ago, I'd let it sit overnight with a powerhead and heater in the bucket to make sure the temperature and salinity were stabilized; is that still necessary, with this low level of salinity? Or am I going to be able to be that precise with it?

Boxermom · Post by **Boxermom** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 2:18 pm

Its still recommended to premix the saltwater at least 24 hours in advance with some sort of aeration and heater.

mommyfox · Post by **mommyfox** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 2:22 pm

AHA, I figured out where I got that number for raising salinity ... it's in the article about GSPs in the library by Pufferpunk. So maybe an edit is needed?

"If the puffer you purchase is in FW at the store, then you should start out your tank in FW and raise the SG .002/week, until you reach the desired SG."

Post by **Myaj** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 4:36 pm

Usually we state "raise the salinity no more than .002 per week" so yes, that could probably use a quick edit.

Our master tech guy is stuck with limited internet access at the moment (earthquake took out some lines) but we'll put that down on the "to do" list!

I still premix my salt, just to be safe, and double check both the tank and the new water in the bucket to make sure they are close enough.

Dan06 · Post by **Dan06** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 6:33 am

Pufferpunk wrote:I do think Dan06's post was a bit harsh but I did ask you about a measuring device several times, w/no response.

I never intended to be harsh or be rude. It's hard to judge ones intent on the internet.

But the lack of a response about the measuring device concerned me that the calculations were being done to replace having to buy a hydro/refractometer, that's all.

JustinPSmith · Post by **JustinPSmith** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 2:53 pm

If you are going out to get a new hydrometer, I would recommend just going ahead and getting a refractometer....You would be amazed at how inaccurate a hydrometer is! Mine was off by .002, so that can really screw up raising salinity to a certain SG when you are getting a bad reading. Ive heard of other peoples hydrometer being off by even more!

navy · Post by **navy** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 12:08 am

I know how you feel mommyfox. I didn't add salt to my tank when I got it only realising that you have to put the salt in right at the start of the cycle. so not only do I have to wait until the cycle ends, but then I have to do what you are doing and start raising the salinity slowly. I tried looking up info on FW to Brackish and like you said there is nothing that substantial about it, it does tend to say the same thing "raise by .002 per week." However I did find that link boxermom posted which was helpful, but also found this on a forum http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index ... pic=107450 I found it to be VERY helpful, have a look

Justin I just bought a swing arm hydrometer online and now I'm scared its going to read wrong when I am trying to do only .002 increase a week, I did read the post about the refractometer on this thread but read that some people think its great, while others think its a waste of money. I also got the "brewers" type hydrometer and it doesn't seem to work!! I did a test and put heaps of salt in a bucket (and I mean heaps) and it still showed at 0.00. The water wasn't flowing or moving and the temp was at 27C...this hydrometer doesn't have a thermometer on it either so I'm not sure what I am doing wrong.

Just found this refractometer on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Salinity-Refract ... dZViewItem is it a good one? I'm not sure i have never seen one before. I have called a few LFS and they don't even know what it is! I told them what I am trying to do and they said as long as you don't put too much salt it won't kill your bacteria...then I said "how do you know how much is too much?", he didn't really respond but went on about a hydrometer lol.

pigboy · Post by **pigboy** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 10:04 pm

Hi Navy - People go on about refractometers but a swing arm hydrometrer is fine for the brackish aquarium, I have had success with this tool for years although I have seen some models where the scale doesn't go low enough in salinity as they are designed for marine rather than brackish use. I can recommend the 'Instant Ocean' as this shows specific gravity from 1.000 - 1.012 which is the brackish region ; it also gives salinity (ppt) from 0 - 18. These cost about £12 and are accurate as long as kept clean - I always double check on neutral water before testing my brackish ( ver Anal !) good luck

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 10:45 pm

Even if a hydrometer is reading actual numbers wrong, it's relative readings are likely to be correct - it may be inaccurate, because it's not calibrated, but if it's built at all right it will be precise, and measure the same ammount wrong each time. For example, it may read 1.006 when it's actually 1.007, but either way it will measure 0.002 higher than it does now when you increase by 0.002, in this example it would read 1.008 and actually be 1.009.

pigboy · Post by **pigboy** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 10:49 pm

Nick is very right - it's all relative !

navy · Post by **navy** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 5:33 am

Thanks pigboy and nick!

Great help, was really concerned that i had to buy (yet another) expensive thing for my tank lol.

I bought it off ebay, so hopefully it will arrive soon...if that one is crap will buy the instant ocean one you recommended. thanks!

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