The Puffer Forum

i have a lfs that sold me a gsp and they had it in brackish water tank. the lady told me they use API aquarium salt and gave me some to use. is that ok or should i have used something else, like marine salt. and if i have already used the API aquarium salt what can i do to change to marine salt and what is a good brand of marine salt. thank you

you are correct, aquarium salt is not the right stuff --

any brand of marine salt should be fine -- i use instant ocean, but thats just cause it's easy to get

make sure to add it slowly over time and monitor the specific gravity to make sure it is not rising by more that .002 per week

a water change or 2 should get rid of the aquarium salt, but im not sure its necessary to get rid of it -- but ill defer that to someone else

Like Mike said the aquarium salt will disappear over time with water changes and what is in there is unlikely to do any harm. You dont need the most expensive brand fo marine salt so get what is easily available to you and reasonably priced.

oh and i forgot to state ive been using the aquarium salt for like a month now...

id say to do a few 50% water changes over the next couple of days -- that should take care of it

how much total do you think you've put in ???

1 and a half of the 16oz cartons.

im going to have to defer to another member -- but with that much salt in there , changing it all and replacing with fresh might crash your biological filter -- it may be best to just do partial changes (25% or so) while you introduce the new marine salt. This way everything has a chance to adapt -- it will important to get a hydrometer or refractometer to measure the specific gravity during this process

I think small amounts of marine salt added in the water changes you normally do would be better than trying to get rid of the aquarium salt all in one go. Slow and steady.

I will be changing my tank over to brackish slowly eventually. We also have aquarium salt added as the directions indicate.

Is it bad to have both aquarium salt and marine salt in the tank? Does the marine salt do the same thing as the aquarium salt?

Junyoungmin wrote:1 and a half of the 16oz cartons.

Are you adding a little with each water change, or did you ad the 1 and a half cartons all at once? That could make a very big difference in how much salt is currently in the tank.

i slowly added in the aquarium salt. i put in 1 table spoon a day, skipping some days. when i did water changes, i matched the sg.
now should i just wait to start putting in marine salt. and how much marine salt should i put in every day or do i do it during water changes.
thank you so much. i dont want to put any stress on my gsp.

stormrider wrote: Is it bad to have both aquarium salt and marine salt in the tank? Does the marine salt do the same thing as the aquarium salt?

Aquarium salt just makes salty water, but true Brackish water is a mix of sea water and fresh water and this is what you need to recreate. You need to use marine salt mix to get the right balance of minerals. Aquarium salt is more of a tonic and helps treat certain diseases or can boost the effect of certain treatments but does not create brackish water. I think that's about right.

You should add salt during water changes. Premix the salt in the new water and make sure it is fully dissolved. Some people leave the new water (with salt) over night with a powerhead or bubbler, just to be sure the salt is all mixed and dissolved.

Is he happily swimming around and feeding properly and all your water paramters fine. Then you should be OK. But dont add salt directly into the tank anymore as it can burn the fish. So from now on just use a little marine salt with each water change make sure its fully dissolved and you should be well on your way.

ok well thanks for all your guys help. yes he is doing very well. hes been eating well and always swimming around looking for stuff. i will start doing proper water changes from now on. thanks again guys