The Puffer Forum

is there any particular marine salt you shoud use to create a brackish tank????

Whatever brand you like best. I'd go with what's cheapest.

I think they're all pretty much the same, by and large. From what I've read, different brands and even different batches from the same brand may differ slightly, and so it may take different volumes of salt to achieve the same SG each time.

I use some by a company called Tropical Marin. It was £10.50 for 2Kg of the stuff, which was a lot cheaper than I was expecting.

Cheapest. I usually order bags from Drs Foster & Smith, because I get a 6% rebate & they don't charge extra for weight.

I also use the cheapest one. Instant Ocean do very well for my puffers. Last time I bought a 25 kg bucket. At smaller sizes it comes in plastic bags, but the 25 kg comes in a bucket. The bucket has a top that closes very tightly, and keeps the salt nice and dry.
As mentioned earlier, you need to check out the SG when you open a new bag. Older bags can give a lower SG and a newly opened one. I've experienced that myself.

DFS sells both buckets & bags. Once you have a bucket, you can buy their 3-bag deal to save $$$.

Malabar Front, I used to use the Tropic Marin too, which is very good stuff, but there's one that's cheaper and if you're only using it for brackish, it's just fine. It's by Aqua One. I got a 4kg box for £12.99, and I was paying about £10 for the Tropic Marin 2kg box. Just thought I'd tell you. However, if I had to grade them, I'd say the Tropic Marin has it all over the Aqua One. The Tropic Marin is finer, whereas the Aqua One seems clumpier. But doesn't matter once it's blended with water.

TM is one of the most $$$ brands out there--for reef tanks.

Pufferpunk wrote:DFS sells both buckets & bags. Once you have a bucket, you can buy their 3-bag deal to save $$$.

There's no 3-bag deal around here. But my plan is to buy plastic bags later (I'm still using from the bucket - it has lasted for a very long time). I don't need more than one bucket.

schismy007 wrote:Malabar Front, I used to use the Tropic Marin too, which is very good stuff, but there's one that's cheaper and if you're only using it for brackish, it's just fine. It's by Aqua One. I got a 4kg box for £12.99, and I was paying about £10 for the Tropic Marin 2kg box. Just thought I'd tell you. However, if I had to grade them, I'd say the Tropic Marin has it all over the Aqua One. The Tropic Marin is finer, whereas the Aqua One seems clumpier. But doesn't matter once it's blended with water.

Thanks for the tip. I'll have a look for that next time, but for a low brackish tank this box looks like it's going to last a fair while. The finer salt may win me over, mind, as it dissolves in the water very quickly.

If you are only using a small amount of salt, I'd go with whatever is the smallest container since it can lose it's minerals or gain water from humidity the longer the package is open. If you will be using a large amount of salt, then go ahead and get whatever you want.

Instant Ocean makes five-pound bags, and even five-tablespoon packages. http://www.petdiscounters.com/Instant-O ... p1324.html

I use AquaOne. Was £18ish for 8KG tub. Got the large tub cos cycled the tank as brackish, so used quite alot initially. Still have about a third of the tub left, but will probably get a smaller one next time, just in case there is any deterioration over time.

I use OceanPure and have no complaints.