The Puffer Forum

Hey again everyone. okie doke i think im ready to introduce some salinity ( marine salt, thanks for looking out ) to my gsps, theyre about 1.5 to 2'' and my tank 45g, is fully cycled. So how do i do this thing, im pretty sure i dont want to pour a bunch of salt in there and start reading my hydrometer... whats the best method for my little fellows?

Mix it with the last bucket of water you add(or only bucket you add, if you have a hose from the sink) at your weekly water change. Let it dissolve until the water is clear, stirring as needed.

First off you need to test the sg of your tap water. Mine was about .003/4 under 1.000. Becareful to carefully raise the SG to 1.000. A week later 1.002 and so on. .002 a week as to not crash your tank. You wanna allow the bacteria to adjust slowly and not shock it and kill it. Which is very easy. I did it. .002 no more a week. And also I'd recommend a large rubbermaid tub for WC and mixing. Get a lid too. So if you ever have extra water you can save it for your next WC and save money on salt. Also another tip would be say if your sg is at 1.000 and you wanna raise it to 1.002 the water you mix should be 1.004. So when you tamke 50% out and replace it. .002 with be dilluted in to the 1.000 water in the tank and the end result should be 1.002. So the salt you add when raising the sg should be a tad(.002 if doing 50% wc) higher than your target salinity. Or if you do like 80% wc and mix water at the target Sg that'll work too. But IMO it's a waste of salt since your gonna be changing the water weekly till it's marine ir high BW. And it can be stressful to fish and bacterias. First method is best. And saves a few bucks.

Make sure to top off tank with FW thou bc salt doesn't evaporate. The sg will increase with water evaporation. You'll notice the water evaporates quickly in BW/SW. Top off with FW to keep the sg stable.

Wow. Perfect. Thank you so much thats exactly what I was looking for. Homerun.

Alrighty..... hour 48 after a 30% water change and introducing salt, I was scared to do 50% that just kinda freaks me out, I adjusted my math accordingly... I really dont want to stress these little guys. My SG before the change was 1.002 and ive checked it 3 times throughout the day today and its been a consistent 1.005. Think Im alright? Ive also raised the temp from 74F to 79F again, over a 48 hr period. They actually look a lot happier. Their colors are much more vibrant and their attitude and energy is noticeably up. I discovered they dont like ghost shrimp though, that sucks, but am I on track here ya think?

Temperature will affect SG reading, as SG as measured by a hydrometer is based on density. But then, I nerd out.

Usefully, most are reasonably accurate thermometers which have readings from 75 to 80 degrees or beyond are fine. Take your time and mind you calculations, always ere on the size of most surplus water.