The Puffer Forum

Ok, sorry to keep asking questions, but my tank is fully cycled, installing a mini refugium in the sump tomorrow, and will be 100% ready for a puffer by saturday. The only problem is the salt content is a little high. Is 1.025 too high for a GSP? I will be doing a waterchange Saturday right before I add the puff to get any frozen shrimp residue out of the tank(one got sucked into the pump from the sump), and I'll try to lower it by .002 to keep the bb from dying off. But will that be low enough for a GSP if I do a slow drip acclimation(8+ hours)? I have an airline gang valve and some tubing, so I think I'm all set for the drip acclimation, I'd just hate for it to die during the acclimation process because there was too much salt in the water.

I keep my GSP at that SG. I did a 9 hour drip and she has been great. Very active eatting like a pig and in great health

Like X-ray said, its ok for GSP´s, personally i will decrease the SG to 1.022... but thats almost the same, so i think its ok... just try to do a excellent and long timed acclimatization ¿ok?

OH, don't forget pics!

Like the others said its fine, salt water is from the range of around 1.022 - 1.027

I keep mine higher cause I have corals.....amazingly enough she leaves them all alone

Is there an "optimum" salinity for GSPs? I am going to be getting my tank set up this weekend, and I was just curious.

I keep mine <1.023.

Many said 1.020 - 1.022 its the ideal salinity, almost all the books i´ve read... but also said they can live a long on marine water (1.025).
Thats cuz GSP are not Reef Associate, they doesn't pass away from Seaweeds, thats like the natural limit... Mangrove swamps-estuary-seaweeds.

what do you think folks?

lol, well I'm feeling a lot better about sticking a GSP in the tank this weekend, I was worried i was going to have to postpone it to get the salinity down. Will be acclimating very slowly, and will do my best to remember to take pictures of the setup. I don't think it'll be a problem to get the salinity down to 1.022 within the next week, and I'm pretty sure the other salt tank is typically at 1.02
Thanks guys!

Specific gravity of 1.02 is not exact enough. You do need three figures after the decimal point.

Marine conditions are not a single specific point. Density varies with tides and currents and rainfall and FW input from land drainage. A specific gravity of ~ 1.021 is about the minimum I would label as SW. If there is, or is to have add LR, that would be the absolute minimum operating level for me. A specific gravity of 1.022 would give a very comfortable margin of safety for FOWLR + skimmer + macroalgae refugium. I see no no reason to operate at higher densities as in my experience, higher densities do shorten the lifespan of most SW fish rather tan extending it. They do have to work harder to maintain their internal osmolarity where it should be when the exterior water is higher density. Some inverts or reefs may however require or prefer higher densities, but as these critters are not usually kept with GSPs, that does not often apply. Higher density water is also more expensive. If not needed for some specific reason, why use it?