The Puffer Forum

ok i jus got a 15 gallon tank from my uncle and was plannin on housing a f8
and i was wondering if sea salt would be a sufficient mix for my aquarium

Yes sea salt is what you should use. I personally use Instant Ocean brand.

As long as its not regular sea salt used for cooking, which can be just basic rock salt, but marine salt with all the trace elements needed.

oh ok
but i was wondering about self-prepared sea salt
i live in Hawaii and my grandparents gather some from rocks every few months for cooking and stuff
and was wonderin if that could be used

oh ok thnx boxermom
guess ill haul my lazy a' to the lfs
and buy a bag

Personally I wouldn't. I lived in Hawaii for quite some time and I know how nasty and poluted the water around the islands can be.

true that but theres this one spot on the tiny island of Moloka'i where the water is awesome

anyway getting back to the subject
wats the best brand sea salt there is
i wanna go for quality with this one
as its my first brackish water aquarium attempt

As long as it's prepared marine salt from the LFS, the cheapest brand will do. Be sure you measure it with a hydrometer & cycle the tank before getting your puffer. Excellent articles to review in our Library!

do i need to cycle the tank first or do i need to get the salt in there first i jus got back from the lfs and i have the tank runnin but wit jus freshwater
and can i jus throw some salt and biospira in
i wanna get this thing cycled as fast as i can

From my understanding BioSpira only comes in fresh or salt water preparations. This means the "fastest" way to do this is probably put the BioSpira in with the fresh water (if you have the fresh water one) and then slowly raising the s.g. 0.002/week. You might want to keep something in there so the bacteria colonies don't die on you. If the f8 has been kept in fresh water so far, then you can put him/her in the tank after BioSpira, and then slowly increase the s.g. with the f8 in there.

oh ok
but would it be quicker if i get the saltwater version of biospira
and like crank the sg to 1.004 now and let it rip?
if not then ill try to do wat nusquam suggested

The salt water biospira will die at 1.004. Because it meant for marine specific gravity, which is about 1.023-1.025.

You should try to match whatever water conditions the F8 is being kept in at the store. Then you can raise the SG with subsequent water changes.

Most stores keep their F8s in freshwater. Find out what yours keeps them in, as spoot said, and match that. You can use freshwater BioSpira for whatever low level of brackish you'll need for the F8 unless its higher than 1.008.