Member

Posts: 158
From:Marysville, CA
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 03-02-2004 10:20 AM         

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Ok, so I've been giving some thought to making my ten gallon into a brackish tank with some bumblebee gobies and a puffer. I've read so much online about the salts to add and each site says something different. A couple have said to just use regular aquarium salt and add 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons. Another says 1/4 cup per gallon of marine salt, yet another 1-2 tablespoons of marine salt per gallon. These are all quite different measurements. Does anyone have suggestions for salt measurements for a medium salinity brackish tank? Thanks

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Member

Posts: 266
From:Canada
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 03-02-2004 11:24 AM         

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Liveaquaria was where I got 1.015 and 1/4 cup/gallon. Your question prompted me to look up some sites and I also found quite a range. One thing to remember is that there would be a fair bit of natural fluctuation in their native habitat with tides, rainfalls etc. A safe range that most sources seem to overlap is 1.005-1.008, but they range from 1.003-1.015. 1.005-1.010 is my gut instinct. It's important to remember that salinity isn't the only thing that affects specific gravity. SG depends on temp. to a large degree.

As far as recipes for salt, sea salt will be more natural but also more expensive. To get the proper SG get a five gallon pail and add a tablespoon at a time under you get the proper reading. This is the ratio that you'll need. Make sure you count the number of tablespoons and write it down!

There are equations that you can use to calculate it, but it can get quite complicated as you have to adjust for temp and water content of the salt (salt will absorb moisture from the air after being opened, expanding and making definite rules for ratio diffiicult).

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Member

Posts: 158
From:Marysville, CA
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 03-02-2004 11:40 AM         

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Thank you! The more I research this the less confusing it seems to be so maybe I am getting somewhere. It's only a ten gallon and I've heard that anything under 50 gallons is impossible to keep as a salt water tank. Is this true of brackish as well? Or would it be relatively easy to keep a small tank with a few inhabitants and lots of hornwort? Thanks again.

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Member

Posts: 158
From:Marysville, CA
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 03-02-2004 01:43 PM         

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Also, if I decided to go brackish could I keep my one M. Auratus in the tank until I can find a store that will take him in and give him a better home? Or would he not be able to tolerate the brackish environment? I found one site that says yes and that he is compatible with the bumblebee gobies, but that really doesn't sound right to me. Any thoughts?

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