10 Gallon Brackish Tank

[Fate2006]

Hey all, so I've been researching about brackish tanks and it just so happens that I'm getting a free 10gallon tank tomorrow evening so I'll be starting a brackish tank with it. I'm going to be planting the tank aswell, probably just some hornwort to start off... now i've been reading that apparently your salt level should be half that of a marine aquarium, now do I really need a hydrometer? or could I just dose the tank with 5gallons of marine salt for the 10gallon tank?

 

[dizzied]

How much salt you'll need will depend on what you're planning to keep.

 

[AMS]

Hey all, so I've been researching about brackish tanks and it just so happens that I'm getting a free 10gallon tank tomorrow evening so I'll be starting a brackish tank with it. I'm going to be planting the tank aswell, probably just some hornwort to start off... now i've been reading that apparently your salt level should be half that of a marine aquarium, now do I really need a hydrometer? or could I just dose the tank with 5gallons of marine salt for the 10gallon tank?

Your salt level is totally dependent on which species of fish you are keeping, half marine salinity may be OK for one brackish fish but it might mean death for another. Research what range of salinity your desired fish likes and keep the aquarium in that range. Yes, you really need a hydrometer. No, you can't dump a 5 gallon bucket of salt into 10 gallons of water to achieve half salinity (again, the salinity is dependent on what fish you wish to keep) because salinity can be affected by temperature, evaporation, water changes, and so forth. You need a hydrometer (or refractometer) to monitor the salinity and keep the tank in the desired range. It's the same idea as a pH test kit in a freshwater aquarium, you need to monitor the pH level and keep it within the desired range of the fish in the aquarium.