And So It Begins...

[Phoenixbaby]

Just mixed up my salt, 1gramm per litre, and its slowly being added to the tank thru the course of the evening

gonna leave it at this level for a month, and then up it to 2gramms per litre, as they do not need the higher salinity just yet, as theyre only just an inch in length

gawd this is nerve racking lol

(btw this is for my gsp)

 

[nmonks]

Do understand that 3.5 grammes per litre is only SG 1.001, and even making that big of a change all at once will have zero impact on your filter bacteria. I'd recommend aiming for ~SG 1.003 by the end of the first 4 weeks through 25% water changes each weekend, removing water and replacing it with SG 1.003 water each time. You really need to be at SG 1.005 within about 6 months of purchase. The optimal SG for mature Tetraodon fluviatilis and T. nigroviridis is anything between SG 1.005 and 1.015. Some folks believe keeping them in marine tanks helps because skimmers and living rock become usable, but there's no evidence at all keeping them in brackish water is inferior provided water changes and water quality are appropriate to the needs of these species.

If you haven't already done so, take a look at my Brack Calc application to understand the relationship between salt concentration, specific gravity, and temperature.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Phoenixbaby]

i have been advised my the lass in my lfs, who is also a friend, that to start with, only use one gram of salt per litre, because these guys are only babies still and do not need the higher end brackish water just yet, but i am aiming to get it up to the higher end within 6months

Ive taken out a bucket of water from the tank, and mixed up 87 grams of salt into it (tank is 87 litres)

ive been adding 2 jugs every half hour, is it ok for the full amount to go in this evening, or should i add the other half of the bucket 2moz?

sorry i just wana get this right

 

[kewskills]

Phoenixbaby i know you want to do it correctly, but trust me Nmonks is the man to listen to, look him up if you want Dr N Monks, I have his brackish book he has written, he has given me much advise on hear and it is always sound advice. I can't imagine anyone on hear disagreeing with anything he states as incorrect

 

[Phoenixbaby]

oh i wasnt saying he was wrong

just saying what id been told

would it be worth then, adding the rest of my bucket of water which is 1gramm per litre

then letting the water settle in the tank for half hour

drain water from tank into bucket, and add an extra 2.5 grams per litre

which in total will make it up to the 3.5grams he suggested, and a SG of 1.001

 

[nmonks]

only use one gram of salt per litre, because these guys are only babies still and do not need the higher end brackish water

This is fair enough up to a point, but 1 gramme of salt per litre isn't brackish water. It's about what you'd use the treat whitespot on freshwater fish sensitive to standard whitespot medications. Assuming you're using marine salt mix (not aquarium salt) this very low dose of salt may not have enough carbonate hardness to buffer the pH changes, and that's at least one key trick to keeping brackish water fish healthy.

Initially you want to aim for SG 1.003. That will have zero impact on your filter, and your puffers will acclimate instantly. Even as juveniles they can be kept in anything up to half-strength seawater (SG 1.012). In fact, in the wild it is (according to Fishbase) the adults that are found in freshwater, not the juveniles. So if anything, you'd be lowering the salinity as the fish mature! In practise this doesn't work because the brackish water seems to help deal with other things, perhaps nitrate toxicity or pH changes.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Phoenixbaby]

ok so im gonna add the rest of my bucket of water

yes its marine salt

so to get it up to 1.003 how much extra salt to i need gram wise? its an 87 litre tank

sorry im new to this and still trying to get my head around it

 

[nmonks]

It's very simple: leave things as they are for now. But this weekend, when you do your 25% water change, replace with SG 1.003 water. That's about 6 grammes of salt per litre. Do that every weekend and you'll be fine.

By their very nature, NO brackish water fish needs "a particular" salinity. They are ALL able to adapt, and adapt very well, at least within the short term. The argument over optimal salinity is what works well in periods of 12+ month periods, i.e., for the life of the fish. In the case of GSPs, something around about SG 1.010 is likely optimal. Higher salinity (marine) tanks with skimmers and live rock are perhaps better in some ways, but a lower salinity that suited your budget better by allowing you to do big, regular water changes would be just as good. So don't fret over trivial details like precise salinity. Your fish certainly doesn't care!

The only real issue is once salinity exceeds SG 1.005. From there, the "freshwater" bacteria have to be replaced with saltwater bacteria. So if you do things too fast you get an ammonia spike. I'd recommend taking the tank to SG 1.005 and leave it running thus for at least 2-3 months, even 6 months, so that the filter can settle down properly. After that period, change the salinity upwards (if you choose to) only very slightly, and check the nitrite levels weekly to make sure the tank is "cycling" safely. With luck, there will already be a healthy colony of saltwater bacteria from the SG 1.005 stage, so no problems will occur. But doing big changes in salinity, e.g., from SG 1.005 to SG 1.010 in one fell swoop is asking for trouble.

Cheers, Neale

sorry im new to this and still trying to get my head around it

 

[Phoenixbaby]

ok well its not even at 1.001 just checked and its so low the refractometer wont read it

ok this weekend i will up it to 1.003 maybe my refractometer might read it lol

 

[Phoenixbaby]

ok just added 6 grams to a jug of 1 litre, and the refractometer read sg 1.003

so u were spot on!!!

ps, can i add zeo carb to my filter, it will help with the ammonia from the puffers

 

[nmonks]

SG 1.001 is 3.5 grammes of marine salt mix per litre. If you are using a refractometer properly, it should easily register that salinity. Contrary to popular misconception, consumer-grade refractometers (i.e., ones that don't cost $1000+) aren't any more accurate than properly used hydrometers. Moreover, it is very easy not to use a refractometer properly, so do be sure you have calibrated it correctly in particular.

For the casual aquarist keeping brackish water livestock, a basic $5 floating glass hydrometer works fine. Got me through my marine biology at university not to mention 20+ years of fishkeeping!

Cheers, Neale

ok well its not even at 1.001 just checked and its so low the refractometer wont read it

ok this weekend i will up it to 1.003 maybe my refractometer might read it lol

Zeolite doesn't work in brackish water. As it should state on the package: for freshwater aquarium usage only! Salt causes the ammonia to leave the zeolite, which is obviously not what you want.

Going from SG 1.000 to SG 1.003 will cause no stress on the filter, and you shouldn't have any ammonia at all, assuming the filter is otherwise properly matured. As ever though, use your test kit to check, and adjust water changes and amounts of food as required.

Cheers, Neale

ps, can i add zeo carb to my filter, it will help with the ammonia from the puffers

 

[Phoenixbaby]

well my ammonia is always 0, but ive been told that the puffers give off high ammonia lol

what about normal carbon? its already in the filter

ok well i added the distilled water to the prism, closed the daylight plate and looked through

it said the upper portion of the field is blue and to calibrate it to 0, but when i looked thru, it was already at 0

so i tested it out on what u said, 6gramms per litre = sg 1.003

and when i looked thru, it was bang on 1.003, so im guessing this thing is spot on

p.s, my level isnt even at 1.001 due to the fact ive added 1 gram per litre, not 3.5gram per litre like uve said, so no wonder the refractometer wont read what ive added to the tank

 

[DarkEntity]

SG is variable by temperature, so for my tank i use 100grams of marine salt per 11litres of water @ 26degrees, this gives approximately 1.005