Brackish PH

[Amber]

Does adding salt to the water when setting up a brackish tank effect the PH value of the water?

 

[Pufferpunk]

Most BW tanks are best at a steady pH of around 8. This is best accomplished by using a substrate of crushec coral or aragonite.

 

[Amber]

The water from my tap is 8 to 8.5, does this mean I can just add the salt and get on with it?

 

[CFC]

It sure does

 

[Amber]

Exactly the answer I wanted!

 

[Pufferpunk]

Are there any fish in there? If there are, you should only raise the SG .002/weekly water change. If you are just cycling the tank, then cycle it at the SG the fish you are interested in are at in the shop.

 

[Amber]

Yeah there are fish in there - b/bee gobies & glass fish.
I was thinking to raise the SG.001 weekly and keep them eventually at an salinity of 1.005 to 1.008.
Does this sound OK?
Sorry complete newbie at the brackish lark!

 

[CFC]

Brackish fish are very tollerent of changes in salinity and can cope with changes far larger than 0.002 per week, many species will go from fresh to brackish to marine and then back to fresh water all in the space of a daily feeding migration. Also tidal changes in the wild affect SG levels with areas which are almost freshwater suddenly becoming almost marine when the tide comes in flooding the area with salt water. I would be happy making changes in SG of up to 0.002 per day.

Bumblebee gobies will not enjoy the SG being over 1.006

 

[Pufferpunk]

You are correct, BW fish can handle large SG swings, but your tank (the benefitial, bacteria, to be exact) cannot. Unless you raise the SG slowly (no more than .002/week), you will kill off the FW bacteria faster than SW bacteria can develop & the system will crash.

 

[CFC]

With the SG being below 1.007 there will be no SW bacteria present as this does not start to form until the SG is 1.007, there is then varying ammounts of both FW an SW bacteria until the SG reaches 1.018 when SW bacteria takes over completely.

 

[Pufferpunk]

I would like to know where you get this info from. SW bacteria begins to develop as soon as you add salt.

 

[CFC]

It may well do but is in such low quantaties that it does not become a issue until the SG has reached/passed 1.007. This comes from information i have gathered with years of keeping and researching brackish fish but as there is no way of measuring bacteria there is no substancial proof other than that i have never seen a brackish tank start to re cycle until the SG has risen above 1.007.

 

[Pufferpunk]

You may very well be correct, as Marineland suggests using their SW Bio-Spira at levels starting at 1.008, but I have seen many, many tanks crash from raising the SG too fast, even in levels way below 1.008. I would love to link to the info I have, but this forum doesn't allow links to other forums.

 

[Amber]

I think I would be happier raising the SG slowly anyway - not because I think one of your opinions is right the other wrong because I have no idea, more just because of my own lack of experience with mesuring the salt etc. Easy does it and all that.
I will however remember that it should not exceed 1.006,

Thanks guys