fish experts please, 10 pts for most informative reply.?

Question

we are new to this whole salt water thing.
would you please tell me the step by step instructions for getting a ten gallon tank up to brackish salinity? Most specifically, how much salt actually goes in there? A teaspoon a week? Something like that? And how much at first? We have the salt, we have a hydrometer, tank's been set up as freshwater for a long time. What do we do this!!!???
All help is appreciated.
please no links, just good old fashioned advice.

Answer 1

Brackish water can be any mix between fresh and saltwater but for most brackish fish I usually use salt equal to 20-25% seawater. Buy a decent brand of saltwater mix - not just aquarium salt. So if you want to set up a 20 gallon tank which would use somewhere around 5lbs of salt for full saltwater you would use 1/4 of this or 1.25 pounds. You can start with half of this or less, depending on the salinity of the water in the tanks you are buying the fish from. If they are already in full brackish water then you can float them right in, but if they only have a little salt (ask the salesperson or take your hydrometer) you'll want to gradually build them up over the course of several weeks.

Salt does not evaporate so you would not add new salt water to replace evaporation -only freshwater (properly treated). When you actually make a water change, then you replace it with saltwater as you are removing some of the salt. Of course if you are wanting to increase the salinity you will add more salt water.

The benefits of not going to high in salinity is that there are some plants that are tolerant of brackish water assuming you don't have fish that will eat them.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Stormvision has pretty much answered your question I think. The kind of fish, plants, inhabitants of your tank should be what determines your level of salinity. I am hoping that you are not going to try to force your existing fish (if you have any) into a brackish water environment. I have heard WAY too many times the ...misinformed... help at X-mart tell someone that "all fish can be turned into salt water fish" "Fish love salt"

Fact is, studies have shown that bringing a freshwater fish to its maximum salt tolerance improves growth and health, but that does not mean it is in saltwater. It also means that every fish has a different level of salt tolerance. Bringing a tank to an individual freshwater fish species maximum salt tolerance is defintately an advanced level undertaking. It is much better suited to lab tests than the fish keeping hobby.

Once you know what you are keeping and what their ideal salt ratio is then you can set up the tank specially for what you are keeping. Generally speaking, you should be buying a brackish water fish already being kept in brackish water to place in your tank. You can make the introduction less stressful by finding out what salinity/water conditions the store is keeping the fish at too. That is certainly the easiest way to approach the challenge.

Please bear in mind that because of the small size of the tank, water quality fluctuations will be fairly quick. So you will want to watch the tank closely for these changes. It sounds like you have all the tools to make it happen, so all you need to do is figure out what you want to keep, add the salt a bit at a time and make good use of your hydrometer so you can get it just right for your fish.

Good luck with your new adventure.

Answer 3

Brackish fish like the temperature to generally be a little high so make sure its around 78-80 to begin. Live plants help to keep the extra carbon dioxide level in the tank down. Make sure the gravity is 1.005-1.015. Put 1 teaspoon of salt for every gallon of water in your tank. Non-iodized salt is ok but try to use specially formulated sea salt. Don't put undissolved water in the tank, so mix up the salt and water before putting the water in the tank. Use a plate and place it at the bottom of the aquarium to spread the water out without disturbing the sand/gravel. After doing this place your plants in the tank, and turn the heater on. Leave the tank for about 2 weeks to build up the bacteria level in the tank before adding fish. Add a few hardy fish to the tank after the first week to establish the tank a little better. Mollies are the best option to do this. Don't add no more than 3 or 4 fish a week until the tank is set up fully. Check and make sure the ammonia and nitrate levels are down and adds the rest of your fish.
Plants that will do well in the brackish tank: Java Fern, Sagittaria, Myriophyllum, Spathiphyllum, Vallisneria, Ceratophyllum sp (hornwort) and Hygrophila. Fish that are good for the brackish tank are: Scat, Indian glass fish, archer fish, mono, silver shark, bala sharks, mollys, orange chromides, kribensis, golden-banded goby, knight goby, half beaks, four eyes

Answer 4

Brackish water contains between .5% to 1% marine salt. You should add just under a pound of salt to a ten gallon tank (.8 pounds to be exact). A pound of salt is equal to 1.5 cups. Change the water once a week and make sure to only take about about 25% of it at a time. When adding salt add about 1/5 of pound a marine salt or 1/4 of a cup to replace what you took out. When replacing water that evaporated do not had any salt for salt does not evaporate.

Answer 5

Brackish fish originate from areas in which freshwater meets saltwater. Fish that live in these areas are able to tolerate a wide range of salinities. Brackish fish do best in water with a salinity of 1.015, or one to two teaspoons of salt per gallon, and a pH of 7.5 or higher.

Here are some brackish water fish:
Archer Fish
Bumblebee Goby
Fahaka Puffer
Figure 8 Pufferfish
Mono Argentus
Mono Sebae
Scat
Topaz Puffer
Mollies (all)

If you do not have brackish water fish, one tablespoon of salt per ten gallons is a good mix for most fish. Most fish do well with a little salt in their water. It helps their gills function better and also helps them produce the slime coating on their bodies that is a natural barrier to bacteria and parasites.

However, some fish and many catfish do not tolerate salt at all and even that little bit will kill them. Do your research on your fish and see if they can tolerate salt.

Answer 6

I really don't know anything about salt water fish or setting up a tank or anything like that. I'm sure that if you search the web you'll be able to find something. It also might be a good idea to search questions other people have asked on this website.

~J

Answer 7

you can buy special stuff that releases the salt when it needs to... any tropical fish store should carry it