How much salt is needed in a salt water tank?

Question

I already have the tank ready its just that i have no idea how much salt.

Answer 1

Do you have a hydrometer to measure your salinity? You need to mix the salt so the specific gravity is 1.020-1.026 for fish, 1.024-1.026 for invertebrates. Unless you're keeping wild caught Red Sea species, then you want it closer to 1.027. There's no measurement of cups/gallon, if that's what you're looking for. As salt gains moisture, the volume changes slightly so it's not accurate to measure this way, but you can start at around 1/2 cup per gallon, then adjust from there. Unless this is the first you're filling the tank, you should always mix the salt in a separate container and adjust it to the proper salinity before you add it to your tank.

Mix the salt in cold water (hot water holds additional metals from your heating system, so you don't want to add these to your tank. Let the water warm up to room temperature at least before you measure the salinity. For each 10o change in temperature, the salinity changes 1.001