Brackish Salt. And Sea Salt?

[jvoigt]

is there a difference between brackish salt and other types of salt.. my question is.

what kinds of salt are made for brackish and what kinds are for marine.. or is there a difference?

 

[dizzied]

Both use the same salt - sea salt.

 

[MojoDex]

yea both the same as already said but brackish uses tiny amounts compared to marine

 

[nmonks]

Not really "tiny" amounts. A low-end brackish system (say, for figure-8 puffers or mollies) would use about 1/5th the salt of a marine tank (about 1 oz per US gallon) while a moderately brackish system for monos and scats would use about 1/2 the salt of a marine tank (about 2.5 oz per US gallon). Just to make sure it's clear, you need *marine aquarium* salt mix, not "sea salt" as sold in grocery stores, nor "tonic salt" sold as an addititive for freshwater tanks.

Cheers, Neale

yea both the same as already said but brackish uses tiny amounts compared to marine

 

[jvoigt]

so then what would be the best salt to use.. brand wise?

right now i just buy the little bags of 2lbs of salt for a dollar.. they arent labelled so what kind of salt is that. and should i continue to buy that or wouldi be better off just buyin a big 5 gallon bucket of instint reef salt or something of that sort?

 

[nmonks]

so then what would be the best salt to use.. brand wise?

Couldn't make the least difference. Instant Ocean, Reef Crystals, whatever is cheapest in your neighbourhood. For brackish water, obsessing about the exact ratio of trace elements is irrelevant. Buy in bulk to save more money, and don't over-feed the fish if you want to do the least water changes.

right now i just buy the little bags of 2lbs of salt for a dollar.. they arent labelled so what kind of salt is that. and should i continue to buy that or wouldi be better off just buyin a big 5 gallon bucket of instint reef salt or something of that sort?

Almost certainly not worth using in an aquarium. Cooking salts *usually* have compounds added to improve the "flow" of the salt and in some countries to add trace elements. The iodine compounds in particular can be toxic to fish. As for salt for de-icing driveways and the like, there's no guarantees that solvents or other chemicals haven't been added, so those definitely shouldn't be used. Stick with marine aquarium salt.

Cheers, Neale

 

[jvoigt]

thank you.

one more question.. my spotted puffer tank is about 1.005 sg.. i slowly built my tank up to that level by adding about 4 teaspoons to every 2 gallons i put in.. anyhow i used to mix up that same amount of salt in 2 gallons and it would read 1.005. now my tank is reading 1.005 but when i mix the water in my 2 gallon bucket with the same amount of salt i always have used it reads zero. as if there is no salt in the bucket of water.. i put it back into my tank to make sure it still works and then it reads 1.005. so i ended up puttting about 6 oz of salt in my 2 gallon bucket before it would finally read the correct number at which point i was kinda scared to poor that much salt into my tank.. is there a reason for all this or is my hydrometer malfunctioning?

thank you nmonks.. and anyone else with there insite.. its really a great help!

 

[nmonks]

Four teaspoons of salt in 2 gallons is not SG 1.005. It's impossible to make proper brackish water this way. The problem is that after a while, an open box of salt absorbs water from the air, and so measuring out salt becomes inaccurate.

To make SG 1.005, use the hydrometer to measure the water you've made up. Add about 1 oz of salt per gallon, stir well, wait 20 minutes, and then measure the SG. If the SG is too low, add a little more salt, if it's too great, add some water. Either way, you'll get accurately made brackish water.

Sincerely,

Neale

 

[jvoigt]

so is what your saying is my meter doesnt lie.. that the reading of that much salt added was correct and safe for my aquarium?

how accurate are these little plastic meters with the needles that point out your sg?

 

[nmonks]

so is what you're saying is my meter doesn't lie.. that the reading of that much salt added was correct and safe for my aquarium?

Yep.

how accurate are these little plastic meters with the needles that point out your sg?

Accurate enough. Reef-keepers do rather obsess about the relative merits of hydrometers versus refractometers, but a properly used hydrometer is more than accurate enough for a brackish water aquarium. Just be sure you understand how to use one, and that you read the instructions properly, and keep it clean.

Cheers, Neale