Dechlorinating Brackish Water

[star4]

Help please I cannot seem to find an answer. I am looking into delving into my first brackish tank for mudskippers, I have been researching their requirements set up etc, testing salinity etc, but I cannot find an answer regarding dechlorinating water for a water change. I currently use a pond dechlorinator on all my freshwater tanks, is this ok for brackish or do you need a different type? also do you add dechlorinator then add the salt, or the other way round or do you have to dechlorinate the water and leave it before adding salt? if so how long do you need to leave it for?
 
sorry for numpty type questions 

I would rather get it right from the start.
 
Also I was thinking of using already mature media from my fresh water tanks to quick start the brackish tank, would this work? 

 

[Ch4rlie]

Hmm, am intriguing question.
 
Have been thing of brackish tanks myself and have read a little into it but not about the dechlore.
 
The nearest to your answer you seek is from Badmans Tropical Fish which is a half decent site tbh.
 

• Water Condtioner. As with all aquariums, you will need a product to remove chlorine and chloramine from your tap water before placing it in the tank. Make sure the product is listed for both fresh and saltwater use.

http/badmanstropicalfish.com/brackish/brackish.html
 
 
So a dechlore that is listed for both FW and SW is required, so on that basis I would think treat new water as you would with FW but with this specific de-chlorinator.
 
This one from PFK is just for more info and tips, although says nothing of de-chlorinator, just an interesting little read.
 
http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=3087

 

[star4]

Thanks Charlie I had read the PFK one, but not the badmans one thanks for that . I will have to check if my dechlor does salt/brackish, but this was why I was asking really if I dechlorinated fresh water using a freshwater dechlorinator then added salt does it make any difference, would it affect the salt?
 
Its a mystery

 

[iliveinazoo]

Help please I cannot seem to find an answer. I am looking into delving into my first brackish tank for mudskippers, I have been researching their requirements set up etc, testing salinity etc, but I cannot find an answer regarding dechlorinating water for a water change. I currently use a pond dechlorinator on all my freshwater tanks, is this ok for brackish or do you need a different type? also do you add dechlorinator then add the salt, or the other way round or do you have to dechlorinate the water and leave it before adding salt? if so how long do you need to leave it for?
 
sorry for numpty type questions 

I would rather get it right from the start.
 
Also I was thinking of using already mature media from my fresh water tanks to quick start the brackish tank, would this work? 

Never really thought about brackish dechlorinators before but the majority of dechlorinators state that they are for both fresh and salt. To be honest dechlorinator is supposed to work almost instantly so if you add the salt after dechlorinating the fresh water then there won't be any issues.  But the salt always dissolves faster if you add it before you fill the bucket with water so it would be handy if you could both dechlorinate and add salt at the same time. Why not email the pond dechlorinator company to see if they would recommend against using it for marine tanks?  I'd definately be interested to know the answer!  I've read that fresh water bacteria dies off more rapidly once you approach SG1.008 so I wouldn't worry about it too much unless you are going to a higher salinity.
 
As for cycling with freshwater media: it is definately possible just start your tank freshwater and you will have an instantly cycled tank.  Just keep adding an ammonia source to keep the nitrification bacteria fed until you reach your desired salinty level  .  Change the salinity by no more than SG0.002 each week to keep your bacteria populations up and add your mudskippers when you get to where you want to be - which to start off with would be to match the salinity of the water that the skippers are currently living in..

 

[DHJac]

I mix up my salt water a couple of days ahead of time to allow all the salt to dissolve and add API Stress Coat (dechlorinator).  Then in order to get my desired SG, I fill the container with the desired amount of salt water and then top off with fresh water while adding additional Stress Coat.  Then I make sure the water is well mixed and give the dechlorinator a little time to react. This method has never caused a problem for me.
 
Stress Coat states on the bottle that it is for both fresh and salt water.

 

[star4]

Thank you both for the replies great help