Salt Question???

[phishead]

O.K. I've got my plan lined up for my Estuary Tank.....

Got a question regarding adding salt.....

When you make water changes, when do you add salt to bring the balance back to normal??

I've read that one should first mix salt with water then add to tank. But I have a filtered water conection directly into tank. Can I just add salt directly into tank or are all the things I've heard true about the salt not disolving all the way if it's done this way??

phish

 

[OrionGirl]

The salt mix should be dissolved before going into the tank. The problem is not that it won't dissolve, but that it will cause wild fluctuations as it does so, which can cause serious problems for fish and other organisms. Also, some fish will try eating the salt, and this is not good for them at all. Your connection should be good for FW topoffs, but not for water changes.

 

[phishead]

ok...so I should use a bucket or something to mix water for water changes.....

Oriongirl, when I top off, would I make adjustments to the salt content??? If so, then how's that done??

Again, I'm REAL new at this saltwater stuff, so thanks for putting up with newbie questions!!!

phish

 

[cdawson]

When topping, never add more salt. The salt does not evaporate with the water.
Depending on how big of a tank you have you should buy a separate rubbermaid container and small powerhead, as well as a heater to prepare the water for up to 48 hours ahead of time. Better safe than sorry I say. Besides some of the more experience aquarists recommend that you mix that long beforehand anyhow.

 

[phishead]

So, what you are saying is that the intial filling of tank, one should not be adding salt during topping off, but I would guess that during a water change too much saltwater would be suctioned out so the refill would have to have salt added.?.?

BTW my setup is 55 gals.

phish

 

[cdawson]

I would get a 15 gallon container for water changes.


No, the salt does not evaporate out of your tank with the water. Just the water evaporates, the only way salt is removed from your tank is during water changes.When you initially fill the tank set the specific gravity to where you want it and then cycle the tank with a fishless cycle. Or you can use bio-spira to instantly cycle the tank.

 

[OrionGirl]

Originally posted by phishead
So, what you are saying is that the intial filling of tank, one should not be adding salt during topping off, but I would guess that during a water change too much saltwater would be suctioned out so the refill would have to have salt added.?.?

BTW my setup is 55 gals.

phish

Correct. The initial filling of the tank can be done with FW and you can add SW directly to the tank to the right specific gravity. After that, freshwater will be needed to make up for evaporation, and saltwater is used for water changes. I always top the tank off with FW before a water change, to make sure you don't end up boosting it by putting in more SW.