Is my water fresh, brackish, or salt?

[alvinsguppies]

See I'm quite not sure. I have guppies and they require a little bit of salt to survive, so I add aquarium salt. I have one rounded Tablespoon added to every 5 gallons of water. So does this mean it's brackish? Salt? Or still fresh?

 

[Fresh2o]

I'd say its fresh with some added salt.

I believe brackish is where the specific gravity is in the range of 1.005-1.010 and saltwater is in the range of 1.021-1.024.

 

[Macscale]

Salt is 1.020-1.026

 

[Fresh2o]

Salt is 1.020-1.026

Thanks for the correction. As my usernames implies...

 

[bald57]

I have converted 8 guppies to full salt water. There colors just pop in salt water. Had them in my 75 gallon along with other saltwater fish for over a year now and doing great

 

[Mebbid]

It's definitely a fresh water tank. There's a little bit of salt in just about all water. I would like to point out that added salt isn't necessary at all for guppies. They hardly need it to survive.

 

[BBradbury]

Brackish Water

See I'm quite not sure. I have guppies and they require a little bit of salt to survive, so I add aquarium salt. I have one rounded Tablespoon added to every 5 gallons of water. So does this mean it's brackish? Salt? Or still fresh?

Hello al...

Brackish water holds .5 to 30 grams of salt per quart of water. Since you add a tablespoon of salt to every 5 gallons of water, I'd definitely say the water is brackish.

Your livebearing fish don't need as much as you're dosing. A rounded teaspoon is plenty. Your plants will appreciate less.

B

 

[Mebbid]

Hello al...

Brackish water holds .5 to 30 grams of salt per quart of water. Since you add a tablespoon of salt to every 5 gallons of water, I'd definitely say the water is brackish.

Your livebearing fish don't need as much as you're dosing. A rounded teaspoon is plenty. Your plants will appreciate less.

B

Brackish water is approximately 1 tablespoon of salt per gallon. The amount used here is 1/5th of that

 

[severum mama]

Brackish water and full saltwater require marine salt mix to be added, not aquarium salt. Marine salt mixes are different than aquarium salt- they contain a lot more than just NaCl.

I will second that guppies do NOT need salt added to the water. They do not fare well in soft water, however. I use alkaline buffer for my guppies and other livebearers.

 

[BBradbury]

Brackish Water

Interesting. My source defines brackish as a measure of salinity and includes sodium chloride as one of the sources of salinity. Whatever the case, the poster is welcomed to use a little salt in their fish tanks or not. I prefer to use a little, to avoid the possibility of using more later.

Have a good one!

B

 

[severum mama]

Yes, includes sodium chloride but aquarium salt lacks the trace elements found in marine salt mix. For an actual brackish or marine tank, you would need the marine salt mix to attempt to replicate actual brackish water or seawater.

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[devdav]

I have a brackish tank at up with an SG of 1.010 and I achieve this with instant ocean at 1 cup of salt to 5 gals of treated water.

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[J.Mcpeak]

The salinity bands of brackish water are 1.001 upwards.
Low end is to about 1.010
Mid range is about 1.010-1.020
Marine is about 1.020-1.030

The exact scientific definition of brackish water is as follows,

An estuary is divided into three regions:
the freshwater entozone (salt content 0-0.5%)
Then the mezozone with a variable salt content (mixohalin),
and finally the marine ectozone (salt content >30%).
The mezozone is further subdivided into three regions:
The oligohaline zone (salt content 0.5-5%)
The mesohaline zone (salt content 5-18%)
And the polyhaline zone (salt content 18-30%)

 

[devdav]

The salinity bands of brackish water are 1.001 upwards.
Low end is to about 1.010
Mid range is about 1.010-1.020
Marine is about 1.020-1.030

The exact scientific definition of brackish water is as follows,

An estuary is divided into three regions:
the freshwater entozone (salt content 0-0.5%)
Then the mezozone with a variable salt content (mixohalin),
and finally the marine ectozone (salt content >30%).
The mezozone is further subdivided into three regions:
The oligohaline zone (salt content 0.5-5%)
The mesohaline zone (salt content 5-18%)
And the polyhaline zone (salt content 18-30%)

That's great information! I would only consider the mesohaline zone to be brackish water.

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[J.Mcpeak]

Hmm, anything not completely freshwater (0-0.5%) or completely marine (>30%) is by definition brackish!
This is the officially published scientific standard for brackish water.