1.016 too low for QT tank?

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jandc805

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Sep 29, 2011
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I read an article and some books that say to keep a QT tank at 1.016 when acclimating new fish before introducing them to your main tank. I just started my QT 1 week ago and bought 4 chromis 2 days ago to help with the cycle. 1 died over night and the others over the next day. Was this due to the 1.016? Nitrite is 0 Nitrate was about 0.5 and ammonia was about 15-20 and water temp was at 75. I have a simple HOB filter and low budget powerhead running. Kind of afraid to add new fish once its cycled if the chromis died. Any thoughts appreciated.
 
that's a mistake. I would have the QT at .026. Some LFS's keep their salinity lower to keep parasites at bay. Then you toss them in your higher salinity water and they come out like gang busters. I can't think of a single good reason to keep your QT salinity lower.
Not unless you are treating your fish by using the hyposalinity method. This i would do gradually however, not just within a half hour of acclimation.

The chromis died because their was toxic ammonia in the tank. I would let the tank cycle now, since you created an ammonia source with the fish. In the future, you could simply put a piece of shrimp or dead fish from the supermarket in the tank to create ammonia, or even pure ammonia from the hardware store.
 
So should I raise the salinity right now to .026 or after it cycles and I do the water change?
 
The LFS I have been looking at and got the chromis from keep their salinity at .026 would this matter if I kept my QT at the same salinity?
 
No, because you said you are going to adjust it after the tank cycles, and before livestock goes in, right?
 
yes after cycling I will add fish to the QT and monitor them for a few weeks before adding them to my setup.
Thanks for your help on this
 
I've read that keeping the salinity a tad lower is better for home aquariums because it allows more oxygen in the water? What's your view on that.
 
I keep all my tanks at 1.026, even my fish only tanks. It's what the fish were in before they got to you so how can replicating their enviroment be a bad thing? Maybe I'm missing something
 
From what i have been reading It doesn't increase oxygen it lowers the osmotic pressure and that allows the fish to breathe easier . It still doesn't mean you should keep your salinity low natural 1.026 is the way to go.
 
Nothing is etched in stone ,,i keep all my tanks at1.020 because of things i've have read ...Said to be less stress and like hondatek said about breathing ...
For the original question though,,i always put my new fish right through hypo
 
That's completely false. It is etched in stone. You are recreating the reef in your home. You do everything you can to make sure the parameters are that of natural sea water. Fish would be suffocating in the ocean if it was bad for them!
 
IDK ,I'm no marine biologist or anything so i take what they write and study has to have some truth to it..
The oceans are all different ..Some areas have salinity up to 1.029 ,others 1.021..
I know we all try to recreate the ocean life for our fish in a box,,but to me thats nonsense ,,its impossible to do this in a home aquarium ..
 
Once again....
Ron Shimek's Website...Critters
"Coral reefs are generally located in areas that have salinities in the range of 35 ppt to 38 ppt. Most of our corals, and the associated fauna including fishes, will live best at those conditions (Weber and White 1976). Most organisms, even osmoconformers, can survive for brief periods in salinities well outside their normal range. But if maintained for longer period outside of that range they will be stressed and eventually will become so damaged that they will die even if returned to their normal salinity. Higher salinity is slightly more tolerable to these animals than is lower salinity, and adult animals are more able to withstand the extremes than are the juveniles or larvae."
"The bottom line for salinities is simple. There is simply no reason at all to maintain the salinities of our systems below normal reef conditions. All reef inhabitants will suffer damage from prolonged exposure to lowered salinities. Invertebrates kept at low salinities often die within a few days to a few months. Given that corals, sea anemones, sponges and some other invertebrates have no old age or senescence (or to put it another way, they are immortal), low salinities result in a quick death. Some mollusks, crustaceans, and most fish kept at low salinities die of kidney failure; it just takes them longer. A fish which dies in a couple of years in a hyposaline aquarium may have had the potential to live more than 20 years had the salinity been appropriate."

Reef Aquarium Water Parameters by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
"For reference, natural ocean water has a salinity of about 35 ppt, corresponding to a specific gravity of about 1.0264 and a conductivity of 53 mS/cm.
As far as I know, there is little real evidence that keeping a coral reef aquarium at anything other than natural levels is preferable. It appears to be common practice to keep marine fish, and in many cases reef aquaria, at somewhat lower than natural salinity levels. This practice stems, at least in part, from the belief that fish are less stressed at reduced salinity. Substantial misunderstandings also arise among aquarists as to how specific gravity really relates to salinity, especially considering temperature effects.
Ron Shimek has discussed salinity on natural reefs in a previous article. His recommendation, and mine as well, is to maintain salinity at a natural level. If the organisms in the aquarium are from brackish environments with lower salinity, or from the Red Sea with higher salinity, selecting something other than 35 ppt may make good sense. Otherwise, I suggest targeting a salinity of 35 ppt (specific gravity = 1.0264; conductivity = 53 mS/cm)."
 
Thats fine ,,a lot of things make sense ,,i'm not trying to convince anyone of anything...I'm not qualified to do so..I have read articles too..A lot of the ones i read say what i already said..
Check a lot of the online fish dealers too,,Live Aquaria suggests a range from 1.020(what i keep) to 1.025 ,,they don;t even go to 1.026...
If you dig long enough you'll find everybody is right and wrong
 
I don't mean to drag this out or start any arguments, but do you have any links to articles that say lower salinity is better? And by articles I don't mean links to someones post on a forum or a manufacturers or retailers recommendations.
 
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