how much salt?

[pstrew]

i have a 20g tank that i need to start adding salt . my eel needs do be in brackish water(curently not..was in freshwater when i got it and didnt want to shock it) i understand ony to bring up the sg. .002 a week i just needt to know how much salt to add and should i do a 20% water change 0r 50% when addinf the salt
i have instant ocean ,a hydrometer just new to this
if u can explain the equasion great but really just need som one to tell me the amount of water to take out and how much salt to add to the new water thanks

 

[Mrc8858]

You don't want to ever mix salt in a tank that is stocked because salt will burn their gills. Your better off mixing new water at the salinity that you desire and water change with that.. one to two tablespoons of salt per gallon should increase it .002-.004 but when measuring such precise amounts I highly recommend a refractometer for the job.

 

[pstrew]

yes i know to mix it first so 1-2 tbls should it per gallon but is that with a 50% water change or20 or dose even matter

 

[Mrc8858]

yes i know to mix it first so 1-2 tbls should it per gallon but is that with a 50% water change or20 or dose even matter

Kinda confused lol

 

[pstrew]

lol sorry u said 1-2tbls a gallon is that the whole 20 gallons or just the water i replace from the water change

 

[shellieca]

lol sorry u said 1-2tbls a gallon is that the whole 20 gallons or just the water i replace from the water change

Sorry, tablespoons? Are you sure that's correct? I may have missed it, are you using aquarium salt or Epsom salt. If you read the carton directions on aquarium salt I believe it says 1 tsp (teaspoon) per gallon. If its the 1st time your adding it I believe you add for the full 20g, if your water changing I believe it's just the new water. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[shellieca]

Sorry, tablespoons? Are you sure that's correct? I may have missed it, are you using aquarium salt or Epsom salt. If you read the carton directions on aquarium salt I believe it says 1 tsp (teaspoon) per gallon. If its the 1st time your adding it I believe you add for the full 20g, if your water changing I believe it's just the new water. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

Sorry disregard; I read your post wrong. I was thinking treating sick fish.

 

[Mrc8858]

1-2 tablespoons will turn one gallon of freshwater at 1.000 to 1.002-1.004 and I would not treat the whole tank at once if this fish has been in FW. Do it through your weekly water change to acclimate him back to brackish water.

 

[pstrew]

im sorry lol im just not getting this its been explaind a few time i just dont get it i feel dumb...ok im trying to get the sg of the whole tank to.002 how many gallon water change do i do and how much salt do i add to the new water befor i put it in the tank...lol im sorry agin

 

[Rivercats]

I think what your not grasping is do your weekly water change, whatever that amount is. THEN the water you would normally put in would have the salt added. Over time as you keep doing WC's with the new salt water. your entire tank will slowly become brackish to the salinity you want. Don't change your WC routine. Just start readding water back in that is the correct salinity. This way your tank is very slowly changing in salinity which is safe for the eel. You need to stop trying to think "how many gallons do I need to change" to get that salinity. The salinity will correct itself slowly with WC's done with correct salinity refill water. You can't rush it. Does this help any?

 

[Terrance]

Maybe its the math that is hard to understand.

To make it more simple, always do a 50% water change when raising the sg and everything below is with a 50% water change.

If you are raising the sg of your display tank from 1.000 to 1.002, then you want the sg of the new water to be 1.004.

The next week, if you want to raise your display tank from 1.002 to 1.004, then the sg of the new water should be 1.006.

The following week, if you want to raise your display tank from 1.004 to 1.006, then the sg of the new water should be 1.008.

Please account for water displacement. Your tank is 20g, but your substrate and tank decor takes up water space. you definitely have less than 20g of water in your tank.

It might be wiser to do weekly increments of .001 per week instead of .002.

 

[pstrew]

ok im starting to get it,,,only thing im not is im looking to get the tank to .002. nwith a 20gallon tank doing a 5 gallon water change what is the sg im lookinf for in the new water to bring the whole tank up to .002

 

[Terrance]

I think it would be 1.008 for a 5g water change.