salinity of tank?

[tane]

Hi there,
If the tank was going to be only a FO tank, would it make sense to run the tank at a lower salinity? If one did that, how would one acclimatize new fish that came from the LFS with a normal salinity range?

[G]

Tane,
First of all please define "lower salinity". My definition of lower salinity is approx. 1.020 with the norm being around 1.025. In general you will find that most LFS will keep their SG at lower levels such as 1.020. This is two-fold, 1)hyposalinity aids in preventing and curing ick 2)purely economical, they don't spend as much on salt. So first, confirm what the actual SG at the LFS is. I think a good method of acclimitization would be a gradual decrease which can be done by replacing salt-water from your tank with Fresh RO/DI water a little at a time. I cannot help you in what the long-term effects of hyposalinity on the fish will be however. Hope this helped ..Gary

[SPasse]

Tane,

First of all, WELCOME TO REEFLAND!

Hypo (low) salinity is a bad idea. It directly contributes to the early demise of our critters.

The only use that I see for it on a temporary basis, is the treatment of ich.

I remember asking about this quote of Dr. Ron’s:

“Some mollusks, crustaceans and most fish kept at low salinities die of kidney failure — it just takes them longer. A fish that dies in a couple of years in a aquarium may have had the potential to live more than 20 years had the salinity been appropriate.”

As I recall, for fish, this was determined by postmortem examination of the fish.

The kidney of a fish regulates it’s internal fluid balance and apparently is severely strained by a hypo-saline environment. But depending on the extent of the hypo-salinity, may take years to manifest itself.

Here is one of Dr. Ron’s articles.
http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/a.../1/default.asp

I keep my tanks at 1.026

Regards,

Scott

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The definition of an expert is a washed-up drip under pressure.
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