Hyposalinity

orucco

Member
My 10 gal QT tank PH is 8.2-8.3 and 35ppt salinity. My tapwater which is off a 425' well has a TDS of 146 and PH of 8.0. My RO/DI is about 7.0 PH. I just changed 2 gals, 1/5, as recommended here with my tapwater as it is closer to the QT's PH and will continue to do so every 12 hours until I reach 14 ppt. Is this alright and close enough or do I need to raise the PH closer and if so what would you recommend I use...............Thanks.
 

lefty

Active Member
So you're using tapwater in the tank because the pH is closer to that of the water in the QT? I would recommend against the use of tap water and just use the RO/DI with some pH buffer added. I use SeaChem's Liquid Marine Buffer and it works well. :)
-lefty
 

orucco

Member
Is the Seachem buffer to be used in sw? I need to buffer up the fw that I am diluting the QT with.
 

lefty

Active Member
It would probably be better to add it directly to your tank right after you add the FW. I don't know if adding it to the FW would make a difference or not. Good question though. :)
-lefty
 

beth

Administrator
Staff member
You can add the water, wait and hour, then test it. Adjust as necessary. Remember to adjust low pH slowly. However, if you test every time you add the water, you should not have any major problems.
 

orucco

Member
Thanks for all the great advice. I am at 14ppt and had a 2 .5" clowns in the qt for about a week when the gramma appeared lethargic and had a couple of tiny whitespots on his body. I almost decided to put the clowns in the mt so I could use the qt for the gramma but due to the better advice I have received here I left them in and will continue the qt of all for 6 weeks. The spots on the gramma are gone and all are eating great.
 

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Actually, 3 weeks from the time that you last observed spots will be sufficient.
 

beth

Administrator
Staff member
After the 3 weeks, you should take another 5 days to bring the salinity up to normal in your tank.
 

elfdoctors

Active Member
Usually a combination of water changes with regular salinity saltwater combined with not replacing evaporative losses. Some people also make some concentrated saltwater with a specific gravity ~1.030 but this is a lot harder to regulate (as salts will sometimes precipitate out at that salinity).
 
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