Salinity is a measurement of an salt concentration in water and is a critical factor in the health of aquatic animals. Salinity levels impact how water move in and out of the cells of fish and other invertebrates. If the salinity levels is incorrect for the species in the aquarium, the fish or invertebrates may experience osmotic shock, which can lead to the death of those fish or invertebrates.
Maintaining the correct salinity levels in the aquarium is necessary to ensure the health of the fish and invertebrates in the aquarium. The salinity levels vary depending on the type of habitat that you’re going to replicate in the aquarium. Freshwater habitats have a salinity level of zero parts per thousand and contain no salt.
How to Measure and Keep the Right Salt Level in Your Tank
Brackish water habitats have a more higher level of salinity than freshwater yet have lower salinity than marine environments. Marine habitats have high levels of salinity, around thirty-five gram of salt per liter of water. These environments mimic the ocean.
Different species of fish and invertebrates requires different levels of salinity to thrive. For example, clownfish require marine salinity in there tanks; if placed in freshwater, the clownfish will die. There are different tools that can be used to measure the salinity of the water in the aquarium.
A swing arm hydrometer can be used to measure the salinity of the water in an aquarium and is commonly used in basic brackish water tank setups. A refractometer use light to measure the salinity of the water; refractometers are more precise in their measurements than swing arm hydrometers. Digital meters measure the salinity of the water through electronic readings.
Digital meters are the most accurate measuring tools for salinity levels in the aquarium. However, you must calibrate all these tools to obtain a correct salinity levels of the aquarium water. Using inaccurate tools will provide incorrect readings of the salinity of the water in the aquarium.
Temperature also play a role in the salinity measurements of an aquarium due to the fact that the temperature can change the tools’ measurements of the salinity of the water. To even this out, the tools should be calibrated at seventy-seven degrees Fahrenheit to even out the salinity measurements of the water in the tank. When adding salt to the water, ensure that you perform the process careful to avoid introducing changes to the salinity of the water.
Use reverse osmosis water when adding salt to the water, and always add the salt to the water gradual. Adding salt to the water quickly may lead to undissolved clump of salt that can lead to spikes in the salinity measurements of the water. Additionally, ensure that water lost from the tanks due to evaporation is replaced with pure freshwater only.
The use of saltwater to replace evaporated water will increase the salinity of the water. When adding fish and invertebrates to the tank, ensure to consider the salinity tolerance of each species of animal. Some animals are euryhaline, which mean they can tolerate different salinity levels of water.
Other animals are strict dwellers, which means their salinity must remain within a small range. Ensure that the salinity of the tanks meet the requirements of the animals to be kept in the tank, and avoid keeping species with different salinity requirement in the same tank. For instance, avoid keeping a freshwater neon tetra with a knight goby, as the neon tetra requires low salinity levels in the water but the knight goby require higher salinity levels in the water.
Ensure to routinely test the salinity of the water in the tanks. Salinity drift may occur in the tanks over time, which means the salinity levels in the tanks change slow. Salinity drift can be caused by evaporation of the water in the tanks.
Maintaining a stable salinity level in the tank will help ensure that the fish and invertebrates in the aquarium dont become stressed, and will thrive in their habitat.
