Portable Refractometer Salinity for - ICH

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dr exum

dr exum

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
Sep 29, 2007
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Have you tested your water?
Yes
If yes, what is your ammonia?
0
If yes, what is your nitrite?
0
If yes, what is your nitrate?
10
If I did not test my water...
  1. ...I recognize that I will likely be asked to do a test, and that water tests are critical for solving freshwater health problems.
Do you do water changes?
Yes
What percentage of water do you change?
41-50%
How frequently do you change your water?
Every week
If I do not change my water...
  1. ...I recognize that I will likely be recommended to do a water change, and water changes are critical for preventing future freshwater health problems.
Does this seem right?

wanted to check here to see what folks thoughts were -

pic is gauge inside refractometer

i’ve only gone up to 4 lines from the bottoms after adding 2-3 tsb per gallon -

internet says this :

Thanks all!

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I can't tell by that pic.
I use the weight method as opposed to volume, because different salt grain sizes will give differing results.
Fresh water emerging Ich parasites are killed by a salinity of 3 ppt or higher (parts per thousand)
I achieve this salinity by adding 3 lbs of salt per 100 gallons, and this method has always worked for me for about 20 years.
At one point I had access to a digital salinity meter that read in ppt, and as long as I adhered to the proper weight, it always worked, whether large chucks (as in water softener salt) or using rock salt. 3 lbs, is 3 lbs no matter what size the grains are.
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better pics - ive been weighing it -

water changes and such - trying to keep accurate salinity levels for 3 weeks -

it probably does not have to be perfect hopefully -

ie -

take out ~ 50 gallons add 1.5 lbs of salt -

better pics of refractormeter - i think i want 3 bars from the bottom for 3ppt -

trying to do my diligence - got qt 3 tanks infected ??

thanks !

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Agree, it does not need to be perfect, so I always shoot for a little above 3ppt, and most Central American, Malagasy, and rift lake African cichlids would be unphased by that minor salinity, although some soft water Amazonian species from far inland may be stressed by it .
In that slightly higher salinity, I have no doubt the emerging Ick will be lysed. But ... I believe at even 2.5 ppt, there are certain strains of Ick, that go on their merry way.
The Lake Tanganyika strain is said to be one of those that handle a higher osmotic pressure.

when I treat, I usually toss in the entire 3 lbs per 100gal, all at once, when using water softener salt. The large chucks dissolve slowly
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When I treated my first 180 gal tank for Ick here in Panama, it was impossible to get large bags of salt to the island, ..... but because the Pacific is within 50 ft, I used 18 to 20 gallons of sea water.
Since sea water has an average salinity of 35ppt, I figured 18 gallons of straight mixed in the tank would get me to 3ppt.
I lost a couple plants (Anubias), although most survived (Hydrrilla, Vallisneria, even an Amazon Sword (although it melted back some)), but no fish, none even seemed slightly stressed, and as I poured the sea water in, the Andinoacara would swim into the salty current.
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duanes said:
Agree, it does not need to be perfect, so I always shoot for a little above 3ppt, and most Central American, Malagasy, and rift lake African cichlids would be unphased by that minor salinity, although some soft water Amazonian species from far inland may be stressed by it .
In that slightly higher salinity, I have no doubt the emerging Ick will be lysed. But ... I believe at even 2.5 ppt, there are certain strains of Ick, that go on their merry way.
The Lake Tanganyika strain is said to be one of those that handle a higher osmotic pressure.

when I treat, I usually toss in the entire 3 lbs per 100gal, all at once, when using water softener salt. The large chucks dissolve slowly
View attachment 1440934
When I treated my first 180 gal tank for Ick here in Panama, it was impossible to get large bags of salt to the island, ..... but because the Pacific is within 50 ft, I used 18 to 20 gallons of sea water.
Since sea water has an average salinity of 35ppt, I figured 18 gallons of straight mixed in the tank would get me to 3ppt.
I lost a couple plants (Anubias), although most survived (Hydrrilla, Vallisneria, even an Amazon Sword (although it melted back some)), but no fish, none even seemed slightly stressed, and as I poured the sea water in, the Andinoacara would swim into the salty current.
View attachment 1440935
Click to expand...

nice use of seawater! Sounds like you have been quite resourceful there! That’s an Acara? it pulled through? Just got my first - little picky at the moment...

this is all South American - came in with my recent order of SA fish from the Florida Vendor....

all the fish are in QT tanks - just annoying - se la vi.... (not sure how that’s spelled)

thanks! duanes duanes !
 
Because all my fish are wild caught here, at least 50% had a parasite of some sort, be it an ick spot, or a lernea.
In the wild these would not be any more than an irritant, but in a tank they could easily become epidemic.
I used the sea water to remove any ick, and to kill emerging Lernaea, the adult Lernaea had to be physically removed, salt wouldn't phase an adult.
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Some lernaea were so embeded, part of the caudal came off with the parasite.
But its similar with Ick, you never kill the parasite on the fish, you only prevent its progeny from reinfecting.

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Just a point to note that I think you are already aware of.
Ppt and sg are two different figures, so sea water at 35 ppt equates to an sg around 1.026 ( and is dependent on temperature - usually measured around 25-26 degrees)
So 3 ppt is 1.0023 so yes around 2-3 of the tiny lines up from the bottom on the sg side on a refractometer.
 
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thanks for input guys!
 
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