ARTIFICIAL SALTS
Several companies have special aquarium salts on the market, and it is even possible
to find concentrated sea water. Some salts are intended for marine tanks for fishes,
others for aquariums with invertebrates. Their quality is satisfactory, although
there are likely to be improvements in the future, and, as they are enriched with
calcium, micronutrients, and vitamins, they are obviously relatively expensive.
There have been no adverse reports to date about the use of these salts in aquariums:
in those areas where accidents do occur, they are usually due to miscalculations
on the part of the aquarist.
Making sea water in an aquarium, before putting it into operation
Fill the aquarium with fresh water and aerate it for 24 hours. Calculate and
weigh the quantity of salts to be dissolved, then introduce them into the aquarium.
Then just aerate for another 24-48 hours and check the density, adjusting it as
required.
Artificial sea water can be reconstituted with the help
of special salts available in aquarium stores.
Making sea water for storage and back-up
The method is the same, except that plastic food containers are generally used.
The quantity of salt can be multiplied by three or four to manufacture concentrated
water that will therefore occupy less storage space.
Adjusting the density
The density is too high
Part of the water is siphoned off - this can be stored for later use - and the
softest water available is added, taking care to measure the density. When the water
level of a marine aquarium goes down because of evaporation, it is not the sea water
which is evaporating but the fresh water, and it is therefore the latter which must
be added to make up the level. The addition of sea water would entail an increase
in density.
The density is too low
In this case, salts must be added. These must be dissolved beforehand in a container
which is then gradually emptied into the aquarium, with constant checks on the density.
Both these operations must be performed with care if the aquarium already contains
fish, in order to avoid causing any excessively abrupt changes that could be detrimental
to the fish.
Artificial sea water, reconstituted with commercially produced
salts, creates an environment that is perfectly suited to fish.
|
