What salt for brackish water? Do I need to dechlorinate tap?

If your are using a product such as Instant Ocean ( www.instantocean.com ) or Reef Crystals ( http://www.instantocean.com/Products/Sea-Salt-Mixes/reef-crystals-sea-salt.aspx ), then directions will be on the container. Other products may also include instructions. The amount of sea salt will depend on the specific gravity you desire. Ocean water, or water used in marine tanks, has a specific gravity of 1.025, so you will need to dissolve enough salt into a quantity of water to reach that level. You will need to allow for 24 hours to make sure the salt has completely dissolved. If you want a step by step guide, click the link below. http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/guide-to-mixing-saltwater-517/

Water softeners leave very little salt residue in the treated water. Most, not all, fish *should* do fine in softened water. Make sure you get species that does better in soft water. Use a hardness kit and monitor KH. This parameter is what can affect pH. You can set aside a gallon or two and test it after it has aged for 24-48 hours to confirm it is safe to use. Check the softener unit for a bypass valve. Some units will have one or you can get one installed. Taps/faucets outside may not be in line with the softener, so you can use water from there if necessary.

If your fish are salt tolerant, use one teaspoon of plain aquarium salt per gallon of water to treat Ich. Dissolve it in a cup of tank water then pour it slowly into the tank. Increase water temperature to about 85-86 F and hold for 10 days. Vacuum the substrate once your fish lose the "dots".

Fresh tap water can be left sitting over night and any chlorine in the water will evaporate. It can then be used for your tank. Depending on the type of fish you have you should adjust pH and hardness of the water and of course temperature. Your local pet store can help you with that.

As a short term bath of up to seven days and a concentration of up to 1 tablespoon/ 1gal water can be used but this is just the fish as a treatment. You cannot add it to the daily aquarium as it will damage the plants and can damage the fish. Remember these are freshwater fish, not salt water.

Hermit crabs need two types of water. Fresh and saltwater. Hermit crabs also cannot drink tap water. This water is treated with chlorine which can cause permanent blisters on the crabs gills (yes they have gills) which will be very painful for the hermit crabs. For this reason all water (including drinking and misting water) must be unchlorinated. Buy a small bottle of tap water conditioner in the fish section of your pet store. Follow the instructions for making a gallon of water. It's a lot easier to have a batch of water ready to use for the next few weeks or so rather than having to make a small amount every day. When choosing a conditioner, do not purchase "Stress Coat" as this is used strictly for bathing your crabs and keeping fish only. Look for a conditioner that removes chlorine and chloramine and neutralizes heavy metals. Do not get a conditioner that stimulates a slime coat, other than for baths. After that, you have a batch of freshwater. Now simply make another batch of water and add some aquarium salt into the mix. Usually about 8-10 tablespoons of salt is enough. You may hear that only exotic species of hermit crabs need salt water, but this isn't true. All hermit crabs including the purple pincer (Coenobita clypeatus) need this. Many crabs drink saline water for hours prior to molting. And their shell water supply has a specific balance of iron. Providing salt water allows the hermit crab to choose what kind of water it would like to drink. Let the water sit overnight, so it comes to room temperature and the salt dissolves.

Salt water aquarium requires a great deal of regular maintenance to keep the fish alive. This can be helped by adding live rock (similar to live coral) to the aquarium. Below is a link to some great information for maintaining a salt water. aquarium.http://www.madhattersreef.com/20-ways-improve-aquarium-husbandry/ I hope that helps and all is well with your fish.