HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hi, I am confused on the salt water bath. I bought API Aquarium Salt. I an trying to get the proper mixture with water, to mimic sea water.

What is the proper mixture?

Thanks!

Api aquarium salt is a salt ment for freshwater aquariums. The salt you need is a marine grade such as instant ocean. It comes in a purple box. You can get it relatively cheap at any store that sells fish.

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I buy mine from petsmart

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Ok thanks. I actually live close to ocean. Can I just fill gallon of sea water?

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I wouldn't because of pollution and I don't really know if it's safe. Maybe a more experienced crabber can chime in.

I buy 10 gal box of instant ocean and mix half gallon at a time. It's 4 TBSP/half gal and 8 TBSP/gal. Half gallon for us usually last wk to wk half. This box is about $10 depending on where you buy from and prob lasts about 7-10 months depending on how deep and how often you change your pools.

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Correct me if I am wrong but on the box it says use half a cup to every gallon of water. I'm not sure how this translates to tbsp though. But that makes the salt water comparable to real ocean water

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I know a few aussie crabbers that use ocean water, but other than that I really don't know anyone else in the world that uses ocean water. The problem with ocean water is that it often contains microscopic organisms which will eventually die and cause an increase of ammonia in the pool, which could cause respiratory problems due to "burning" their gills and abdomen. Not to mention, that many areas may have a large amount of traffic - both near the water's edge and in the water itself - and often there's human activities like run-off and drilling of oil close by. In the wild, the crabs have numerous water sources to get salt from - a whole beach - which doesn't translate well to a small "pool" in an enclosed environment. If the microscopic organisms don't die, they could be predatory and may cause illness to the crabs... With very little rewards and a whole bunch of "what ifs" I personally wouldn't.

Its often far safer - and easier - to just get a bag of marine grade salt water and mix it yourself or buy premixed water.

NLindsey921 wrote:Correct me if I am wrong but on the box it says use half a cup to every gallon of water. I'm not sure how this translates to tbsp though. But that makes the salt water comparable to real ocean water

4 TBSP = 1/4 cup = for half gal mix
8 TBSP = 1/2 cup = for gal mix

For me TBSP is easier to use with a funnel and it can fit snuggly in the box. With a 1/2 cup, it wouldn't fit into a full box. Sorry for the confusion.

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Ok. Thanks for clearing that up for me. I'm just use to thinking of tbsp as a small unit and was not sure how it translated. But that is definitely good to know.

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