Salt water warning!

Willow · Post by **Willow** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 11:06 pm

Hi! I just joined this forum, although I've been a member at landhermitcrabs.com for a few years now. As all the other members of LHC know, I like to test salt water in my hydrometer. I have tested Red Sea, Instant Ocean, Tropic Marin, Doc Wellfish, ZooMed Salt Water Conditioner Part 2, and Salt Water Glub. All of the salt mixes tested to be full-strength ocean water at a ratio of 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt to 1 cup of water (I actually mixed it at 2 tablespoons salt/1 quart water, but it's the same). Salt Water Glub is also full strength, so it's nice for those who prefer the convenience of pre-mixed, although I think it's terribly expensive. However, ZooMed Salt Water Conditioner Part 2 is WORTHLESS! It contains almost no salt, and has a lot of artificial coloring. In order to mix it to an acceptable salt level, you would have to use 5 teaspoons of mix to a cup of water, this is 5 times the recommended dosage. The water will be very yellow if you mix it this strong, probably not safe for the hermies. I believe the lack of salt in this product could be very dangerous for hermies, especially for Strawberry crabs. I noticed in reading past posts that it seems a lot of members on this forum use this brand for their salt water, I just wanted everyone to be informed so that no hermies will die unnecessarily.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 11:32 pm

Thanks Willow, that is good information...did you check all of the brands using the same ratios, and then test them at their specs as well?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 11:35 pm

Interesting info!

Indeed some who use ZooMed salt solution and the dechlorinator seem to have some troubles.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:11 am

I'm glad to hear that salt water glub is good for hermit crabs. That's what I have been using because it comes mixed and everything so it saves me time. My E loves it and seems healthy, so I figured it must be good, but hearing for sure that it is good for them makes me feel better

Great job with the research on salt water!!!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:17 pm

I used to use glub but I switched to oceanic. Is oceanic safe too?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:11 pm

i use instant ocean (i cup for a gallon of water ) and my straws love it

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:12 pm

racetripper, you're adding too much. Here's the directions

Instant Ocean
package indicates to use 1/2 cup (which=8 TBSP) per gallon.

* 1 1/2 tsp per 8 oz (1 cup) water
* 1 TBSP per 16 oz (1 pint)
* 2 TBSP per 32 oz (1 quart)
* 4 TBSP per 64 oz (1/2 gallon)
* 8 TBSP per 128 oz (1 gallon)

Hermit_of_Hermit_Crabs · Post by **Hermit_of_Hermit_Crabs** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:48 pm

I also measured out the Instant Ocean in ounces to cups. For IO it requires 1oz of salt for every 4 cups of water.

Willow · Post by **Willow** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:13 pm

I didn't test them all at their specs, because a lot of them only had instructions for mixing large quantities (over 5 gallons). So I tried them all according to the Instant Ocean recommendations (as outlined by vckums).
I forgot, I also tested HBH Hermit Crab Salt. The mixing instuctions on the package recommend 1 teaspoon per cup of water, this tests too low, but if you mix it according to IO specs (1 1/2 tsp/cup water) it tests fine. It's a little cloudy, probably because it "contains extra calcium!" I thought the cloudiness would go away after a while, like the other salt mixes, but it was still cloudy after a week. The hermies didn't seem to mind, though.
MyHermies--I'm sure Oceanic is fine, too, but I haven't tested it yet. I have 35 crabbies, there's only so much salt mix I can go through, LOL. Maybe it'll be the next brand I try.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:34 pm

Willow, I love your sig!!

I use Oceanic for my hermies and always have. According to my reefkeeper friends at work, Oceanic is one of the closest to natural seawater, and I like to keep my specific gravity at 1.025 since that is what seawater is. I have found though that the Oceanic tends to test rather low. They say 1/2 per gallon for 1.021 but I have found that it does take more than that. I also add buffer to it to keep my pH at about 8.2 (again like seawater). My friend told me it has a lot of calcium in it as well so I dont add a calcium supplement.

I also use it in my saltwater tank and love it. Its also one of the least expensive brands.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 1:20 pm

I started out using that Zoo Med part 1 and 2 stuff (because ya figure if it's "for hermit crabs" it must be right, right? Not!) Anyway, the way it's described, I assumed it was a dechlorinator for your already-mixed saltwater, with some additional goodies (?) to justify paying for a whole separate thing. My point is, it's very confusing marketing to make the consumer think they need something, which is really nothing.
Incidentally, I emailed ZooMed to find out if the "drinking water conditioner part 1", which is a dechlorinator, also produces slime coat, AND IT DOES, although it doesn't say anything about it on the packaging. So there's another worthless product.