Salt Question

[donnacona]

As everyone knows you must add salt to an aquarium every now and then.
My question is can sifto pool salt be used,is it the same as food grade salt.
Stu

[Phillydubs]

Stuart,

Why are you using the salt to begin with?

I have no idea about that salt, it is prob. different, I'd go w standard epsom, its so cheap, not worth subbing for possible ill effects.

[Larry Bugg]

As everyone knows you must add salt to an aquarium every now and then.
Stu

Why do you think you must add salt to an aquarium every now and then??? I've never added salt to my tanks, unless treating an illness, and I've been keeping fish for over 50 years.

[donnacona]

Thank you just asking, not very often but once and a while ( once a year ) I see the fish shaking the fins and rubbing on objects.
I add a little aquarium salt and things are fine again. I do lots of water changes to keep the nitrates down.
Stu

[HarryDk]

surprisingly many people have told me to add salt to increase GH for aquarium and it has become a habit for many ~_~. When I start with discus I add rocksalt to have my GH 2-3 ( we have zero GH/KH in Melbourne); as time goes in simply, i read so many threads and most experienced member saying "not to use salt regularly", and now my weapons of choice are Calcium Chloride, Epsom salt,bicarb soda, crush coral, sometime even Calcium carbonate. I have not find the best stuff to use yet, more experiment needed.

@larry: what should I do with zero KH/GH, which of the above chems is best to use ?

[eros111]

'food grade salt' - do you mean normal table salt ?

[sayid]

Harry i only have crush coral in a little sock in the canister filter just to stop ph crash also rock salt does not increase GH ,playing with bicarb soda ,calcium carbonate etc destabilize your water chemistry unless you know exactly what you are doing i would not play with your water ,there is nothing wrong with Melbourne water ( Amazon water is very soft as well ) ,there is no need for adding salt to water unless there is a need like adding epsom for cleaning the intestine of the fish ,just my opinion.

[bluelagoon]

Harry i only have crush coral in a little sock in the canister filter just to stop ph crash also rock salt does not increase GH ,playing with bicarb soda ,calcium carbonate etc destabilize your water chemistry unless you know exactly what you are doing i would not play with your water ,there is nothing wrong with Melbourne water ( Amazon water is very soft as well ) ,there is no need for adding salt to water unless there is a need like adding epsom for cleaning the intestine of the fish ,just my opinion.

+ 1

[HarryDk]

lucky I only play with the smaller tank! :D but rock salt really increase GH in that tank.
about bicarb, I always add a small amount in my aging barrel, I have experimented and found a sweet spot and maintain PH at 7.2 and 3 drops for GH/KH.
I believe my fish got use to it now, if Gh is zero again, they will start shaking fin etc. Correct me if i'm wrong :|

[bluelagoon]

Usually,it is calcium and magnesium that is measured for GH.There are many others that can increase GH like potassium,sodium chloride and other minerals.GH and KH go hand in hand;calcium and bicarbonates will increase both.When I kept Malawi cichlids,I made my own buffer.I would mix first the KH components(calcium and baking soda) to raise it to the proper PH and top off the GH by adding,Salt ,magnesium and a small amount of potassium and other micro nutrients.

[brewmaster15]

As everyone knows you must add salt to an aquarium every now and then.
My question is can sifto pool salt be used,is it the same as food grade salt.
Stu[/QUO
Stu, it look like its just sodium chloride, the company that makes it also makes culinary grade...
[QUOTE]
Sifto® Pool Salt

Sifto Pool Salt produces the sparkling clear water that only a salt water pool can provide. So you and your family can get the very most from your backyard pool, year after year.

Less start up time with quick-dissolving crystals
Contains a natural stain fighter that prevents stains on pool surfaces so you can enjoy your sparkling pool, worry-free
Meets or exceeds the standards set by leading chlorine generator manufacturers
Eliminates the handling and odor of harsh chemicals
Safer and gentler on skin, hair and eyes than traditional chlorine
Reduces fading of swimwear fabrics
Easier and less expensive to maintain than traditional chlorine pools
Certified by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) to NSF/ANSI 60
http://www.compassminerals.com/info/product/sifto-pool-salt/

but really for the limited times when you might use Salt ( as a medication) Kosher salt is fine,


al

[sayid]

lucky I only play with the smaller tank! :D but rock salt really increase GH in that tank.
about bicarb, I always add a small amount in my aging barrel, I have experimented and found a sweet spot and maintain PH at 7.2 and 3 drops for GH/KH.
I believe my fish got use to it now, if Gh is zero again, they will start shaking fin etc. Correct me if i'm wrong :|

Harry ,shaking fins some time is because of water temp being low or is part of mating ritual but what ever the reason please don't change GH SUDDENLY ,it is a recipe for disaster .

[HarryDk]

Harry ,shaking fins some time is because of water temp being low or is part of mating ritual but what ever the reason please don't change GH SUDDENLY ,it is a recipe for disaster .

Gottcha :D, GH always 3, temp always 28. Never again want a disaster @_@

[HappyFace]

Can someone help please? I salted my tank with aquarium salt yesterday and today. It's at 2ppt right now. I just read that Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate usp) is recommended for swim bladder which my discus appear to have. Is it safe to add Epsom salt to a tank that has aquarium salt since Epsom salt is a magnesium laxative and the other is not? They are totally different, right? I put Epsom salt in a glass with water and tested positive with my salt meter- it does read out on the meter that it is a salt.

[Michael Lee]

My answer would be no! The only kind of salt you should use in an aquarium is aquarium salt that you can buy at the pet store. Table salt contains iodine. Pool salt I'm unfamiliar with. Also, I don't add any salt to my aquarium. Once I was giving them the recommended amounts on the label but it made my discus stopped eating, were hiding all the time, got spoked easy. When I stopped the salt, they recovered very quickly upon a good water change.

[Adam S]

Solar salt, kosher salt and rock salt are all better, cheaper options than aquarium salt.

Salt has its place in the hobby, but using it on a regular basis isn't needed or a good idea.

[Paul Sabucchi]

As Adam said, as long as the salt is not added with iodine then table salt is fine, some argue that it may still contain anti-caking agents but it has been used for decades and I have not come across any reported problems. Probably the practice of regularly adding salt derives from the "old days" of fishkeeping when it reduced the toxicity of ammonia/nitrates. This nowdays in a well managed tank should not be necessary but it still has a place in helpung to treat problems like ich.

[jeep]

I use Solar Salt for water softeners from Home Depot. It's about $5.50 for 40lbs and it's great for aquarium use. Aquarium salt in the lfs is a rip-off considering the price per pound.

[Pices]

Can someone help please? I salted my tank with aquarium salt yesterday and today. It's at 2ppt right now. I just read that Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate usp) is recommended for swim bladder which my discus appear to have. Is it safe to add Epsom salt to a tank that has aquarium salt since Epsom salt is a magnesium laxative and the other is not? They are totally different, right? I put Epsom salt in a glass with water and tested positive with my salt meter- it does read out on the meter that it is a salt.
If it were me I would do 1 or 2 large water changes to remove aquarium salt. Once you are back to fresh water I would then add Epsom salt. Without knowing specifics of your wc’s, substrate, if it’s in a hospital tank, etc it’s hard to advise. Filling out the disease questioner would improve your chances at saving this guy immensely.
Patty

[nah]

If salt then why not natural sea salt?

[brewmaster15]

If salt then why not natural sea salt?

Natural Sea Salt may contain many other minerals...Really alls you want for the medicinal properties here is NaCl... Sodium Chloride .So if the "natural Sea salt" is just Sodium Chloride its fine... but expensive!

But as the others said, it not something needed all the time. Treat it like a medication and you will be fine.

hth,
al

[bluelagoon]

And Sodium chloride and magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) should be treated like two separate medications and are used for different ailments.

[slicksta]

I haven't used salt in a long while, but when I did I used Morton salt for hard water treatment without issue and at a fraction of the price of salts designated for aquariums.

[Willie]

Salt is salt, sodium chloride. That includes iodized salt, kosher salt, rock salt, sea salt, table salt, etc. In my experience, iodized salt works exactly the same as non-iodized salt, despite a lot of speculation of fish sites. Some table salts will contain flow agents, but none of them have any impact on fish. I buy salt used to make ice cream at the grocery store because it's cheap and it dissolves readily (finer grind).

I only use salt for treatment, never as a prophylactic. So the quarantine tank will get high salt levels to treat sick fish.

There is Epsom Salt, which is magnesium chloride. It's used to treat constipation in discus. Some people with soft water out of the tap will add Epsom Salt to their brine shrimp mix as it prolongs the life of bbs in soft water. Adding these two together does not endanger discus in any way.

There is also potassium chloride, which is the active ingredient in low sodium salts. It's a lot more expensive and works very similarly to sodium chloride.

Hope that helps, Willie

[Pices]

Thanks Willie,
Could you help post #14? It regards concentration of adding Epsom salt to tank already treated with regular salt. I thought the concentration would be too high for both, but after reading your post, I may have misspoke. It’s okay?
Patty

[Willie]

Salt concentration is seldom a problem in my experience. When my discus gets sick, my standard treatment is 1 tablespoon of salt per gallon. So the 10 gallon hospital tank gets more than half a cup of salt (0.625 cup to be exact). I find that the fish will look immediately more comfortable. Adding the two together will increase the overall osmotic pressure, which is what the fish is reacting to. I don't think it's doing much harm.

Note that, at this level, you'll need to gradually reduce the salinity to avoid shocking the fish. I do this via a series of 30% water changes at 1-hour intervals.

Willie

[bluelagoon]

Just looking though this old post. Some talk about iodine in salt and not being safe. Some water conditioners use iodine to bond to heavy metals to make them more non toxic. It's right on this bottle.https://www.sera.de/us/service/info/aquatan-now-with-a-new-composition-without-colorants-with-mineral-substances/

[Willie]

I've used iodized salt and non-iodized salt. There's no difference to the fish. No goiters either. :p