# Adding salt to the aquarium water....is it a good thing?



## grandb3rry (22 Mar 2010)

Does anyone add salt to their aquarium water? I read that adding 1 small teaspoon of salt to 15-20 litres is good for fish...is it OK to use in a planted aquarium? Any drawbacks any of you experienced?

CheerioZ!


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## Garuf (22 Mar 2010)

Maybe if they're brackish fish, otherwise it's a pretty terrible idea. The theory is that it creates levels of salinity that fish can withstand and it kills bacteria/virus' in the water, because people don't get whitespot for example and as a result people assume that it's good for fish. There are a fair few plants that are super sensitive to salt, it's pretty safe to say that if it's not on tropica's list of brackish plants it'll die.


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## grandb3rry (22 Mar 2010)

Thanks a lot for your reply! I will consider this and will not use salt in my aquarium...


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## Lisa_Perry75 (22 Mar 2010)

One small teaspoon will not do the damage you suggest Garuf. If you use RO all the time it can be useful to add a small amount of tonic salt. I have also read this is beneficial Grandb3rry and used to do this with no ill effect to plants or fish.


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## Lisa_Perry75 (22 Mar 2010)

Oh and to add, you might be surprised how much salt it takes to make water brackish or marine!


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## Garuf (22 Mar 2010)

I'm guessing wear talking salts, opposed to Salt? I've always been told Salt is a huge no no unless you're doing it to treat something. I was under the impression tonic salt is just a mix of salts commonly accounted in water anyway. Everyone I'd asked who explained it to me said the same, it's out dated opinion. I don't mind being proved wrong.


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## ceg4048 (23 Mar 2010)

Hi,
    Table salt (NaCl) should be avoided. The OP proposes to add a teaspoon per 15L-20L. In general, this is not good. Excessive Sodium (Na+) has negative effects by reducing K+ uptake. Excessive Chloride (Cl-) may have the effect of reducing NO3- uptake. Since Na+ plays a role in the osmotic pressure in plant cells, elevated Na+ will have the effect of disrupting control of the cells turgidity. Having too high of a salinity can set up a chain of events that negatively impacts the plant's metabolism and makes the plant cells less able to fend off injuries. There are other symptoms of salt stress, not the least of which is stunting.

This is also true when household water softened by salt resins is used in the tank, so this should be avoided if possible.

Cheers,


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## Lisa_Perry75 (23 Mar 2010)

Yes I meant tonic salt. Anyone happen to know what salts are in tonic salts?


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## JamesC (23 Mar 2010)

Lisa_Perry75 said:
			
		

> Yes I meant tonic salt. Anyone happen to know what salts are in tonic salts?


Sodium chloride


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## Colinlp (23 Mar 2010)

Adding table salt to a hospital tank can work wonders for sick fish, it certainly helped bring one of my Discus back from the brink of death. 2 weeks  with 1 tblsn per 5 gallon then a gradual dilution over another week performed miracles for the poor thing. Fin damage was healed overnight honestly and within a couple of days there was a huge improvement in the fish itself within the first week. Seek advice before doing it though


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## ceg4048 (23 Mar 2010)

Yes, in a hospital tank this is perfect. Using salt is an age old and cheap remedy, and works a charm. I'm not sure what the mechanism is, but it wouldn't surprise me if it turns out that the same salt stress that works so well against the pathogens is exactly the same, or similar symptoms suffered by freshwater plant cells when exposed to salinity.

Cheers,


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## grandb3rry (24 Mar 2010)

Thank you guys for your kind advice and thoughts! I have added a tiny amount of salt to my 25 liter tank so it shouldn't do anything negative to plants or fish....just to make water a bit "acidic" if it is the right word to describe    

I shall be posting my dairy of a 90 liter tank with modified hood to accept T5 bulbs and what-have-you! Check back soon!

Kind regards
Arthur


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## Arte Et Labore 1875 (25 Mar 2010)

Hi all, i was just about to ask a question about salt and then i saw this thread so i didn't see the point in starting a new one.

I was thinkning of starting to add salt to my aquariums on a regular basis, non-iodized of course (rock salt probably as we have bags of it at home), this helps with the fish's mucous coat which is a bonus but i was really planning on doing this because i have a very low level of electrolytes in my systems, others like calcium and magnesium etc will be added at a later date, probably via a all in one product like equalibrium (when i can afford them  ), but for now i thought i could start with sodium chloride. The problem is that i have cardinals which i know are sensitive, my plants in the test tank will be blyxa, riccia and anubias (barteri), i also have cherries and amano's in there, i would never dose the standard amount because of the plants but i was thinking that 3tbsp for 120L would be ok, would this be ok with the inhabitants i just mentioned?


P.S
Garuf, where can i find this list of brackish plants from Tropica that you mentioned earlier?


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## ceg4048 (26 Mar 2010)

Here are the basic ingredients of Seachem Equilibrium:
potassium sulfate 
calcium sulfate 
magnesium sulfate 
ferric sulfate
manganese sulfate

Most of these components are already in your tap water (assuming you are on a municipal supply) so I can't see any reason to buy this product. Just have a look at your water report. 

There is no way Sodium Chloride is an adequate substitute for any of these components. As stated earlier, treating a disease or injury is one thing but adding NaCl to a freshwater environment is not good. If you keep your tank clean with regular water changes, and if your plants are kept healthy with proper nutrient dosing then both flora and fauna benefit without increasing the salinity of the tank water.

Cheers,


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## Arte Et Labore 1875 (26 Mar 2010)

Thanks Ceg, my water board no longer have the info on their website so they are sending me a copy (that was a week ago). I'll give the salt a miss then i think. My goal is to raise the GH, my water reads out at 0.5 - 1, i know a lot of people say dont worry about your GH but i disagree with that and a reading of under 1 is too low for peace of mind, would increasing the dosage of trace elements raise it as those ingredients are similar?


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## JamesC (26 Mar 2010)

Just in case you haven't seen it you may wish to read this thread all about water hardness - http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=4869. As sodium isn't multivalent it plays no part in the GH of water and should be minimised in planted tanks.

With your very soft water I would increase the GH. You could do this with equilibrium but I never liked equilibrium much as it raises conductivity through the roof. I reconstitute RO water using my own formulation which works a treat. It raises GH by 5 and KH by 1 and details can be found here - http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/RO.htm. You could half the values if you didn't want to add that much. Generally speaking though most plants do fine with a high GH, it's a high KH that can cause problems.

James


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## Arte Et Labore 1875 (26 Mar 2010)

Thanks James, i had a good read of your water hardness thread the other day, its very informative and the fact that KH test kits measure alkalinity as apposed to actual KH was a vital piece of info - how is that not public knowledge!

I can't really warrant buying a RO unit and unfortunately the lfs' around here dont sell it, would your solution have any adverse effects if i added it to my tap water? - i really need this letter from the water board to come through as i guess this is a difficult question to answer without specifics.

How long does your replenished water keep a stable, increased GH?


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## JamesC (26 Mar 2010)

Your water is nearly RO water anyway. Adding the remineralising agent as it is would be fine for your water.

Not sure what you mean by stablity. The chemicals don't break down and the plants don't use much so the GH remains constant. 

I do my water changes using 25l carboys so I just add the required amount to these beforehand. This keeps the parameters constant. If you do your water changes via a hose pipe then it is a bit more difficult as you need to know how much water you are replacing and then dissolve up the required agent in a separate container.

James


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## Arte Et Labore 1875 (26 Mar 2010)

This is all fantastic info, i should have joined this forum years ago. 'The chemicals don't break down' is the answer i was looking for regarding stability.

I do my water changes the old fashioned way, bucket and kettle  but if i start to do this i will get a small water butt or something to make things easier.

Did you just get your carboy from a home brew shop?


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## JamesC (26 Mar 2010)

Arte Et Labore 1875 said:
			
		

> Did you just get your carboy from a home brew shop?


My local Maidenhead Aquatics, but I'm sure a home brew one is fine as it's food grade.

James


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## Arte Et Labore 1875 (26 Mar 2010)

Great, thanks for all the help james, much appreciated.


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