• You liked BFD7 now you should join this forum and of course become a club member to see what CCA is all about.
  • Thank you to everyone who registered and showed up for the BIG Fish Deal #7.

Salt for Aquarium

chriscoli

Administrator
I don't just because I don't want to lug a huge bag around, but I have heard that some people do.

I use kosher salt from Costco (red box).
 

Becca

Members
I use the stuff in the light blue bag they sell at Home Depot. Can't remember what it's called.
 

chriscoli

Administrator
How do you measure the pellets? I see a lot of recipes that say....add 1T per "volume of water".....do you crush up the pellets, or do you eyeball it?
 

Rasta Fish

Members
good to know i wanted something more cost effective that buying aquarium salt and dont want to use table salt
I have use Kosher salt as well still not cheap
I will have to look at what Sams Club have i dont have a Costco membership
 

Becca

Members
How do you measure the pellets? I see a lot of recipes that say....add 1T per "volume of water".....do you crush up the pellets, or do you eyeball it?

The stuff I have is big salt crystals, not pellets. I follow Frank Cowherd's recipe for a saturated salt solution and then dole it out into tanks that way.
 

Raven20

Members
It's the salt of choice for the fish I keep....their digestive system is very fragile and they get stressed very easy...causing "Bloat" the Epsom salt cleans out their system...I use it for more of a preventive thing..
 
Last edited:

Becca

Members
It's the salt of choice for the fish I keep....their digestive system is very fragile and they get stressed very easy...causing "Bloat" the Epsom salt cleans out their system...I use it for more of a preventive thing..

Well, that makes sense, then.
 

Frank Cowherd

Global Moderators
Staff member
I buy the Crysatal Salt sold in 40 pound bags at Lowe's for water softening. Mortons is sold for the same and costs about the same. Not sure what they put in the one that is said to remove iron and prevent scale. I would use the other for fish.

I have well water that comes from 300 feet down and is soft. I add Epson Salt and calcium chloride to bring both up to 50 ppm each in Mg and Ca ions. Epson salt is magnesium sulfate. Both magnesium and calcium ions are needed for life, so I add both to be sure there is enough present for my fish's health and for more rapid fry growth. If you have hard water, you might already have enough of both in your tap water.

I do not add salt (water softening salt) (sodium chloride) on a routine basis except to killifish tanks since salt helps prevent velvet in killifish and they are prone to get velvet compared to other fish. I do add salt to tanks which look like some of the fish are sick. I add a calculated teaspoon per gallon to these tanks with repeat additions for two more days. This usually stops whatever was happening. When I do the next water change, 50%, I do not add any salt, just the Epson and calcium chloride.

When I do add salt I add it as a saturated salt solution (SSS). You can prepare it by placing 3 or 4 cups of the water softening salt (crystals or pellets in a gallon jar and adding water to the top. Stir until no more salt dissolves and the clear liquid is saturated salt solution. A little cloudiness is OK. It's concentration does vary with temperature but not much in the range of 65 to 85 F, at least not enough to take into consideration when dosing a tank. Saturated salt solution is basically 27% salt and the rest water. So to dose a ten gallon tank with one tablespoon of salt (about 5 grams of salt) you want to add 50 grams of salt. 50 grams divided by 27% (concentration of salt in the saturated salt solution) is 187 grams of the SSS. This amounts to about three fourths of a cup of the SSS. Add the same amount on day two and repeat on day three for a ten gallon tank.

There are reasons not to add salt crystals directly to a tank with fish. It is better to add salt already dissolved in water.

SSS should not be used on fish and invertebrates known to be sensitive to salt.

The full article on Salt Uses in the Aquarium can be read on my website at aquaticlifefarm.com
 
Top