Buffering Water, Sea Salt Necessary?

[Charlutz]

I use the standard homemade buffer recipe of epsom salt, baking soda and sea salt to raise my ph and hardness to acceptable levels for my tangs. We have really soft water ot of the tap. Got some advice that my problem keeping plants alive might be due to the marine salt in the buffer mix. I am going to mix my next batch with only the epsom and baking soda. Anyone on Howard County water that has experience with/without using marine salt in the buffer? I know my fish definitely don't like it when the hardness drops too low. The cyps lose all their color. The hardness and ph should remain steady, but the trace salts from the marine salt will take a hit.

 

[toddnbecka]

The trace elements in sea salt aren't necessary. After all, they certainly aren't the same exact proportions of trace elements found in the lake. Sodium chloride in general isn't necessary to maintain healthy fish unless they're actually brackish or SW species, though there is quite a bit of debate on the subject. Plants in general are more sensitive to salt content than fish, particularly if the plants in question are already at or near the limits of their water chemistry tolerances regarding pH and hardness. There are commercially prepared mixes available that are supposed to replicate the exact water chemistry of the lakes. How effectively they may do so certainly depends on the chemistry of the water they are being added to. Personally, I think they're a waste of time and money. Even wild-caught fish will adapt to different water conditions, though pH and hardness should certainly be maintained appropriately. Perhaps a poll concerning the question of salt and live plants would be helpful?

 

[Charlutz]

Thanks Toddnbecka. I agree completely that all of the buffers, commercially sold or homemade, will have differing effects based on the parameters of the water to which they are added. I tweaked and tweaked my own recipe for a while before I got it right. Now, I rely on the fish to tell me when they are unhappy with the water by how they look and act. I want to have some luck with the plants and know I am fighting the ph/hardness, as well as so-so lighting, not a whole lot of nitrates and an aragonite sand substrate. The fish come first, but I am going to try and tweak the buffer. I got some advice on the plant forum (think I've seen your posts there too at APC) that it might be the salt. Coincidentally, that's the only thing I can't test for to see how it changes the water. I'm going to give it a try, but wanted to make sure nobody had horrible experiences with using the buffer without the marine salt before I did it. I'll keep a log and keep watching the fish.

 

[longstocking]

Not necessary at all. I don't add any to my tanks at all.