Salt Question

[The Glassblower]

What, if any, is the difference between sea salt from the health food store, salt meant for saltwater aquariums, and salt meant for freshwater aquariums?

 

[The Glassblower]

And what about rock salt for the sidewalk?

 

[Lateral Line]

Salt for marine tanks is a complex mixture of materials, it re-creates the natural occurance of various minerals in the marine environment. Health food shop "sea salt" might be the same, but may simply be a marketting hype, which sea? It may also have extra ingredients in it to keep it from clumping.

A lot of rock salt and natural salt is produced by pumping water down boreholes to beds of halite and then evaporating the result, so the mineral content will be what was present when the halite was laid down, and may not be representative of the open sea today.

Road salt is most unlikely to be useable - it is not designed to be used in livestock, or for human consumption so is likely to be laced wioth all manner of impurities.

Unless you have a very specific reason, salt should not be added to freshwater tanks - it is a pollutant.

 

[littleimp]

Have to second this, some marine salts come with a vial of trace elements too add to the water too.

 

[Ptarmigan]

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