Using Aquarium Salt

[Daveo026]

hi all i just got some api aquarium salt after the loss of a few fish it says that it promotes fish health thing is do i use it in all my tanks or just when i get sick fish.
it also says to be careful with live plants the box with the salt is vague about how to use it and is it safe with all fish as i have a few not so tough fish otos german rams in my main tank.

 

[coolie]

Yes your plants wont like it, it's for a brackish tank. What species of fish have you got again?

 

[Daveo026]

otos
albion
corys
german rams
danios
platys

it says for fresh water aquariums on the box

 

[coolie]

They used to say add a little salt for platys, but I know a few of those other fish definately don't want salt.

 

[slimeneo]

I don't think the cories will like the salt.

 

[elmo666]

a salt bath is sometimes used to help with parasites or promote the healing of areas of damage. Softwater species,as already pointed out, won't tolerate it too well if added to the aquarium. There are other treatments, each aimed at specific problems, that can be used. If you can identify the cause of the fish loss you would the be able to treat it directly rather than trying salt, which at best is a tonic. If you have a healthy filter, the right water parameters for your fish and lightly feed a good quality flake you really shouldn't have any need to use salt.

 

[snazy]

Do not add salt to your tank!!! unless you are treating for a particular disease that does respond to salt. You have freshwater fish and in the long term the salt will kill them.
Salt is used in freshwater aquarium for treatment of diseases, not a permanent solution and not a prevention method when you have salt intolerant fish like yours.

 

[Essjay]

From what I understand, in days gone by salt was used in freshwater tanks as fishkeepers found it kept their fish healthy. What they didn't know was that the nitrite in their unfiltered (or inadequately filtered) tanks damaged their fish, and salt helped the fish cope with nitrite. Salt was just the lesser of two evils.
The problem is that salt is still promoted as a way to keep fish healthy when used permanently in the tank, but now that we have good filtration methods that remove nitrite it is not needed and in most cases is bad for freshwater fish.

 

[fish killa]

Salt lowers the hardness of the water right? And lowing the hardness help with lower the ph right?


I also have rams and my water where I live is hard and the ph is high 7.6 or higher . So won't adding salt help my tank?

 

[Essjay]

No, salt doesn't lower hardness. Hardness is a measure of the amount of divalent ions in the water, mainly calcium ions. Adding salt, sodium chloride, will not remove the calcium it will only add sodium ions and chloride ions. Rams have evolved to cope with soft water, not water that has a lot of calcium in it (ie hard water) and they have also evolved to cope with water with very little sodium in it.

Water softeners which use salt work by a different mechanism. They don't add salt to the water. The sodium in the salt attaches to a resin. When hard water is passed through the resin, the calcium ions are more strongly attracted to the resin and they push the sodium ions off, which goes into the water. So the resin exchanges calcium ions for sodium ions resulting in water which has less calcium ions and more sodium ions. This sodium rich water is not good for fish (or us) which is why there should be a bypass tap - and this tap shpuld be used for the aquarium not the softened water.

 

[fish killa]

Ok so would water softener pillow work like a water softener in people homes?

 

[Essjay]

I've looked at API's website at their water softening pillow, and read the leaflet. With the list of ingredients, it looks to me like an ion exchange resin. Not being 100% sure, I asked my husband as he has a doctorate in chemistry (I only have a bachelor's degree) and he says the same. But our degrees are rather old, so I'll try and get hold of my son who has a more recent chemistry degree (and has worked in the water testing industry for some years) to see what he says.

Or you could contact the pillow manufacturer and ask if it adds sodium to the water.

 

[elmo666]

If you want soft water, and funds allow, the best way to go is to buy an R/O unit. The nice thing is that the water produced is as close to pure as you will get, which means you can adjust it to meet whatever water parameters you require