# aquarium salt



## chadngeorgia (May 22, 2009)

i have a 265 gal african cichlid tank. i use salt but its costly because i do a 55gal water change every other week. can i buy salt from the grocery store or something instead of from the pet store


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## aquariam (Feb 11, 2010)

Why are you using salt at all?

You don't need it.

Any sodium chloride will do, if you insist on using salt. It's really quite pointless though. 
Make sure there's no yellow prussiate of soda. Even Kosher and Sea salts can contain it so read the label. To be sure wet the salt and smell it. If it smells like anything it isn't pure.


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## John27 (Jun 6, 2010)

Make sure it is not iodized as well!

But I agree with Aquariam, I only use it for disease treatment, and occasionally when acclimating new fish.


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## aquariam (Feb 11, 2010)

Basically what adding salt to water does is increase the specific gravity, or 'density' of the water.

For example, if you take 1 gallon of plain tap water, and add a marine salt mix, like instant ocean, until you reach ocean salinity of 1.025 (fresh water is 1.000), you'll notice that the salt mix dissolves into the water without actually increasing the water volume. In other words, where adding a 'fist sized' piece of granite rock to 1 gallon of water would displace it visibly in a bucket, adding a fist sized amount of salt mix will not.

When you add salt to a fresh water aquarium (table salt/aquarium salt which are the same thing and marine aquarium salt mix are not quite the same thing but it doesn't matter for this explanation) what you're doing is slightly increasing the density of the water, and slightly increasing the osmotic pressure on the gills, which makes it a little easier for the fish to absorb oxygen. This is why salt water fish need salt water. They require a higher level of osmotic pressure to breathe normally than freshwater fish do. Some fish are able to move between completely fresh and completely salt water.

Adding salt to a freshwater aquarium under normal, healthy conditions isn't really going to hurt anything, unless you add insanly high amounts, or you have catfish, most of which dislike salt and suffer negatively in the presence of it.

You're just wasting salt though, honestly. Nothing's going to happen. If a fish is being treated for certain conditions, or can't breathe properly, adding salt can be beneficial. Otherwise, it's like spreading peanut butter on a chair. Nothing happens. I suppose eventually the peanut butter goes bad and mould could get involved but at that point we'd be finished making a comparison.


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

John27 said:


> Make sure it is not iodized as well!


 both from reading and from personal experience, Iodized salt appears harmless.

I don't use salt in my tanks (well, except my reef tank of course) and you can stop as well :thumb:


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## John27 (Jun 6, 2010)

I stand corrected number6, I always heard you can't use iodized salt, thanks!


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## iCichlid (Sep 21, 2009)

I use aquarium salt and my fish love it. 1tablespoon per 5 gallons.


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## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

I don't get how freshwater fish love NaCl.
How can you draw this conclusion?
From my years in the hobby freshwater fish thrive from clean freshwater.

If you really looked into it you would find that regular use of salt offers no benefit to healthy fish.
Healthy fish can produce their own slime coat, regulate their osmotic balance, and handle their own ion concentrations.
With that said adding something would seem futile and impractical.

Sure it can help as a remedy for certain illnesses in certain concentrations but it stops there.
I have tried its prolonged use and then discontinued it with no change either way.

If you approach regular salt use free of bias and opinions I think most would agree.
Really the bottom line is salt is just another thing to measure, worry about, and buy.
Three things I don't care to do as a freshwater hobbyist. :thumb:


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## John27 (Jun 6, 2010)

I used to use it all the time, when I stopped, none of the fish seemed to notice, I still have some and I use it for treatment of disease, and I have found it works great for acclimating new fish in my tanks, it just seems like the fish adjust quicker and are active quicker, but that very well could be my incorrect perception.


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## chadngeorgia (May 22, 2009)

ok. so it seems that im waisting salt and money. i just wanted to use salt because the pet store said its okay to use and the african cichlids like it. so if it doesnt matter if i use it. i might as well not use at all. i just thought it would be beneficial


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## John27 (Jun 6, 2010)

Chad,

Used correctly it won't "hurt" anything, so in a way yes it's "beneficial", but it's effects basically are completely unnecessary, the healthy fish can do all it does themselves, without it. With all due respect, any perceived "happiness" by the fish from the addition of salt is likely coincidental.

-John


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## kmuda (Nov 27, 2009)

Salt has it's purposes but usually is not needed. I don't keep African's, so I cannot attest to its benefits when used with Africans. But I do know, that because my water is so soft, that if I did keep Africans I would likely use salt to increase overall TDS values.

I currently use salt in m Livebearer tanks, but that's it. I find that Canning Salt (purchased at any grocery store) is the most economical.


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## upthecreek (Dec 27, 2009)

No reason to use salt unless for illness but I know 2 big time fish breeders and sellers that use salt in their tanks. If I were in the business of getting hundreds of fish in a week etc from all over I would probably use salt to as a safety measure. But with properly quarantined and healthy fish no reason for it.

As far as fish loving it..how can you tell ??? Mine are just loving clean well filtered water.


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## chadngeorgia (May 22, 2009)

ok i fully understand. i have a sick tank so i quess if i have to put a fish in there just had some salt to help with the treatment


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