Adding salt in planted aquarium

[johmartz]

Hello to all fellow AA members. I have a 40 gallon planted tank and am new to planted (real plants) aquariums. I would like to know if you use freshwater aquarium salt in your planted tanks. If so, how much salt do you add per gallon? Also, I would like to know if you keep the carbon filtration on when you add liquid plant food in the tank? Any and all help and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[HN1]

The only time I put salt into any FW tank is to treat ich or combat a short term nitrite concern. It is not needed, especially in "aquarium salt" form. Just a pricey add on.

The carbon will strip some ferts from the water. Why are you running carbon? This is another personal preference thing, but it generally isn't needed either. We only run carbon when we want to remove meds from a tank (which is rare because I use meds on fish rarely). If you suspect a contaminant, it's good to have as well.

Like I said, opinions vary and the above is JMHO. Keep asking the right questions and welcome!

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Also most plants do not like aquarium salt. I think there's only a few that tolerate it well.

 

[johmartz]

Thanks for the input. My lfs recommends/suggests using salt because they say that it promotes good health for the fish and that it is good for their gill function. As for the carbon, I use it to to keep the water free of contaminants and make it crystal clear.

 

[HN1]

Good reason for using carbon as long as it's changed regularly.

As far as the salt.... bogus reasons. It promotes health (in specifically diseased fish) and is good for their gill function (when they are in a toxic nitrite environment). It's also one of the highest profit margin items out there and an LFS favorite.

 

[mudraker]

These guys are 100 percent right about the salt. Do regular water changes to promote health and gill function and forget the salt.

 

[johmartz]

Thanks. As for the carbon, should I turn off my filter then when using ferts and for how long?

 

[mudraker]

No, let it run as normal.

There are a lot of opinions on carbon use, and carbon with fertz, which I've seen get very heated.