Is Aquarium Salt Needed?

[Lt.]

It can if you add too much so be careful.

I'll be careful.

 

[...joey...]

Is there a true benefit with the use of aquarium salt in freshwater aquariums?

If your breeding live bearers or infested with something like ich which salt kills full stop I wouldn't bother with it not only that once it's in it's and then your limited to which fish you can add to your aquarium for months until pwc slowly dissapate the salt out of the tank.

 

[jlk]

This is jmo, but I would save the salt for treatment purposes only unless you are keeping brackish or sw fish. Marine salt for creating brackish/sw conditions is not the same thing as aq salt and dumping aq salt in your tank does not create a brackish conditions. Keep in mind you are keeping "freshwater" fish that had adapted through eons to living in fw conditions. Also, realize that your tap water already has a natural salinity to it that may range from 20ppm to 500ppm for public drinking water supplies depending on where you live. Well/spring water may have a much greater salinity as well as those use a water softening system. Longterm use of salt can have a big impact on the health of fish including but not limited to nephric, endocrine and metabolic damage. Respect salt as med.

 

[vanimal]

This is jmo, but I would save the salt for treatment purposes only unless you are keeping brackish or sw fish. Marine salt for creating brackish/sw conditions is not the same thing as aq salt and dumping aq salt in your tank does not create a brackish conditions. Keep in mind you are keeping "freshwater" fish that had adapted through eons to living in fw conditions. Also, realize that your tap water already has a natural salinity to it that may range from 20ppm to 500ppm for public drinking water supplies depending on where you live. Well/spring water may have a much greater salinity as well as those use a water softening system. Longterm use of salt can have a big impact on the health of fish including but not limited to nephric, endocrine and metabolic damage. Respect salt as med.

That's pretty convincing.

 

[jetajockey]

Here's a good write up on salt and the mythology behind it. I use kosher salt and even table salt to treat any issues, btw. Have not had any issues by using either.

Salt magic | The Skeptical Aquarist

 

[Jeremy S.]

I've always heard to NEVER use table salt

 

[jetajockey]

I've always heard to NEVER use table salt

You probably shouldn't, I don't recommend it to people.

I do use it, and haven't had a problem with it. It has iodide in it, but not remotely enough to cause an issue in my experience with it.

In the standard ich treatment I use 1tbsp salt /5gal water, which comes out to around 0.066ppm of iodide. The only studies I found on it regarding toxicity looked like the low range of effecting the fish began about 10x that concentration, so it wasn't enough of a concern to keep me from trying it. And like I said, no issues have resulted from it.

But then again I don't just leave levels of salt in my tanks indefinitely, either. It is used as a medication and is then removed via water changes.


Here's a snippet from a page with an excellent writeup on salt. http://skepticalaquarist.com/salt

Iodized salt. RavenSedai posted at Tom's Place, 23 July 2000, the following from a koikeeper newsgroup, which pinpoints the anxiety about iodine in salt, an anxiety I don't share myself. Here it is, so you can decide whether to avoid iodized salt or not: "Iodized salt has 77 ppm iodide for the prevention of goiter. Ocean water typically contains 0.006 ppm iodide, so sea salt is typically 0.2 ppm iodide. So if iodized salt were used in the pond, the iodide concentration would be roughly 400 times higher than if sea salt were used to produce the same salinity. In natural waters (ocean or freshwater), the predominant form of iodine is the oxidized form, iodate (IO3-), not the reduced form, iodide (I-). These two forms do not interconvert readily in water. The active ingredient in Betadine disinfectant is 1% iodide. The USDA suggests a 10 minute bath of 100 ppm iodide as a disinfectant for trout eggs. A permanent concentration in the pond of about 0.1 ppm, a weak disinfectant bath, sounds like an experiment, not like prudent advice. All of the USDA aquaculture publications specifically recommend non-iodized salt. The toxicity of iodide to fish is unknown. It seems likely that fry might be more affected than mature fish. In humans, toxicity begins at about 2 mg/day, only 13 times the US FDA recommended daily allowance. For that reason, salt is iodized at much lower concentrations in Europe than it is in the US. Finally, why suggest experimenting by using much more expensive iodized table salt? I bought an 80 pound bag of solar salt crystals at Lowe's for $2.87. It's much cheaper, and safer."

Fears about toxicity of the iodine represented in table salt are still often expressed in warnings not to use iodized salt in the aquarium.

Potassium iodide (sometimes it's sodium iodide) in U.S. iodized table salt ranges from 20 to 40 parts per million. So what part per million of iodide does that potassium iodide represent? I'm innumerative. The ppm iodide were worked out by aquariaddictus in a thread at AquariaCentral, started 1 March 2003 (you can find it at AC: search "iodized salt ppm iodide"). Aquariaddictus pointed out that there is no elemental iodine in KI, just as there is no free chlorine in table salt. Iodide is I-, while iodine is I2, as chloride is Cl- while chlorine is Cl2. The terms aren't interchangable. Potassium is number 19 on the periodic table, Iodine is number 53. So pure KI is 73% iodide. Thus the iodide in the potassium iodide additive is between 14.6 - 29.2 ppm in the dry salt. KI weighs 15.38 grams per teaspoon. So, 15.38 grams/one teaspoon per gallon = 15.38 grams per 3.7854 liters = 4 ppm as KI. If you add iodized salt at the rate of one teaspoon per gallon, you are adding iodide in the range of 0.083 - 0.166ppm. After laying out the calculations, aquariaddictus remarked, "All in all, I have to believe it's a drop in the bucket. Does anyone use a tablespoon/gallon except in times of severe disease?"

 

[jlk]

Ok, its was my understanding that the issue with table salt is not iodine but additives such yellow prussiate of soda (sodium ferrocyanide) that are added as anti-caking agents. The toxicity of this compound to fish has been well documented but I do not know what concentration exists in table salt. I think its safer to skip using it altogether.

 

[jetajockey]

Thanks and noted.

I don't recall reading any anti-caking or additives on mine besides the iodide but I'll definitely double check.

I used to get the large boxes of kosher salt but the grocery store I go to doesn't carry them anymore and now its all small packages and fancy stuff like colored sea salts lol.

 

[Aqualady40]

OKay, I asked this because I have read mixed reviews on aquarium salt use, such as now.....I just asked this question so I could hear personal views/experiences from my trusty AA friends....this will help me decide specifically how I will or if I should use it...(regularly or as a med.)

 

[PolyptRus]

No body said they were putting marine salt in fresh water tanks we are talking about aquarium salt formulated for fresh water I've been using it in my tanks for months it never limited what fish I could get I have over twenty different species none are brackish using fresh water aquarium salt does not create brackish water all fresh water fish need salt in there system if you know anything about a fishes anatomy you would know this if not than do some research. Aquarium salt is good for fish.

 

[vanimal]

No body said they were putting marine salt in fresh water tanks we are talking about aquarium salt formulated for fresh water I've been using it in my tanks for months it never limited what fish I could get I have over twenty different species none are brackish using fresh water aquarium salt does not create brackish water all fresh water fish need salt in there system if you know anything about a fishes anatomy you would know this if not than do some research. Aquarium salt is good for fish.

You pretty much said it all I have seen an improvement in my Neons colors since I have been adding salt and I also believe it keeps my Ghost Shrimp happier and healthier too.

 

[Aqualady40]

No body said they were putting marine salt in fresh water tanks we are talking about aquarium salt formulated for fresh water I've been using it in my tanks for months it never limited what fish I could get I have over twenty different species none are brackish using fresh water aquarium salt does not create brackish water all fresh water fish need salt in there system if you know anything about a fishes anatomy you would know this if not than do some research. Aquarium salt is good for fish.

Will you provide a link for me so I can read more into it?..Thank you. I really want to make an inform decision...

 

[PolyptRus]

Will you provide a link for me so I can read more into it?..Thank you. I really want to make an inform decision...

I actually read it in a books one which was titled fresh water aquariums for dummies which is a beginners book so you should know about this even if your a beginner. My boy friends parents have kept fish for over forty years and own a fish store aswell as breed fish they have always used salt in there tanks all fresh water and they highly recommended it to me because it keeps fish healthy and more colourful and as we know when a fish is really brightly coloured it is at good health.

 

[vanimal]

Guys I use this. 1 tsp per 10 gallons. Its very cheap too.

 

[Lt.]

Guys I use this. 1 tsp per 10 gallons. Its very cheap too.

How long have you used this specificaly? And when you put it in you just put it in new water during water changes?

 

[PolyptRus]

Guys I use this. 1 tsp per 10 gallons. Its very cheap too.

Looks fine to me I support aq salts it has worked wonders for me I haven't had any fish get ich in months and they are all so beautifully coloured now and healthy.

 

[vanimal]

How long have you used this specificaly? And when you put it in you just put it in new water during water changes?

2 months and yeah I either add it to a 5 gallon bucket or just add it after the watet change doesn't really matter.

 

[PolyptRus]

2 months and yeah I either add it to a 5 gallon bucket or just add it after the watet change doesn't really matter.

I sometimes put it in the filter although it doesn't really matter you can add it straight into the tank after you've added new water

 

[Aqualady40]

Looks fine to me I support aq salts it has worked wonders for me I haven't had any fish get ich in months and they are all so beautifully coloured now and healthy.

Can you post pictures of your fish?