To salt, or not to salt? That is the question.

[piao liang yu]

My tank has been treated for the last four and a half days. Today I changed out 25 gallons on a 60 gallon tank (probably more of an actual percentage as I have a lot of driftwood) and put the carbon back in. I am told by many to add salt. The problem is the directions say to add a tablespoon for every five gallons. That seems like a ton of salt. And yes, when I say salt, I am talking about the aquarium salt crystals. If I put in the recommended dosage that would be twelve tablespoons. I am not going to do that much, but if I should add some, how much do you recommend? I have covered this before, but it was in relation to another matter so I want further clarification.

Also, what do you do during water changes? I have added a few tablespoons in the past, but I have done up to 10 or 15 water changes since then so whatever is left is very dilluted. If I do add some salt, should I wait for several months to dose again after many many pwc's?

 

[phin]

A tablespoon for every 5 gallons is pretty standard, its not too much (as long as you arent trying for a planted tank). Aquarium Salt is expensive for what it actually is. I use Morton Ice Cream Salt (in a red box). The crystals are larger, so I threw it into a magic bullet grinder.

Don't add salt when replacing water that has evaporated, as the salt is still in the tank. When you do water changes add 5Tbsp (or whatever amount you decide on) for every 5 gallons of water removed.

There are varying opinions on the use of salt. I don't add any to my planted tank and since I've switched to chichlid lake salts for my mbuna tank i don't add any additional sodium chloride.

 

[Sambo7475]

If you do decide to add the salt, make sure you take out some tank water, dissolve some salt into it in a container and add the salt solution back in. Don't directly add the salt to your tank. It will end up very concentrated in the area that the salt is dissolving, and can burn your fish as they swim near.
I don't use salt at all, but there are some who swear by it. There was a lengthy and at times, heated, discussion in a thread here a while back. There were good points made by those on both sides of the fence, so if you're really wanting to see some arguments for and against, check out this thread:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/is-aquarium-salt-needed-227851.html

 

[phin]

There were good points made by those on both sides of the fence, so if you're really wanting to see some arguments for and against, check out this thread:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/is-aquarium-salt-needed-227851.html

Wow just got done reading that. great thread. I'll have to go with the scientists on this one vs the high school graduates.

 

[Sambo7475]

Wow just got done reading that. great thread. I'll have to go with the scientists on this one vs the high school graduates.

LOL, like I said, there were strong arguments both for and against. I actually quit adding salt after reading that and chatting with a few people in the chat room. I haven't had an issue at all, and honestly my fish seem more energetic. I'm not looking to restart that thread here either , I just wanted the OP to see that there was a pretty good discussion that had occured before.