# Is Aquarium Salt ever used in a planted tank?



## sohankpatel

I use it,


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## lksdrinker

sohankpatel said:


> I use it,


I dont.


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## miogpsrocks

sohankpatel said:


> I use it,


Do your plants die or do you use like half the recommended amount,etc..?


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## BBradbury

*Using Aquarium Salt*

Hello mio...

Absolutely. Standard aquarium salt used in small doses replaces minerals that are lost to the tank water being constantly filtered. A teaspoon or so added to every five gallons of new, treated tap water during the weekly water change will keep your aquatic plants healthy.

B


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## burr740

No.


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## DaveK

BBradbury said:


> Hello mio...
> 
> Absolutely. Standard aquarium salt used in small doses replaces minerals that are lost to the tank water being constantly filtered. A teaspoon or so added to every five gallons of new, treated tap water during the weekly water change will keep your aquatic plants healthy.
> 
> B


I muat disagree with this post. 

Standard aquarium salt is sodium chloride. While it may help to add it to your water, most tap water contains ver little of this salt. 

Most tap water gets it's hardness from calcium and magnesium salts. If you look at Tom Barr's GH booster, it's a mixture of several salts, none of which are Sodium chloride. See this link - ww.plantedtank.net/forums/11-fertilizers-water-parameters/247026-what-exactly-tom-barrs-gh-booster.html#post2556810 KH booster is mostly baking soda.

Filtration doesn't remove these salts in any significant way, so there is no need to replenish anything. 

Personally I don't add standard aquarium salt. It's not need in my system. Othere might find some advantage for specific livestock.


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## Steve001

miogpsrocks said:


> Is Aquarium Salt ever used in a planted tank or is the salt too toxic to plants?
> 
> 
> Thanks.


What purpose do you think salt should be used?


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## Diana

Sodium chloride is not useful to plants. 

Some fish seem to do better when there is a small amount of salt in the water, but if the GH and KH are right, then the salt is optional. 

There is no need to add salt routinely, especially not to water you are using to top off the tank. Topping off implies that you are replacing water that has evaporated. Salt and minerals do not evaporate. They stay in the tank. The best way to replace evaporated water is to use reverse osmosis or distilled water. If you keep adding more salt to the tank with every top off the level can keep on climbing.


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## sohankpatel

miogpsrocks said:


> Do your plants die or do you use like half the recommended amount,etc..?


Its been a while since i have added any salt to the tank, i believe it to be beneficial to the fish, although i am starting to add plants so i will probably half the dose to prevent any poisoning of the plants. Although there are people on this forum who probably know more about this than me.


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## Zapins

No definitely not.

Sodium can become toxic to plants at higher doses

Some people use it in fish only tanks to ward off potential diseases. This is because parasites and infections don't like salt and are weakened or killed by it. This is why petco uses salt in their tanks quite frequently - because they have terrible tank conditions and cleaning schedules so they artificially make the conditions a little less hospitable to infective agents.


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## Steve001

sohankpatel said:


> Its been a while since i have added any salt to the tank, i believe it to be beneficial to the fish, although i am starting to add plants so i will probably half the dose to prevent any poisoning of the plants. Although there are people on this forum who probably know more about this than me.


 Adding a significant amount of plants is significantly more beneficial for fish.


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## GraphicGr8s

I have salt in the fish closet. Haven't added it in decades. Only fish it is truly beneficial to is mollies.


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## DaveK

GraphicGr8s said:


> I have salt in the fish closet. Haven't added it in decades. Only fish it is truly beneficial to is mollies.


While mollies do benefit from the addition of salt to the water, they are not the only species salt is good to use. There are quite a few other species that should have a certain of salt in the water. In addition to mollies, scats, monos, figure 8 puffers, archer fish, and bumblebee gobies all do best in brackish water.

Now that does bring up another point. Would you want to set up a planted tank with these fish? It would be a lot harder, but it could be done. Personally think that most people are better off choosing one or the other, either brackish water and keep the fish or FW and keep the plants.


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## GraphicGr8s

DaveK said:


> While mollies do benefit from the addition of salt to the water, they are not the only species salt is good to use. There are quite a few other species that should have a certain of salt in the water. In addition to mollies, scats, monos, figure 8 puffers, archer fish, and bumblebee gobies all do best in brackish water.
> 
> Now that does bring up another point. Would you want to set up a planted tank with these fish? It would be a lot harder, but it could be done. Personally think that most people are better off choosing one or the other, either brackish water and keep the fish or FW and keep the plants.


I'll cede that point. I've always considered the molly this side of a true brackish fish though. And that's how I've always kept and bred them. This side of brackish.

There are some plants like anubias that will do well in a brackish tank though.

one point though for a brackish tank you need to use marine salt not aquarium salt which is pretty much common table salt.


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## Kubla

Most of the stuff I read says salt has multiple benefits to most fish. There are some exceptions, it's not good for a lot of catfish and fish that prefer softer water. It's commonly used in fish ponds and there are a lot of dosage calculators on line along with the concentration levels that won't harm plants. Just do a google search for salt in fish ponds.


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## essabee

I use both potassium sulphate & cloride for my self rolled pmdd solutions for my planted tanks. As the cheapest and easiest source of both these chemicals are as agriculture fertilizer; I buy these. I know being agriculture fertilizers the chemicals may contain as high as 3% impurity and the most common of them would be sodium salts. So without actively adding aquarium salt - I may have been dosing some amount of it into my planted tanks. At those level of addition it would not be either adversely affecting any plants or providing benefit to any fish. 

We do know some amount of salt would be present in the food we feed the fishes - how much??? your guess is good as mine. The water we use to fill will also have traces, if not more depending upon the source, of salt in it.

So more or less the given fact is salt is available to the fishes and plants in minor doses. In other than brackish (including near-brackish) tanks, requirement for further dosage of salt has not been felt. Now even if it was true that adding salt to planted tanks does not show any adverse effect and arguably may benefit the fishes - I would not add it. That's because I find any need to do so.


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## miogpsrocks

Steve001 said:


> What purpose do you think salt should be used?


Fish are dying and I'm looking for ways to improve the situation. 

Purchase thermometers and heater to have stable temperature, trying to adjust PH, adding antifungus agents to the mix,etc....


Not exactly sure what the issue is but I'm doing something wrong.


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## Maryland Guppy

GraphicGr8s said:


> I'll cede that point. I've always considered the molly this side of a true brackish fish though. And that's how I've always kept and bred them. This side of brackish.




The molly is universal.
Decades ago I used them to cycle my saltwater setups.
Add marine salt gradually over 3-4 days until gravity is reached.
And this works in reverse.


I second what has been said. No salt in a planted tank.


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## Steve001

miogpsrocks said:


> Fish are dying and I'm looking for ways to improve the situation.
> 
> Purchase thermometers and heater to have stable temperature, trying to adjust PH, adding antifungus agents to the mix,etc....
> 
> 
> Not exactly sure what the issue is but I'm doing something wrong.


 It is certain something is wrong, but using a remedy for fish only tanks isn't the cure for planted tanks. Did you describe in detail your maintenance of this tank, its size, total number of fauna, water changes etc. etc.?


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## BBradbury

Hello View...

The chemical makeup of the salt is really immaterial. It simply helps maintain a healthy fish. Aquarium salt has been used in the water keeping hobby for decades as a general tonic to keep the outside of the fish strong enough to resist infections, plus aides the osmoregulation (fishes' fluid use) process.

I've used it in my planted tanks for several years with very good results.

Good talking with you.

B


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## WaterLife

Salt is usually just a mild treatment/preventative. It's okay for fish, but plants can die from it.
If you are looking for a natural fish aid, try out Indian Almond Leaves (IAL), dried Oak Leaves, various other dried leaves, Alder cones, cholla wood, even driftwood (tannins). These all have natural medicinal properties. Not sure if the medicine is only the tannins themselves or not, if it is, then you would want to leave the tannins in the tanks (keep water brown with tannins -blackwater-, don't use activated carbon (it removes tannins)

But do give more details about the fishes' health issues and we can try and figure out what is wrong with the fish and then recommend a solution. It sounds like the fish have a disease.


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## Steve001

BBradbury said:


> Hello mio...
> 
> Absolutely. Standard aquarium salt used in small doses replaces minerals that are lost to the tank water being constantly filtered. A teaspoon or so added to every five gallons of new, treated tap water during the weekly water change will keep your aquatic plants healthy.
> 
> B


Can you substantiate this? No, you can't.

Bump:


BBradbury said:


> Hello View...
> 
> The chemical makeup of the salt is really immaterial. It simply helps maintain a healthy fish. Aquarium salt has been used in the water keeping hobby for decades as a general tonic to keep the outside of the fish strong enough to resist infections, plus aides the osmoregulation (fishes' fluid use) process.
> 
> I've used it in my planted tanks for several years with very good results.
> 
> Good talking with you.
> 
> B


I repeat myself. Can you substantiate this? No, you can't. This is one of several posts where you offer unsubstantiated advice. And possibly bad advice.


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## Diana

Salt (sodium chloride) can kill external parasites. 
Salt is part of the osmotic regulation concept. 
Salt can help when certain toxins are in the water. 

Fish live in a balance with the salts and minerals in the water. The TDS (Total Dissilved Solids). 
Their cells must maintain a certain ratio of water:salt/minerals etc.
Cell walls are a semipermeable membrane. The fish can control what enters and exits the cells. Water passes through the cell walls pretty freely. For the fish to regulate how much water is in the cell it needs to spend some energy pumping the water one way or the other. 

Fish that live in soft water (low TDS) are constantly having to remove water from their system. Their metabolism is set up to do this with great efficiency. Their system also holds onto the minerals they need (for example calcium) that is available in the water in very low concentration. (This can kill some fish- for example, Cardinal Tetras accumulate so much calcium they can die)
A fish that lives in hard water (high TDS) is also having to remove water from its system, but not as much as a soft water fish. Their metabolism is not very efficient at this. They get their minerals from the water, too, but since the minerals are abundant the fish do not need to be very efficient at this, either. 
A fish that lives in the ocean is constantly getting rid of excess minerals and salts, especially NaCl. 

When a fish is moved into water with higher TDS the amount of water entering their cells is less, so they can do less work to pump it out. It can take the fish several days or a week to adjust their metabolism to altered salt and mineral levels. I have moved some fish from fresh water to low end brackish over several weeks, and they are fine. The fish are usually purchased in fresh or very lightly salted water. While they are in quarantine, each water change makes the water a little bit more like the display tank, by adding carefully measured doses of the salt and mineral blend used for a marine tank. In any one water change the change in TDS is small, and the fish can adapt easily. In general a fish has a pretty easy time moving into harder water. 
When a fish is moved into water with a lower TDS they have a harder time adapting to the new level. Too much water enters their system, and they are not geared up to pump it out. They need a slow adjustment (several weeks or a month) to go from a hard water system to a soft water system. 
Using some very delicate fish I found they could handle a 15% increase in TDS OK, or a 10% drop in TDS with any one water change, and I could do 2 such water changes per week, maximum. 

When a fish is sick they need to put more of their energy toward fighting off the infection. If you add salt to the water the amount of energy the fish was using for osmoregulation gets less, so the fish can send more energy to its immune system. The salt helps the fish not by being there all the time, but by the CHANGE in concentration. If it was there all the time the fishes' metabolism would not have that flexibility. When they are used to _no_ salt, and you change the level to _some_ salt, they spend less energy than they were used to getting rid of excess water. 
If you keep _some_ salt in the tank all the time, then you would need to add _more_ salt when the fish are sick to get this effect, and this might be more than the fish can handle. 

Single celled organisms have a much harder time adjusting to different TDS. The water passes through their cell before they can stop it. If they are in a water that has more salt than they can handle, water leaves their cells, they dehydrate and die. This is why salt is a good treatment for Ich. It also helps fresh water fish with other external parasites. 
The opposite is true of salt water fish. If you place them in fresh water (brief exposure) the external parasites die. 
The dose and duration of the treatment varies, but the stronger the solution, the shorter time a fresh water fish can be exposed to high levels of salt. Similarly, some marine fish are OK being kept in a slightly less salty tank than the ocean, but a dip in fresh water cannot go on for a long time. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you purchase fish from a store that salts their tanks (one of my lfs does) you do not know how long the fish have been in the tanks. Long enough to acclimate to that water. 
I set up a quarantine tank for new fish, with fairly soft water. When I get the new fish I test the water in the bag, and add salt and minerals as needed to the quarantine tank to match the GH, KH and TDS of the water in the bag. 
While the fish are in quarantine I alter the water parameters a little bit with each water change until the new fish are in water that matches the display tank.

Plants are even harder to acclimate than fish. I have read that certain of the plants we keep in fresh water tanks can be kept in low end brackish tanks. I have had no luck acclimating the plants to my brackish tanks. They just sit there, not growing, until they die.
--------------------------------------------------------
Sodium chloride or other source of chloride is helpful when NO2 is present in the water. The chloride competes with the NO2, crossing the gills, so less NO2 enter the blood stream of the fish. 
---------------------------------------------------------

Many years ago, before the aquarium tests we know were available and before people understood fresh water (or salt water) chemistry, the fish keepers would note what they did, use the only test they had (pH) and note whether the fish would live or die. 
They came up with some concepts that are still heard today, but that are 50 years out of date. 
Old way:
"pH is the most important water parameter"
Reason:
all they had was a pH test. They had no idea what the mineral levels were doing in their water. pH was the closest they could get to keeping the water parameters the same when moving fish from one tank to another, or doing water changes. 
New way:
"GH, TDS, KH are the most important water parameters. When these are right, the pH will highly likely be in the right range for the fish"

Old way:
"Add salt (NaCl) to fresh water tanks"
Reason:
They did not know what mineral levels were in the water. Old tank water usually had high mineral levels because of evaporation and topping off. New water had lower mineral levels, so could cause fish stress when they were moved or did water changes. By adding salt, the new water had a TDS closer to the tank water. 
Also, toxins were building up in some tanks because of small water changes. Salt is helpful when NO2 is present in the water. 
New way:
"Salt has its uses, but in medicinal doses. Better to keep the water clean, with all the parameters in the right range for the fish, and the toxins under control with bio filtration and other methods"
and
"Do the fishless cycle"
"Add the proper species of nitrifying bacteria to a new tank"
"Of you cycle with fish monitor the conditions will the right tests and do enough water changes to keep the toxins at tolerable levels"
and
"If salt is needed for treatment, use it, then remove it from the tank when the need is over"
and
"When moving fish to a new tank make sure the GH, TDS and KH are the same as they were used to. Make any changes in these parameters slowly, over several weeks."

and last:
"If salt is in a tank for any reason, and you want to remove it, do water changes with slightly less salt in the replacement water so that over a couple of weeks to a month the salt is gradually removed. The slow reduction in TDS allows the fish to adapt their osmotic regulation to the softer water."


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## Steve001

Diana said:


> Salt (sodium chloride) can kill external parasites.
> Salt is part of the osmotic regulation concept.
> Salt can help when certain toxins are in the water.
> 
> Fish live in a balance with the salts and minerals in the water. The TDS (Total Dissilved Solids).
> Their cells must maintain a certain ratio of water:salt/minerals etc.
> Cell walls are a semipermeable membrane. The fish can control what enters and exits the cells. Water passes through the cell walls pretty freely. For the fish to regulate how much water is in the cell it needs to spend some energy pumping the water one way or the other.
> 
> Fish that live in soft water (low TDS) are constantly having to remove water from their system. Their metabolism is set up to do this with great efficiency. Their system also holds onto the minerals they need (for example calcium) that is available in the water in very low concentration. (This can kill some fish- for example, Cardinal Tetras accumulate so much calcium they can die)
> A fish that lives in hard water (high TDS) is also having to remove water from its system, but not as much as a soft water fish. Their metabolism is not very efficient at this. They get their minerals from the water, too, but since the minerals are abundant the fish do not need to be very efficient at this, either.
> A fish that lives in the ocean is constantly getting rid of excess minerals and salts, especially NaCl.
> 
> When a fish is moved into water with higher TDS the amount of water entering their cells is less, so they can do less work to pump it out. It can take the fish several days or a week to adjust their metabolism to altered salt and mineral levels. I have moved some fish from fresh water to low end brackish over several weeks, and they are fine. The fish are usually purchased in fresh or very lightly salted water. While they are in quarantine, each water change makes the water a little bit more like the display tank, by adding carefully measured doses of the salt and mineral blend used for a marine tank. In any one water change the change in TDS is small, and the fish can adapt easily. In general a fish has a pretty easy time moving into harder water.
> When a fish is moved into water with a lower TDS they have a harder time adapting to the new level. Too much water enters their system, and they are not geared up to pump it out. They need a slow adjustment (several weeks or a month) to go from a hard water system to a soft water system.
> Using some very delicate fish I found they could handle a 15% increase in TDS OK, or a 10% drop in TDS with any one water change, and I could do 2 such water changes per week, maximum.
> 
> When a fish is sick they need to put more of their energy toward fighting off the infection. If you add salt to the water the amount of energy the fish was using for osmoregulation gets less, so the fish can send more energy to its immune system. The salt helps the fish not by being there all the time, but by the CHANGE in concentration. If it was there all the time the fishes' metabolism would not have that flexibility. When they are used to _no_ salt, and you change the level to _some_ salt, they spend less energy than they were used to getting rid of excess water.
> If you keep _some_ salt in the tank all the time, then you would need to add _more_ salt when the fish are sick to get this effect, and this might be more than the fish can handle.
> 
> Single celled organisms have a much harder time adjusting to different TDS. The water passes through their cell before they can stop it. If they are in a water that has more salt than they can handle, water leaves their cells, they dehydrate and die. This is why salt is a good treatment for Ich. It also helps fresh water fish with other external parasites.
> The opposite is true of salt water fish. If you place them in fresh water (brief exposure) the external parasites die.
> The dose and duration of the treatment varies, but the stronger the solution, the shorter time a fresh water fish can be exposed to high levels of salt. Similarly, some marine fish are OK being kept in a slightly less salty tank than the ocean, but a dip in fresh water cannot go on for a long time.
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> If you purchase fish from a store that salts their tanks (one of my lfs does) you do not know how long the fish have been in the tanks. Long enough to acclimate to that water.
> I set up a quarantine tank for new fish, with fairly soft water. When I get the new fish I test the water in the bag, and add salt and minerals as needed to the quarantine tank to match the GH, KH and TDS of the water in the bag.
> While the fish are in quarantine I alter the water parameters a little bit with each water change until the new fish are in water that matches the display tank.
> 
> Plants are even harder to acclimate than fish. I have read that certain of the plants we keep in fresh water tanks can be kept in low end brackish tanks. I have had no luck acclimating the plants to my brackish tanks. They just sit there, not growing, until they die.
> --------------------------------------------------------
> Sodium chloride or other source of chloride is helpful when NO2 is present in the water. The chloride competes with the NO2, crossing the gills, so less NO2 enter the blood stream of the fish.
> ---------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Many years ago, before the aquarium tests we know were available and before people understood fresh water (or salt water) chemistry, the fish keepers would note what they did, use the only test they had (pH) and note whether the fish would live or die.
> They came up with some concepts that are still heard today, but that are 50 years out of date.
> Old way:
> "pH is the most important water parameter"
> Reason:
> all they had was a pH test. They had no idea what the mineral levels were doing in their water. pH was the closest they could get to keeping the water parameters the same when moving fish from one tank to another, or doing water changes.
> New way:
> "GH, TDS, KH are the most important water parameters. When these are right, the pH will highly likely be in the right range for the fish"
> 
> Old way:
> "Add salt (NaCl) to fresh water tanks"
> Reason:
> They did not know what mineral levels were in the water. Old tank water usually had high mineral levels because of evaporation and topping off. New water had lower mineral levels, so could cause fish stress when they were moved or did water changes. By adding salt, the new water had a TDS closer to the tank water.
> Also, toxins were building up in some tanks because of small water changes. Salt is helpful when NO2 is present in the water.
> New way:
> "Salt has its uses, but in medicinal doses. Better to keep the water clean, with all the parameters in the right range for the fish, and the toxins under control with bio filtration and other methods"
> and
> "Do the fishless cycle"
> "Add the proper species of nitrifying bacteria to a new tank"
> "Of you cycle with fish monitor the conditions will the right tests and do enough water changes to keep the toxins at tolerable levels"
> and
> "If salt is needed for treatment, use it, then remove it from the tank when the need is over"
> and
> "When moving fish to a new tank make sure the GH, TDS and KH are the same as they were used to. Make any changes in these parameters slowly, over several weeks."
> 
> and last:
> "If salt is in a tank for any reason, and you want to remove it, do water changes with slightly less salt in the replacement water so that over a couple of weeks to a month the salt is gradually removed. The slow reduction in TDS allows the fish to adapt their osmotic regulation to the softer water."


The information you offer appears sound, but would you post research citations?


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## Diana

A lot of this information has been accumulated over the years, and I no longer remember which publications I originally learned it from. 
A lot of my reading has been at sites like: 

The Krib (Aquaria and Tropical Fish)
an older site, with a lot of (then) breakthrough information as the aquarium technology improved. 

The Skeptical Aquarist
a site where the author looks at aquarium practices 'with a grain of salt' and adds some research to prove or disprove a lot of older and newer concepts. 

Extension Publications | School of Forest Resources & Conservation
Scroll down to 'publications'. While geared toward aquaculture, and farming fish, there is a lot of information about aquarium fish, too. And the biology of the fish does not change. 

Scientific Papers
... and similar- Peer reviewed research. When I am looking at some site, linked by a google search, I look to see if the research has been peer reviewed as one mark of how reliable it may be. 

Seachem. Library
Seachem has a pretty good library of information, without a lot of selling of their own products. 

A lot more information has been gleaned from many, many books, even before the internet was in existence. 
Some books were so old, they were still using the older methods I mentioned. 

My original training was in ornamental horticulture, which included a lot of botany, chemistry, soil science, biology, entomology and how to tie these together to help plants thrive. 
Similar concepts and a lot of the same chemistry applies to ecosystems such as an aquarium. 

So, no, I cannot point to any one item and say 'This is where this info came from', but I can suggest that anyone who wants to check up on these ideas, or do further research, that the sites I listed are probably some of the better places to start.


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## Clear Water

Cory's don't like even a little salt. As for me I don't think you need it at all in a plant tank. African cichlids may need it but most black water fish will not benefit from salt.


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## BBradbury

*Aquarium Salt*



Steve001 said:


> Can you substantiate this? No, you can't.
> 
> Bump:
> I repeat myself. Can you substantiate this? No, you can't. This is one of several posts where you offer unsubstantiated advice. And possibly bad advice.


Hi Steve...

I won't go into the debate. The subject has been beaten up for years I'll suffice it to say I've used the product in my tanks for coming up on 12 years and have never had a disease in any of the tanks. I just have trouble chocking this fact up to luck or that my tanks are any different than anyone else's. Just wanted to get the word out that dosed properly, salt will promote a healthy tank.

Have fun!

B


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## burr740

Salt is not "good" for plants, in any shape form or fashion. Certain fish may appreciate having a little...but the plants will simply be tolerating it.


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## Steve001

BBradbury said:


> Hi Steve...
> 
> I won't go into the debate. The subject has been beaten up for years I'll suffice it to say I've used the product in my tanks for coming up on 12 years and have never had a disease in any of the tanks. I just have trouble chocking this fact up to luck or that my tanks are any different than anyone else's. Just wanted to get the word out that dosed properly, salt will promote a healthy tank.
> 
> Have fun!
> 
> B


 Here's a fact. You don't know if salt or something else, even many something else's is leading to your success? If numbers count, my 31 years of success not using salt trumps your nearly 12 years of using salt. So there.:wink2:

Bump:


Diana said:


> A lot of this information has been accumulated over the years, and I no longer remember which publications I originally learned it from.
> A lot of my reading has been at sites like:
> 
> The Krib (Aquaria and Tropical Fish)
> an older site, with a lot of (then) breakthrough information as the aquarium technology improved.
> 
> The Skeptical Aquarist
> a site where the author looks at aquarium practices 'with a grain of salt' and adds some research to prove or disprove a lot of older and newer concepts.
> 
> Extension Publications | School of Forest Resources & Conservation
> Scroll down to 'publications'. While geared toward aquaculture, and farming fish, there is a lot of information about aquarium fish, too. And the biology of the fish does not change.
> 
> Scientific Papers
> ... and similar- Peer reviewed research. When I am looking at some site, linked by a google search, I look to see if the research has been peer reviewed as one mark of how reliable it may be.
> 
> Seachem. Library
> Seachem has a pretty good library of information, without a lot of selling of their own products.
> 
> A lot more information has been gleaned from many, many books, even before the internet was in existence.
> Some books were so old, they were still using the older methods I mentioned.
> 
> My original training was in ornamental horticulture, which included a lot of botany, chemistry, soil science, biology, entomology and how to tie these together to help plants thrive.
> Similar concepts and a lot of the same chemistry applies to ecosystems such as an aquarium.
> 
> So, no, I cannot point to any one item and say 'This is where this info came from', but I can suggest that anyone who wants to check up on these ideas, or do further research, that the sites I listed are probably some of the better places to start.


 Good enough.


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## GraphicGr8s

Steve001 said:


> Here's a fact. You don't know if salt or something else, even many something else's is leading to your success? If numbers count, my 31 years of success not using salt trumps your nearly 12 years of using salt. So there.:wink2:
> .


Hey a urination station. My 36 years trumps yours. And I have a feeling I have had and do have more tanks than you. 

Big Deal.

Salt works for some and not for others. I did at one time use salt. And in some tanks it worked wonders especially in the breeding tanks. In others I noticed no effect.


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## Steve001

GraphicGr8s said:


> Hey a urination station. My 36 years trumps yours. And I have a feeling I have had and do have more tanks than you.
> 
> Big Deal.
> 
> 
> 
> Salt works for some and not for others. I did at one time use salt. And in some tanks it worked wonders especially in the breeding tanks. In others I noticed no effect.


Chill.

It's understood this is a planted tank forum: not a fish tank forum. Why the very title of this site is "planted tank.net" Therefore any question asked rightly assumes the person asking the question has a planted tank. So we answer appropriately with that assumption in mind. No one including me is questioning there may be practical benefits of added salt to a fish only tank such as a breeder tank. But even as a remedy it may not be all that effective compared to other forms. Now,the question is, should salt be added to a planted tank? The answer is no.


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## GraphicGr8s

Steve001 said:


> Chill.
> 
> It's understood this is a planted tank forum: not a fish tank forum. Why the very title of this site is "planted tank.net" Therefore any question asked rightly assumes the person asking the question has a planted tank. So we answer appropriately with that assumption in mind. No one including me is questioning there may be practical benefits of added salt to a fish only tank such as a breeder tank. But even as a remedy it may be all that effective compared to other forms. Now,the question is, should salt be added to a planted tank? *The answer is no.*


That is YOUR opinion.
The only possible correct answer is: It depends.

BTW my breeder tanks had, and do have plants.


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## Maryland Guppy

Salt Fight!!!!


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## essabee

Salt is as salt does. I have no faith in pseudosciences and their followers.

The need for additional salt must be for a desired purpose. In a display planted tank - what exactly is the need for addition of the specific salt "NaCl"?

It not that sodium or chlorine is absent. It is not that the tank water is devoid of mineral salts. It is also very likely that Potassium is present and in good supply. In that context I just cannot understand the need of additional *NaCl*.

Platitudes and references are not answers. Neither is the years spent in the hobby (BTW this my 55th year in this hobby). Observations of specific requirement of addition of NaCl for reversing an observable undesirable conditions in planted tanks is required; and that too should be a reasonably common syndrome.


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## Steve001

GraphicGr8s said:


> That is YOUR opinion.
> The only possible correct answer is: It depends.
> 
> BTW my breeder tanks had, and do have plants.


It doesn't depend on anything. There are better treatments when such are called for. Your plants did not do well because of extra added salt. They survived despite the extra added salt.

Here are some selected links describing what can happen to freshwater plants.
Re: What is the effect of saltwater on freshwater plants (elodea)?
EFFECTS OF SALINITY ON GROWTH OF SEVERAL AQUATIC MACROPHYTES 
http://web.pdx.edu/~sytsmam/papers/parrotfeathersalinitytolerance.pdf
Some vids demonstrating _plasmolysis 
_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtPaPbVBMbM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SooSsKkJo1o
Check page 11. Do Road Salts Cause Environmental Impacts? 
http://www.mde.state.md.us/programs.../2013_Stranko_Road_Salt_(final)_TMF_edits.pdf
In essence what you did and everyone is doing by adding salt is an uncontrolled experiment.


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## Maryland Guppy

I can't quote anything, and am too lazy to look in the book right now.
"Ecology of the Planted Tank" may have made mention of salt.


When I feel motivated I may look this up.


Continue with manure fight!


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## GraphicGr8s

Steve001 said:


> It doesn't depend on anything. There are better treatments when such are called for. Your plants did not do well because of extra added salt. They survived despite the extra added salt.
> 
> Here are some selected links describing what can happen to freshwater plants.
> Re: What is the effect of saltwater on freshwater plants (elodea)?
> EFFECTS OF SALINITY ON GROWTH OF SEVERAL AQUATIC MACROPHYTES
> http://web.pdx.edu/~sytsmam/papers/parrotfeathersalinitytolerance.pdf
> Some vids demonstrating _plasmolysis
> _https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtPaPbVBMbM
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SooSsKkJo1o
> Check page 11. Do Road Salts Cause Environmental Impacts?
> http://www.mde.state.md.us/programs.../2013_Stranko_Road_Salt_(final)_TMF_edits.pdf
> In essence what you did and everyone is doing by adding salt is an uncontrolled experiment.


Actually it didn't matter which tank the plants were in they both did well. And at times they both suffered. 
And yes, the correct answer is still: It depends.
And I am done with the urination station.


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## Audionut

From here.



> All natural waters contain sodium ions (Na+) as the element is one of the most abundant on
> the planet. High concentrations in inland waters, however, are normally associated with
> pollution from industrial discharges or sewage effluent or, in coastal areas, sea water
> intrusion. Normally, however, sodium concentrations are below 200 mg/L (this is also the
> World Health Organisation guideline limit for sodium in drinking water).


10 grams NaCl in 20 gallons = 52ppm Na.

I'm pretty positive very few on this site has ever heard the term anecdotal evidence, but carry on.


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## lksdrinker

Whether or not you use it or think it is, or is not, beneficial; I think its worth driving home the point that salt will not evaporate. So, if you do choose to use it make sure to remember that if you're just topping off the tank, the salt you initially put in is still in there.


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