Adding salts

[Gary Anderson]

There was a discussion on here the other day where Vlad suggested adding salts (sodium chloride, potassium chloride and epsom salts) i was wondering how often do you add this mixture?

[Vlad Jovanovic]

Many people will salt their systems to 1ppt (parts per thousand) once a year to promote good fish slime coat health. (I prefer to cut that in half and do it twice throughout the year...that's just me though). Or anytime nitrite levels become elevated...or better yet before they become elevated, since the chloride portion (of chloride salts) will block the uptake of nitrite and help to keep your fish from dying of nitrite poisoning (also called 'brown blood disease' or, methemoglobenemia)...

Now, if aquapons are (and have been for years) salting for the chlorides anyways for fish health, all I'm saying (and doing) is why not use some plant and fish beneficial chloride salts instead of just a sodium salt...

[Gary Anderson]

Thank you.

[Vlad Jovanovic]

[Verna Gross]

After reading most of the posts on this topic I added 3 oz of Epsom Salt to my system last week and noticed a remarkable difference in my plants as well as my fish activity within 3 days. I have a 250 gallon IBC tote and 4 50 gal grow beds :)

[Dukie Dixon]

Hi, my fish have been dying and I was thinking about adding salt. But was really not sure. I have a 160 gallon IBC withe blue talipia and Nile only the Blue are dying. All levels are good except Ph is a little low at just above 6. If I was to add salt how much? I also have indoor tanks but no problems with them or the fish. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Duke

[aubrey sloan]

If your pH is too low then try the following... 

1. Take some used egg shells (6 is a good number to start with) and rinse them off. 
2. Place them into a microwave safe container and microwave them for (30 - 45) seconds to kill harmful bacteria. 
3. Take an old pair of panty hose, cheese cloth or other porous material and carefully cut to a length of approximately 6". 
4. Make sure that one end of the material chosen is sealed. If not then tie a knot on one end to seal it. 
5. Take the egg shells and place them into the open end of the material in step 4. 
6. Tie a knot on the open end to seal it. 
7. Gently crush the egg shells (lay the pouch on a flat surface and press down with the palm of your hand but don't over do it). 
8. Take the completed pouch with you to your system location. 
9. Dig a small hole near the grow bed water inlet and place the pouch into it. 
10. Cover the hole. 

Now that you have added Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) you should allow some time to pass (2 - 4 hours) for the water to absorb the Calcium Carbonate before you resume testing your pHlevels. You should notice over time that the pHwill gradually increase. Check on the pouch once a week to see if the pouch contains adequate egg shells and remove or replace as necessary. The size of your fish tank and water volume will determine how many egg shells and how often this process should be repeated. If this doesn't raise the pH then try to increase the number of egg shells and or insure that the pouch is getting flooded by water. 

I hope this will HELP you raise your pH the next time it is on the low side. As always feel free to email me your comments and or questions...

Talk Soon

Regards,
Bracken
Aquaponics Authority
[e-mail]

[Dukie Dixon]

Thank you going to feed everyone eggs for lunch. And give it a try.


aubrey sloan said:

If your pH is too low then try the following... 

1. Take some used egg shells (6 is a good number to start with) and rinse them off. 
2. Place them into a microwave safe container and microwave them for (30 - 45) seconds to kill harmful bacteria. 
3. Take an old pair of panty hose, cheese cloth or other porous material and carefully cut to a length of approximately 6". 
4. Make sure that one end of the material chosen is sealed. If not then tie a knot on one end to seal it. 
5. Take the egg shells and place them into the open end of the material in step 4. 
6. Tie a knot on the open end to seal it. 
7. Gently crush the egg shells (lay the pouch on a flat surface and press down with the palm of your hand but don't over do it). 
8. Take the completed pouch with you to your system location. 
9. Dig a small hole near the grow bed water inlet and place the pouch into it. 
10. Cover the hole. 

Now that you have added Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) you should allow some time to pass (2 - 4 hours) for the water to absorb the Calcium Carbonate before you resume testing your pHlevels. You should notice over time that the pHwill gradually increase. Check on the pouch once a week to see if the pouch contains adequate egg shells and remove or replace as necessary. The size of your fish tank and water volume will determine how many egg shells and how often this process should be repeated. If this doesn't raise the pH then try to increase the number of egg shells and or insure that the pouch is getting flooded by water. 

I hope this will HELP you raise your pH the next time it is on the low side. As always feel free to email me your comments and or questions...

Talk Soon

Regards,
Bracken
Aquaponics Authority
[e-mail]

[Vlad Jovanovic]

It is very unlikely that your fish are dying because of your pH...

Duke Dixon said:

Hi, my fish have been dying and I was thinking about adding salt. But was really not sure. I have a 160 gallon IBC withe blue talipia and Nile only the Blue are dying. All levels are good except Ph is a little low at just above 6. If I was to add salt how much? I also have indoor tanks but no problems with them or the fish. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Duke

[Pat James]

3 ounces? I was doing the math and trying to figure if I needed to add 15 or so POUNDS or 150...... I sure did not want to misplace A decimal....

Verna Gross said:

After reading most of the posts on this topic I added 3 oz of Epsom Salt to my system last week and noticed a remarkable difference in my plants as well as my fish activity within 3 days. I have a 250 gallon IBC tote and 4 50 gal grow beds

[Gary Anderson]

My Tank has about 215 gallons. I followed Vlads advice and added 3 oz Epsom Salts, 5 oz Potassium Chloride and 5 oz Sodium Chloride. My plants are doing alot better and the fish also seem to be alot better. Tomatos and onions are growing like crazy. The fish had a kind of sludge looking stuff on them and now they are clean and doing good. Got the Epsom salts and the Sodium Chloride (Sea Salt) at Wal Mart and the Potassium Chloride and my feed store. Whatever you do don't buy the river rock from Wal Mart.....it looks just like the river gravel i got from another place that is 0% Ammonia but the stuff i got at Wal Mart is 8 on the Ammonia chart. Put Vinegar in it and it foams like crazy. (For those of you who might not know)

[Alex Veidel]

How old is your system? And when did you add the fish?

[Gary Anderson]

I'm a rookie, only about a month or so and the fish went in right away as i used creek water and figured it already had the goods in it. First test was pH 7.6,  Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates between 10 and 20.  The ammonia went up to .25 once and the Nitrites went up slightly once but the rest has stayed the same the whole time. Started with Goldfish because they were supposed to be tough enough to put up with rookie mistakes. Lost about 4, they looked kinda slimy and would swim real slow around the edges and toward the top of the tanks, not eating. The plants were living but not thriving. Since adding the salts....big change for the better.....plants taking off, no more dead fish so far.