Salt Residue

[Mturner615]

I add 2 tablespoons of salt to my fish tank every water change. Now, I have salt residue on the hood and light of my tank. Anyone have suggestions for removing it easily?

[epond83]

not sure how much you look around here but i believe most believe salt is worthless in a freshwater tank.

To answer the question though, i use regular white vinager to get hard water deposites off my lid. Works well and rinses off easily so as not to contaimanate the tank.

[Cichlid-Man]

Originally Posted by epond83

not sure how much you look around here but i believe most believe salt is worthless in a freshwater tank.

Agreed.

And i usually just use water to get salt creep off my SW stuff. Vinegar works too.

[Lotus]

That's a lot of salt to be adding each water change. It will have built up quite a lot in the tank.

[nrstype]

2 tablespoons per 10g tanks with EVERY water change is too much, and salt will build up over time. Salt does not evaporate out, it must be removed in the water. If you use salt, (I do also in my FW tanks for health and gill function, I like it).

Recommendation, if you want to use FW salt, and want to reduce the buildup that you have currently....

#1) Do not add it for about 3 - 4 water changes.

#2) To reduce any salt creep you have, if you have a lot of "bubbles" (ie.. from a decoration or airstone), move it to the center of the tank, reduce the bubbles, etc. Usually salt creep happens with a lot of spray, esp from tiny bubbles. I have a SW tank, and when I increased the flow, and got rid of my airstone that elliminated the salt creep all together.

For my FW tanks, when the salt is dosed correctly, and not allowed to build up in concentration in the water, you should have scant to no salt creep at all. You could also be getting a scale buildup from minerals in the water(hard to remove whitish dry stuff).. also.. vinegar is good to clean it with. For salt creep, I always use just tap water, comes off easily, unless there is mineral scale buildup along with it. The two get confused to some.

#3) When you begin adding salt again, only dose it for the 10g amount, once a month. Basing this on a 25% Water change weekly.

These things should help you solve your problem.

Have a great day!

nrstype

[FishGeek]

WOW!! What is your reasoning for adding the salt??? Your going to eventually turn that tank into a sw tank. And like everyone else said (Im not going to repeat everything) its not doing your fish any good.

[nrstype]

Your going to eventually turn that tank into a sw tank.

If Mturner615 keeps dosing like he is, with every partial water change, then yes, that could happen in the long run. The most common misconception, is that people tend to dose say, a 10g amount for a 10g tank. When in reality, there may be only 8.5 -9 gallons of actual water in the tank do to displacement of the gravel, decor and other items. Couple that with some beginners not knowing that the salt never leaves, it has to be manually removed (ie.. taken out with water changes), and if they redose the salt, it is common for people to put yet another "10g worth" of the Salt dose, instead of the say only the 2 -3 gallons they removed.

BUT...No... you WON'T turn a FW tank into a SW tank by using FW salt, dosed properly, and following proper water changes and aquarium maintenance. I use FW Salt for YEARS in my FW, non~planted tanks. I buy the salt made for FW use, not marine or sea/reef salt. I also maintain a reef aquarium, so I do understand the difference, and the potential for disaster.

Personally, I use salt for several reasons..

*Some Disease prevention.
*It assists in healing.
*Promotes formation of slime coating.
*Improves gill function
*Reduces the uptake of nitrite, If nitrite levels are an issue.
*It can be effective against some parasites.

Mollies, for instance, do better with some salt added to their environment.

When DON'T I use FW salt. I do not use it in my PLANTED TANKS, Tanks with scaleless fish (loaches etc.)

The addition of some FW salt can be beneficial, when used properly (Stress stress stressing this).

FW Salt is also one of the best remedies to use as a treatment option for several disease and parasite issues, but it must be done outside the main tank, in a separate or "hospital" tank.

I understand the rationale for using FW salt, it is the subject of controversy, because there are pros and cons for and against. There are as many people who use it, and those who think it is all bunk. However, sodium is an important element living things use for cellular & fluid activity. I, as you can see, am in the "FOR" catagory, but with close monitoring and dosing that it requires.

Here is a nice site that simply explains some of them.

HERE

[TabMorte]

It should also be noted that Salt is harmful to Corys (and other scaleless fish) over a long period of time.

[nrstype]

Originally Posted by TabMorte

It should also be noted that Salt is harmful to Corys (and other scaleless fish) over a long period of time.

Yes.. I did state that above...

When DON'T I use FW salt. I do not use it in my PLANTED TANKS, Tanks with scaleless fish (loaches etc.)

[TabMorte]

Sorry nrstype! I skimmed through the last couple posts.