Epsom salt newbie questions

[Sgooosh]

So I have much calcium in the tank now, there is egg shell, and lots of corals
My snail shells are deteriorating and I want them to get better
Someone suggested adding magnesium with calcium and epsom is magnesium sulfate…
Will epsom salt be harmful to my stocking? Is it actually salt or not and will it raise salinity
Less than 10 cories
40+ Guppy
Mystery snail times 2
1 nerite
Many bladder and rams horn snails
Crypts
Sword plants
Bacopa
Rotala
Duckweed
Elodea
Java moss(a tiny hitchhiker string, I got lucky)

thanks

 

[Byron]

Epsom Salt is a salt with the formula MgSO4 consisting of magnesium cations and sulfate anions. It is not common salt, sodium chloride, so it will not raise salinity. But it will increase the GH as magnesium along with calcium are the primary minerals contributing to GH.

The plants may take up much of this anyway. Back in the 1980's I used to add a fairly small amount of dissolved Epsom Salt to my planted tank, as had been recommended in a fish magazine article, but I had zero GH/KH water then and I doubt the amount I was adding had much if any effect (I didn't measure GH back then, just pH) on the fish. Not sure it helped the plants, but they did grow fairly well.

What is the GH of the water?

For the shells of invertebrates, calcium is the primary mineral. But you may not want to be adding that either, depending upon the GH now.

 

[kribensis12]

While I can't pretend to be an expert on snails, it is my understanding that snails primarily get these minerals through eating and a great addition would be cuttlebone. Adding additional minerals to your water, in my view, would just affect your gH and kH, but not really benefit the snail whatsoever.

I do see that you have coral/egg shells in there already - is it possible that they cannot get these minerals/are not eating them?

 

[Sgooosh]

While I can't pretend to be an expert on snails, it is my understanding that snails primarily get these minerals through eating and a great addition would be cuttlebone. Adding additional minerals to your water, in my view, would just affect your gH and kH, but not really benefit the snail whatsoever.

I do see that you have coral/egg shells in there already - is it possible that they cannot get these minerals/are not eating them?

They eat the egg shell sometimes
The cuttlebone they don’t touch

 

[Corypower]

You plants might not be able to handle the increased salt,I suggest adding it in small doses first

 

[Corypower]

You plants might not be able to handle the increased salt,I suggest adding it in small doses first

I killed all my plants once…bad day

 

[Sgooosh]

I killed all my plants once…bad day

sorry bout that...
how low of a dose for 75g

 

[Corypower]

sorry bout that...
how low of a dose for 75g

Two tea spoons should be safe

 

[Corypower]

Two tea spoons should be safe

Up the level every week or so

 

[Sgooosh]

Up the level every week or so

like 4 tsp next week???

 

[Corypower]

like 4 tsp next week???

No, start with 2 and increase by 1 every week maybe stop at 6 tea spoons

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I added epsom salt to my 150g tank for years to increase the GH for my rainbowfish. Then I started using cichlid salt instead because it seems more balanced between the different hardness minerals. I don't think it hurt the plants a bit, although now that I think about it, my amazon swords developed holes the last year or so I had that set up. Maybe the minerals were hurting them?

I never saw any increase in KH or GH from cuttlebone or crushed oyster grit.

 

[Sgooosh]

I added epsom salt to my 150g tank for years to increase the GH for my rainbowfish. Then I started using cichlid salt instead because it seems more balanced between the different hardness minerals. I don't think it hurt the plants a bit, although now that I think about it, my amazon swords developed holes the last year or so I had that set up. Maybe the minerals were hurting them?

I never saw any increase in KH or GH from cuttlebone or crushed oyster grit.

i think the point of the shells was for snails to eat it