Pond Salt

[johnhutch2000]

Hi Guys,

I've had a pond for as long as I can remember and have have comet goldfish in it and a few small Ghost koi
I recently cleaned it out and fitted a waterfall and filter system so the water stays clear, and a waterfall for asthetics + water noise.

What I want to know is, is pond salt a good idea for keeping fish healthy and in what doses. I bought a bag for £2.99 from the LFS and on it reads:

"POND SALT
Treats 2200Lts / 500 Gallons
3.4 Kg (7 1/2 lb)"

The shop owner said work out the amount to add relative to the size of my pond and add it slowly over time to avoid a sudden change.

Does anyone have any advice. I can't find anything useful on this other than a company brand name called "Pond Salt" which is probably similar to this stuff but not the same.

Thanks guys.

 

[simonas]

I have a pond but also have no idea why you would want to put salt in your pond!!

Ild leave it personally but maybe I;m ignorant for a reason as to why you should use it

 

[afishdude]

Don't do it if you have scaleless fish, snails/inverts, or live plants. As it will harm all three.

What do you mean by the waterfall will keep your water clear? What was happening with your water?

 

[johnhutch2000]

Don't do it if you have scaleless fish, snails/inverts, or live plants. As it will harm all three.

What do you mean by the waterfall will keep your water clear? What was happening with your water?

Hi fishdude, well the pond is about 300gallon so not that big, and was previously unfiltered but I have bought and fitted a 3000ltr pump and a hoselock UV and particle filter. This should keep the water clear of algal blooms that it used to be prone to. On the return from the filter I built a water fall just for aesthetic reasons.

I've got loads of pond snails in the pond two water lillies and some other marginal plants is salt therefore not a great idea?

 

[three-fingers]

Dont bother adding salt, it's a waste of time. Same as what applies to aquariums generally, depending on what the exact salt is your adding, any more info?

Though the past about it being bad for scaleless fish/inverts/plants isnt necessarily true (lots of scaleless fish are brackish/marine, as are inverts and lots of plants are salt tolerant) - the point is that in general it's not a good thing to add salt to a freshwater environment unless it's for a very specific reason and you know why your doing so.

Otherwise, various aquarium and pond salts are basically just another way for companies to make money off you.

Find out what is actually in the salt (it's probably just sodium chloride). It's a case of the salt not doing any noticeable harm in the short run, and is probably useful in some rare scenarios (like using to give a fish a salt bath to rid of some parasites) - but in the long run it will possibly harm the freshwater fishes livers.

So basically, don't add it, it's not needed.

Read this: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?s=&amp...t&p=1877744

 

[afishdude]

You don't need it.

Do you have a filter hooked up to your pump?

 

[johnhutch2000]

Thanks three-fingers! Much appreciated!

Also yes there is a filter attached to the system. (one much bigger than the stock and pond size demands) why?

Cheers

 

[chr15_8]

i wouldnt use the salt unless you was treating a problem. Even then i would only ever dose salt if i was to do a salt dip on a certain fish.

 

[johnhutch2000]

i wouldnt use the salt unless you was treating a problem. Even then i would only ever dose salt if i was to do a salt dip on a certain fish.

Thanks for youre help guys, I guess I'll just hang on to the salt unless i need it to treat an individual fish. Cheers - J