Adding salt for saltwater aquarium - temperature needed?

hI there i'm new to saltwater but have had freshwater for a long time I need to know when adding salt to the tank and then testing it with a hydrometer should the tank be around 26C to 28c why I ask is my reading are kind of all over the water is freeze cold now should I teat it when it get's hot thanks' ??? ???

50g bow is the tank I have

 

Re: !!!!!!!!!!!adding salt help!!!!!!!!!

what would that be in Fahrenheit? It would have to be between 75-84 F to test. Might I suggest you get a refractometer they are 100% accurate

 

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thank's ;D

 

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anytime!

 

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oooya when is it a good time to add liverock the tank is cloudy now how long well it take to clear up

 

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Give it about a week to add LR. You have to let the Saltwater age. It should be clear by tomorrow if the filter is on.

 

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I have a power head 802 with the filter runing now

 

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it should be fine in 2 days. Is the LR cured or uncured?

 

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I have not got liverock yet all I have in ther is crush coral

 

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ok. uncured has more life but is going to smell bad when curing

 

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sound's good thank's for your help chat to you later

 

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ok ttyl

 

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What kind of filter are you running? I think crushed coral creates more nitrate problems unless you have a high flow rate.

 

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I have a 802 power head with the filter on it then I have the skimmer and a 70G hagen hang filter will this work

 

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What type of skimmer? usally HOB filters one cut it with a high bioload

 

so I was looking at rainbow fish at and it says "adding salt" are these fish brackish? if not, why do you need to add salt?

 

rainbows are not brackish fish. This is the first time I have ever seen add salt to rainbow fish. I would not add any, some individuals add salt to mollys and even this is discouraged. Rainbows come from the freshwater lakes in New Guinnea, and Australia, they do not have any special requirements for water hardness or ph or salinity. Water changes are the only must.
I would read other websites and do additonal research

 

alright, I was just checking out rainbow profiles and after going to that site, I was like "adding salt???"

 

You were exactly right to question it
Carol

 

In this case, the salt addition isn't a response to the fish being brackish, but to the older idea that salt helps ease osmotic stress. Also, salt appears to have an odd effect that it brightens fish colors, even if it's bad for the fish. People subscribing to these ideas didn't add salt only for particular fish, they added it to every aquarium, no matter what was in it.

 

Is it safe to add maybe a pinch or two of salt to a tank with :
dwarf gouramis, platys, dalmation mollys, guppies, algae eaters, guppy fry?

it says it will help with molly breeding... if so, how!? Thanks a ton!

 

HI louloulexi,

In short, it doesn't. If you are trying to coerce the mollys into breeding just feed them quality food and regular water changes, and just give it a little time.

 

Salt is an outdated approach to fish keeping. Here is a link where Bassmaster and Carol talk about what salt actually does.



I personally believe that pristine water and a good varried diet will be all you need!

 

If it is to get your mollies to spawn you could try moving they decorations around sometimes that will spark up there love life.

 

HI louloulexI Welcome to FishLore!!
Hope you don't mind, I moved your thread out of the Salt Water section of the forum.
That area is for marine fish not freshwater fish.

Good luck!

 

If your algae eaters are scale-less fish (corys, pleco), then I wouldn't use any salt. I probably wouldn't use any anyway, but your scale-less fish will not do well with salt.

 

As has been said, salt is not necessary.
With some strains of mollies, it actually may help with breeding, as they are a species that can live in brackish water in the wild, and some of the strains are more suited for brackish than for fresh water. If you're going to keep mollies in a brackish tank, it should be done with marine salt, rather than aquarium salt, and they should only be in with other brackish species.
However, this isn't necessary. Even the more brackish strains are quite capable of breeding in fresh water. They're extremely adaptable.

To more specifically address your mollies' needs, I've got to say that your aquarium is not conducive to any sort of breeding. It's very heavily stocked which will inhibit the fishes' fertility, and if any fry are born, they are likely to be eaten in moments; if not by the parents, then by the guppies or the gourami.

 

The algae eaters cannot handle salt. And keeping salt in with freshwater fish without treating an illness is not a good idea. But like sirdarksol said mollies will do find in brackish water with marine salt but they other won't. Give them some time, they are easy to spawn. But when you see them take them out and put them in a breeding net.

 

HI the man at the pet store said that I should add some (I only said I had guppies; didnt get into a long convo) I added pickling salt. If the algae eater dies, it's no biggie. He scares me anyhow.

 

HI the man at the pet store said that I should add some (I only said I had guppies; didnt get into a long convo) I added pickling salt. If the algae eater dies, it's no biggie. He scares me anyhow.

You asked a week ago, and everybody said you don't need the salt...but you added it anyway? If you spend a little time on this site, you will quickly learn not to trust much of ANYTHING that you are told at the LFS.

Good Luck.

 

Good morning,

Here is a link that you may find interesting concerning the Salt Myth:



If you are dead set on using salt in a freshwater tank, the only salt that should ever be used if Freshwater Aquarium Salt.

I don't know what damage if any that pickling salt will do, but I really don't like the sound of it at all.

Any fish that dies IS a big deal!
Ken

 

I agree with Ken, pickling salt has not been designed for aquarium use like Aquarium salt has...
I would do a large water change just now to get rid of a lot of it. I never used salt with my mollies when I had them, and we had fry no problem at all.

 

If the algae eater dies, it's no biggie. He scares me anyhow.

:shock: That's a bit callous to say to a forum full of people who love fish. If you feel that way, perhaps you could do yourself and the fish the favor of rehoming it? There are other ways to control algae. Throw an ad on craigslist or call up a locally-owned fish store. Surely someone will agree to take him.


All salt is not created equal. Please keep that in mind when deciding which salt to use. I agree that it isn't necessary, but you seem to have made up your mind to use it.

 

Good article, Ken, though there are a couple of points that I think the author goes a little too far ("sodium and chloride only make up a small amount of the salts in seawater..." He then goes on to show that they actually make up the majority)
But it's good that there are more and more people who are understanding the myth of salt. Now, we need to have a way to get at new aquarists before Petsmart and Petco do, and let them know that they don't need aquarium salt. I still have a container of the stuff. It was from my first trip to Petsmart. I was told I would need it, so I bought some.

 

That's a bit callous to say to a forum full of people who love fish. If you feel that way, perhaps you could do yourself and the fish the favor of rehoming it? There are other ways to control algae. Throw an ad on craigslist or call up a locally-owned fish store. Surely someone will agree to take him.


All salt is not created equal. Please keep that in mind when deciding which salt to use. I agree that it isn't necessary, but you seem to have made up your mind to use it.

^^ Agree, if you must use salt why not just donate the algae eater to an LSF. The poor thing deserves to live.

 

If the algae eater dies, it's no biggie. He scares me anyhow.

Wow, I missed this first time. Poor fish. If death and suffering are avoidable, surely he deserves this much, I wouldn't like someone playing with my life...

Scary maybe, but he has as much right to a happy life as a betta, a neon, a goldfish...

 

If the algae eater dies, it's no biggie. He scares me anyhow.

Probably not something to post on a website dedicated to the PROPER care of fish. It would be much easier to donate the algae eater back to the LFS than to let it die. I don't know why he would scare you, my Albino Bristlenose Pleco is the neatest fish in my tank IMHO!

 

I have never had to add salt for any of my rainbow fish. The colors of the fish do become more distinct over time at least from what I have seen. Rainbow fish are sure fun to have in an aquarium.

 

Good morning,

I agree, salt isn't necessary and could do more harm than good.

Ken

 

I have a 55 with 2 Reds, 2 Turquoise, 2 Australian, and 2 Praecox, I have had them for approx 3 months, and have never added salt, as they are maturing they are coloring up quite nicely. Salt seems like a very bad idea imo.