# aquarium salt



## karl ramsdell (Oct 28, 2006)

hey guys, i recently added aquarium salt to my tank. what a difference it makes! i ove it! what im wondering is will it stay salty or do i need to add more every week or so?? any help will be appreciated, thanks, karl


----------



## Kudos (Dec 22, 2005)

salt only leaves your tank through water changes. don't add any unless you do a water change and then only add as much as you take out w/ the change.

look around the disease forum to check out the pro's and cons of having salt in your tank constantly.


----------



## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

How much salt did you add to your tank?

Kudos has is correct. Salt does not evaporate from the tank, so when you top off do not add additional salt. That would only increase the concentration of salt within the tank.


----------



## karl ramsdell (Oct 28, 2006)

hi, i added 1 tablespoon for every 5 gallons. karl


----------



## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

Sounds good, I did not know how much you added so I was simply asking. I did not know if you added enough to make the water brackish or not. You should be good to go.


----------



## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

Why did you even add salt?


----------



## vincecarder (Feb 1, 2006)

I only ad Doc's salt if my fish have damage to their fins, chin or body. Otherwise it doesn't go in the tank.


----------



## KISS (Feb 2, 2007)

karl ramsdell said:


> hi, i added 1 tablespoon for every 5 gallons. karl


Sounds good! yes, aquarium salt is good stuff. good for your P's gill.

You could use the same rule when you do WC.


----------



## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

vincecarder said:


> I only ad Doc's salt if my fish have damage to their fins, chin or body. Otherwise it doesn't go in the tank.


Agreed ^^^

There is no need to continuously have salt running in the tank, unless you are combating one of the above.


----------



## karl ramsdell (Oct 28, 2006)

thanks for al of your replies guys, this site is great fro someone like myself just starting out. i have another question for you guys. i was told by a pet store that i shouldnt leave the ligths on too long in my aquarium because its bad for the piranhas eyes. this was the first ive heard of it. do any of you have info on this?

p.s. i added the salt to help with missing fins and bite marks along with the parasites on my caribes. 
thanks again guys, karl


----------



## KISS (Feb 2, 2007)

karl ramsdell said:


> thanks for al of your replies guys, this site is great fro someone like myself just starting out. i have another question for you guys. i was told by a pet store that i shouldnt leave the ligths on too long in my aquarium because its bad for the piranhas eyes. this was the first ive heard of it. do any of you have info on this?
> 
> p.s. i added the salt to help with missing fins and bite marks along with the parasites on my caribes.
> thanks again guys, karl


hmm... lighting, tricky part of P's keeping. Any way, how many hours is your light on now?


----------



## karl ramsdell (Oct 28, 2006)

i only have the light on for about an hour a day because im paranoid about hurting their eyes now because of what i was told. ill wait fro some responsesto see if its true or not. thanks, karl


----------



## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

Those guys at the fish shop are on crack. Though black lights are bad, but the typical flourescents are ok. Your worst problem with lights would be battling algae.


----------



## KISS (Feb 2, 2007)

karl ramsdell said:


> i only have the light on for about an hour a day because im paranoid about hurting their eyes now because of what i was told. ill wait fro some responsesto see if its true or not. thanks, karl


Only an hour? No. that's not enough!

I'd say 8-12hrs a day. Light is important to fish to develop their coloration. You could see the difference of P's color when light is on.

I turn on my lights about 12hrs a day. And I believe all my P's eyes are OK.


----------



## itstheiceman (Oct 5, 2006)

Dr. Giggles said:


> Those guys at the fish shop are on crack. Though black lights are bad, but the typical flourescents are ok. *Your worst problem with lights would be battling algae.*


^^^^ yuppers, leaving your lights on for long periods of time (were talkin a while) helps promote algae growth, i leave my lights on about 8 hours a day...lights arnt bad for p's eyes, they just have to get used to the lighting, and might freak out if they're not really used to it, but no worries, that should go away over time


----------



## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

_*Topic Moved to Water Chemistry Forum*_


----------

