pond salt
A little pond salt goes a long way in keeping your fish healthy. Here are some points to consider:
1. Why should I use salt in my pond?
* Salt is excellent in controlling most common microscopic parasites that can harm your fish
* Salt protects fish from poisonous nitrites that accumulate early in the season when filtration systems are not yet fully active
* Salt acts as a general tonic for fish under stress from things such as being moved or simply ‘waking up’ from their long winter nap
2. How much salt should I use?
* In early spring bring your salt level up to .1%, which is approximately 1 lb per 100 gallons of water
3. Will my aquarium salt tester work on my pond?
* Actually no, it won’t. Your salt water aquarium tester will not detect the very low level of salt in your garden pond
* If you still have a liquid salt test kit that you purchased years ago it should still be good. These kits however have been taken off the market because they contain mercury
* You can purchase a digital salinity tester (about $150) or you can simply bring a water sample to us and we will test it for you – free. Be sure to use a clean container and do not touch the sample with your hands because you are salty!
4. Are there any risks?
* Too much salt will harm many of your aquatic plants, so keep the level between .1% and .15%
* Trapdoor snails cannot tolerate salt
* Salt will kill some types of algae so it is important to keep good circulation when first adding the salt because dying algae can cause a drop in dissolved oxygen levels
* sea salt is the best type to use, do not used iodized table salt or water softener salt