I have recently been adding a bit of salt to my tanks on a regular basis....

since I am VERY unsure of hte concentration, etc, since it does not evaporate off with the water changes and what not....I add about 2 table spoons every 3 or 4 weeks......from reading, I figure this makes no difference in this concentration...

I dont want to like, burn up my snails that also reside in the tank, but I figure its good for the fish, so Ill do it...

Any input?? :listen:

Umm, that is a sure way to get salt creep. You shouldn't just add a couple table spoons every once in awhile. You will have no way of guaging the salt concentration and not knowing how often and how much you change out, you are going to get yourself into trouble.

A better way is to get a salt test kit. If that is not possible then do a number of partial water changes until you are fairly sure that the concentration in the tank is close to zero. Then add the correct amount of salt into the tank. E.g. 1tsp/gal = 0.1% concentration. Do not add salt directly to the tank from then on, instead, add salt to the bucket of water you are about to add into the tank with each water change. I.e. add 1tsp into a 1 gal bucket fresh dechlor water and then add the salted water to the tank. That way you are sure that the concentrate is maintained.

I'm surprised some one hasn't replied to this yet, so here goes. Some people like to maintain the water in their goldfish tanks at 0.1% which is achieved by adding 1 level tablespoon of aquarium salt or ice cream salt (rock salt) per 5 gallons of water. Do not use the standard table salt sold for home use. For medicinal purposes people use salt at a 0.3% concentration which is achieved by adding 3 tablespoons of salt per 5 gallons of water. As you noted, salt does not evaporate so if you add it several times without changing water in the tank you will quickly exceed a safe level. If you make a 25% water change and do not add more salt you reduce the salt concentration in the tank by 25%. For example, if you have a 20 gallon tank and have added 4 tablespoons of salt to establish a concentration of 0.1%, you should add 1 tablespoon of salt with every 5 gallons of water changed to maintain the 0.1% concentration. If you need to utilize the 0.3% concentration, start with 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons, 12 hours later add the second tablespoon per 5 gallons and 12 hours after that add the third tablespoon. I hope this helps.
Milo

I don't add salt to my tank routinely. Goldies are fresh water fish.
I do however use it for specific purposes like protecting against nitrIte poisoning in a new tank.. or as a dip for parasites.

It seems like I would be better off just forgetting aobut it then.

thanks