i was wondering how you put the salt in. do you just sprinkle it into the water and letit dissolve on its own? or should i dissolve it in a cup of water and then poor it into the tank thanks for your help

I think that the best method is to dissolve the right amount of salt in a cup of warm water. If you have the chunky aquarium salt, you might be able to stick it in the filter and let it dissolve that way (don't take my word on that one though)

Of course, make sure you aren't using iodized salt as it'll kill your fish.

Anic is correct. You should disolve it in some warm water first and then add it to the tank. I usaully take some of my tank water out and put it in a seperate container and disolve the salt in that before I add it to the tank.

Just adding that i do the same, I use tank water or dechlorinated tap water, add the salt and stir until it is dissolved. I have heard that adding it directly to the tank can cause burns on your fish, so i think this is the way to go. :-)

yea i thought it might burn them or they would try to eat it and get sick thanks for all the info

DO NOT add the salt to your filter. The excess salt - high salinity - in the filter will kill your beneficial bacteria that make up your cycle!!!!

Dissolve it first in a cup. I often cannot get it all to dissolve, so I fill a quart container with the salt slurry. I hold the container in the tank, swishing and releasing the dissolved salt water, scooping up more water and swishing until all the salt is dissoved and released.