Pond Salt?

I have a friend with a small pond that swears that you HAVE to put pond salt - about 1 1/2 cups per 100 gallons in your pond at all times.

As a long time freshwater aquarium keeper and 2 season pond owner, I have always heard that it is only recommended to put in the salt if your fish are having trouble with parasites and the like.

Does anyone here use the pond salt all the time?

Melos

Even fresh water lakes and rivers have salt in them. Its a good idea to use salt in a pond. Fish have to have salt in there body's like we do, salt also helps control parasites. Make sure you use pure salt not iodized salt, the iodine in heavy concentrations can kill your fish. You want to only have 2.5 pounds of salt per 100 gallons approximately 3ppt or 0.3 percent.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for that Chris. I've never had a problem with my fish, so I'm a bit leary to mess with the status quo, but I don't want to be unwittingly harming my fish by NOT using the salt either.
I do know not to use the iodized salt. That's the same in my indoor aquariums.

I would suggest to gradually add the salt as the severe change in the water conditions can shock your fish if you add it all in one go.

That is very true. Good Note!

Just thought I'd point it out as fish can go into shock and even die from too much salt at once etc.

I have never heard of doing this. I'm going to mention this to my husband and see if he's ever heard of this. I know we have fishtanks and we have only ever had to add salt if they are saltwater fish or what they call brine fish. Brine fish need just a little bit of salt in their water. We never have put salt in our freshwater tanks. Very curious now. You learn something new everyday.

I've never put salt in my pond either. I havn't lost a fish yet in over 3 years, in fact I've gained 20 or so more. So I'm not gonna mess with the status quo.

Originally Posted by chris

Even fresh water lakes and rivers have salt in them. Its a good idea to use salt in a pond. Fish have to have salt in there body's like we do, salt also helps control parasites. Make sure you use pure salt not iodized salt, the iodine in heavy concentrations can kill your fish. You want to only have 2.5 pounds of salt per 100 gallons approximately 3ppt or 0.3 percent. Hope this helps.

For clarification, 3ppt is three parts per thousand, which is 0.003 per cent, not 0.3 percent.

Checking with the pet store or wherever you are purchasing your fish from will have a variety of information about what is best for your pond.

Some types of pond planting can actually hold the salt and purify the water for you, get your water checked and ask for the best plants.