Salt or no salt?

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Starting up a new pond . . . . I was told by our local pond store that if we were going to have fish in our pond, we had to have salt. Now, I've seen comments on some research I'm doing on plants that a lot of aquatic plants don't like any salt. Did I make a mistake adding salt?
 
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Ugh! Why is this happening? Why is everyone suddenly being told to add salt to a freshwater pond??

Sorry @DenMare - it's not you! It's the trend we've been seeing here lately, and I just don't get it.

Did you make a mistake? No. You trusted someone who should know better. Do you want salt in your pond? Also no. You are correct that plants - not just most, ALL - freshwater plants will die if you put salt in your pond. Salt is also an irritant to a fish, which is why it's used in a temporary hospital tank. The salt irritates the fishes skin which causes the slime coat to thicken which can help rid the fish of parasites and heal wounds. But salt in the pond all the time - not helpful.

Tell us more about your pond - how big, how many gallons, what kind of filtration, what kind of fish and how many? The more details the better! Then we can talk about de-salination! And then you can go talk to your pond shop.
 
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Starting up a new pond . . . . I was told by our local pond store that if we were going to have fish in our pond, we had to have salt. Now, I've seen comments on some research I'm doing on plants that a lot of aquatic plants don't like any salt. Did I make a mistake adding salt?
DenMare, I agree with Lisak1. I’ve never seen any emperical data proving that constant salt use is beneficial. In my opinion, use it by exception. Just slowly remove it over time as you do partial water exchanges. If you do decide to keep the salt and your plants die contact me and I will suggest some brackish tolerant plants.
Stephen
 
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Pond is approximately 6x8x2’ deep and is around 450 gallons when accounting for ledges etc. I was told to add two cups of large sea salt crystals which they said was on the conservative side. It’s had water in it for about 3 weeks. I just added the salt this past Saturday. The pond is rock-lined and we use a bubbler rock instead of a waterfall.
 
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If there are no fish, I would drain the pond and fill again.
Start the establishment of a nitrifying bacteria population by using ammonia as the source of nitrogen and measure ammonia, nitrite, nitrate until ammonia and nitrite are zero. Then you can add the fish.
Do not add any "beneficial bacteria"
Do use a liquid test kit, not test strips.
Here are some instructions how to perform a fishless cycle.
http://spec-tanks.com/how-to-fishless-cycle-a-new-aquarium/
It should take about 1 month.
 

Jhn

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Agree with everyone. Skip the salt. As Lisa said seems like recently a lot of people have been asking about salt in ponds. Not sure why so called pond experts advocate this to new pond owners. Instead of focusing on proper husbandry practices in the pond, ie,Ways to maintain water quality, proper stocking populations for ponds, etc. Would have a lot more successful new pond owners.
 
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Would have a lot more successful new pond owners.

Exactly! It's getting so weird, the number of people who have posted about this in the last few weeks. Has something changed in the pond supply world? Some great salesman pushing pond salt on all the pond stores? Like an aggressive pharma sales person pushing the latest drug and suddenly everyone is on it!
 

sissy

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You can hope for rain or keep adding water to get the salt level down .Just don't go back to that place ,I would not trust them again for any advice
 

mrsclem

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Water changes have to be done to remove salt unless you overflow the pond. When we first started with koi 20+ years ago we were told to keep the salt level at .15 and increase if there were fish health issues. Did it for years, then got tired of buying salt and test kits. I still have a 40lb bag in my basement! Haven't touched it unless to treat in a quarantine tank.
 

Mmathis

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Agree with everyone else. People who have dedicated koi ponds (DKP’s) do things vastly different from what garden ponders do. With DKP’s, they tend to be be more “extreme” and are meticulous at keeping the water parameters under a tight rein. That’s where the idea of adding salt comes from, IMHO. Garden ponders are more about allowing Mother Nature keep the pond balanced. There’s nothing wrong or right with either philosophy, but ponders should be aware of these differences. Too bad that [apparently] pond stores don’t differentiate between the 2 types.
 
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Keeping salt in a pond with fresh water fish seems strange to me, when I bought my koi fish I was given a crash course from the woman who sold them to me. I was told learn how to manage my water, add plants, and keep monitoring, and testing my water and watching my fish's behavior. She also advised not to add salt, it is only a medicine, as it has become a popular choice in ponds. Considering she has dealt with fish just over thirty years with a good reputation, I have no reason to doubt her advice. I would say the choice is yours in the end.
 

Mmathis

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Keeping salt in a pond with fresh water fish seems strange to me, when I bought my koi fish I was given a crash course from the woman who sold them to me. I was told learn how to manage my water, add plants, and keep monitoring, and testing my water and watching my fish's behavior. She also advised not to add salt, it is only a medicine, as it has become a popular choice in ponds. Considering she has dealt with fish just over thirty years with a good reputation, I have no reason to doubt her advice. I would say the choice is yours in the end.
From what I understand, as you mentioned, salt is mainly intended as a medication. In fact, as with medications, there are parasites that are developing a resistance to salt. That’s not a good thing, and is a very good reason to NOT use salt on a routine basis.
 

sissy

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They say salt gives the fish well needed electrolytes I contacted several pond stores and they all said the same.I forgot how many pounds they said per gallon ,forgot to write it down DARN
 

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