One of the typical additives in fall will be salt. There are many truths and as many myths connected with pond salt. The truth is that it is affordable and easy to use. It helps fish with osmoregulation, especially if they have any open wounds. It will condition the fish to increase the slime coat, thereby adding protection against parasites and disease organisms. Salt is safe to use at 0.1% in ponds that contain live plants, since some plants (although not all plants) are sensitive and may be killed at higher concentrations. Salt is therapeutic for fish (without plants) at 0.3% salinity levels. It’s easy to figure out how much to use: 0.1%, just use 1 lb salt per 100 gallons and at 0.3%, use up to 3 lb/100 gallons (although it is actually 2.5 lb/100 gallons, but I don’t want to confuse anybody.) Add salt slowly, and always pre-dissolve it before putting into the pond. Add it over a three day period so not to burn the fish’s gills or fins. Salt can be caustic.
The biggest myth is that it is harmless. It is a chemical and you need to monitor your fish’s reactions just like any other chemical when using salt. An overdose will have adverse affects on your fish. In addition, it is a myth that it is the universal panacea. It does not do everything. It is simply your first line of defense, when needed. Testing the salinity in the water is very important. I use a digital salt pen. If you have fresh-water fish, they should be swimming in fresh water, not brackish or salt water. So, after a three-week treatment with salt, you should give them what they expect – fresh water – by doing consecutive 50% water changes. Three of these large water changes should pretty well eliminate the salinity from the water and leave happy, healthy fish. If the fish are not “healthy” at the end of that 3-week treatment, you will at least have a clean slate in which to change to a more appropriate medication. It’s seldom a good idea to mix medications in the pond.
So, now you know! Use Pond Salt the way it was intended, as a therapeutic tool, rather than a maintenance product.
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This could be an article entitled, Why Do Water Changes, or When to Do Water Change. However, I chose deteriorating water quality because that is the underlying reason to do water changes as well as a host of other pond and fish problems. Deteriorating water quality can be prevented.
This is especially true of ponds that have a large surface area, including storm retention ponds… every speck of dust and dirt will end up in the pond. Your water surface is like a dirt magnet, drawing anything nearby into its clutches, holding it. This dirt does not evaporate. A lot of it is not even biodegradable, so it continues to collect, on the bottom of your pond. Some will mix with the water and stay in the water column, as a colloidal suspension. You’ve all seen it, at night when the underwater lights are shining. You wonder why your filter does not remove this stuff. After all, your fish deserve clean, clear water, no? Maybe you believe the fish need that clarity. Remember, we started with nice clean water, pure water, which has been continually assaulted by dirt, dust and debris from the air.
In addition, your water has been very busily amassing fish emissions and dead plant debris from inside the pond. Add to that, uneaten fish food, deceased lower life forms, ammonia, phosphorus, and all the other nitrogen forms. I wish I had an estimate of how much (in pounds or ounces) of dirt a pond collects, but given the geographic variances and pond differences, that isn’t possible. Well, suffice to say, your pond is a dirt collector; and to a fish, that is ever increasing city smog… very healthy, right?
Your filter is responsible for removal of solids, down to a certain particle size. Particles the filter cannot remove will be left in the water until bacterial action can use enzymes to reduce them. These particles, if visible, need to be reduced many times before they are small enough for the bacteria to remove, so it isn’t happening overnight. So, the problem is that your pond is “filling up” faster than the filter and bacteria are removing it. That is the definition of the pollution rate, when the pollutants are collecting faster than you can remove them. [It reminded me of trying to keep my son’s room clean, a nearly impossible task. You could get killed in there, but you might still be able to breathe, barely.] Some things can be done to slow down this pollution rate. Lower stocking density, more expedient feeding, improved filtration systems, and water changes. Your water tests will tell you when it is time to get in there and help. You don’t have to wait until the fish develop ulcers or gasp at the surface. If your fish are trying to “leave home” (jumping out) it’s time to test the water. Remember, what you can’t see, can hurt.
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One of the typical additives in fall will be salt. There are many truths and as many myths connected with pond salt. The truth is that it is affordable and easy to use. It helps fish with osmoregulation, especially if they have any open wounds. It will condition the fish to increase the slime coat, thereby adding protection against parasites and disease organisms. Salt is safe to use at 0.1% in ponds that contain live plants, since some plants (although not all plants) are sensitive and may be killed at higher concentrations. Salt is therapeutic for fish (without plants) at 0.3% salinity levels. It’s easy to figure out how much to use: 0.1%, just use 1 lb salt per 100 gallons and at 0.3%, use up to 3 lb/100 gallons (although it is actually 2.5 lb/100 gallons, but I don’t want to confuse anybody.) Add salt slowly, and always pre-dissolve it before putting into the pond. Add it over a three day period so not to burn the fish’s gills or fins. Salt can be caustic.
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