Golfnut Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 Where can I get some cheap salt for aquarium use other than the standard small boxes from the pet store? I've read you can use water softener salt? Anyone have a recommendation for a supplier in Calgary? Home depot/Rona...etc. THANKS! Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rahim101 Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 I pick my salt from Gold's...you get a big bag for $2.00. But, any ROCK SALT will work, or so I am told!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtac Posted November 24, 2004 Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 I'd use salt for water softener units. Fewer contaminants and literally the same stuff at the LFS, just different grain size. BTW, if you have plants, get the salt that's KCl instead of NaCl based. Just take a peek at the label, it should tell you its composition. Wilson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey Posted November 25, 2004 Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 Golfnut Pickeling salt & water softening salt are very clean. Both are supposed to be food grade quality [ no foriegn stuff in them]. The coarseness / size of salt grains, may be differ [??]. Just premix, let dissolve with water before adding to a tank. What we refere to as "Table Salt"... has iodine in it. Not suggested for an aquarium. Usually any large food supermarket carries both the pickeling and water softening salt. [ cheap]. :thumbs: Smokey wtac - >>"quote"_BTW, if you have plants, get the salt that's KCl instead of NaCl based<<. ... Could you elaberate on this. Sounds important !! Thank you. Smokey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freshmike Posted November 25, 2004 Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 Cheapest I have seen it is at Pisces or Golds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtac Posted November 25, 2004 Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 LOL...forgot about pickling salt (PS) as Smokey suggested. The issue that I have with PS is that it contains Ca and Mg salts. If your water is already hard, you're just going to make your water "harder". IMHO when using salt, it's more of a therapeutic agent and support for a medication regimin. For the LFS when they receive a shipment, I would definitely use salt in the form of NaCl. This balances osmotic issues from different "salt content/tonicity" from water in the shipping bag to the selling aquariums. If you have a conductivity meter, check the water that they come in with and then check the aquarium that they're going to be put in. If there's a big difference, you may have problems with them acclimating. Most can make the adjustment but if you have sensitive species, this may be an issue. Regarding the difference b/w NaCl and KCl isn't a biggee. If one has a well planted aquarium and does wish to use salt on a regular basis, KCl salt will be more of a benefit to use as plants uptake K is very high compared to other elements/nutrients. Yes table salt has iodine, but it's the anti-caking agent in table salt that does more harm than iodine. JM2C Wilson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted November 25, 2004 Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 I've always used Kosher salt when i use salt in my tanks. Its cheap and available anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey Posted November 25, 2004 Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 Thanks for the information, Wilson. Smokey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtac Posted November 25, 2004 Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 No probs Wilson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinalcore Posted November 28, 2004 Report Share Posted November 28, 2004 My mom got me using good old sea salt years ago for her tanks when she needed to do a thourough clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfnut Posted December 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 (edited) FYI... I picked up some coarse/Kosher salt from Superstore for $2.09 for 2 kg. Most petstores sell 2 kg of sea salt for $8+. I also saw some 20 kg bags of water softening salt at Walmart for $3.24 !!!! Supposedly 99.4% pure. Don't know what the 0.6% is...??? Haven't got brave enough to try this type of salt. I talked to the Winsor Salt rep in Calgary. He doesn't seem to recommend using water softening salt as it has a binding agent in it. They do have other purer products which are not sold in the west... -Andrew Edited December 22, 2004 by Golfnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 JUST Wondering. _ just how salt do you need...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpaul Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 I use Sifto water softening salt...it's 99.8% pure..... for the amount of salt you would be using in an aquarium .2 to .4 of a % is so small as to be almost indetectable...that's 2 - 4 1/1000ths!!! I've used that type of salt for years(not nearly as much since I stopped keeping discus) and I know dozens of discus keepers that also use it, and it's safe...And at a few $$ for a 20kg bag, you've pretty much got a few years supply minimum...David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfnut Posted December 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2004 I found the Sifto salt that David is refering to at Canadian Tire here in Calgary. It's about $3.75 a bag. Thanks David! Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyGunns Posted January 26, 2005 Report Share Posted January 26, 2005 I picked up some sea salt by life stream from the superstore it's 100% natural. Would this be ok to use in my african tank or would the kosher salt be better? Anyone else used this sea salt? The kosher salt they had there reminded me of little pieces of coconut. Is it supposed to look like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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