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Axolotls are illegal in California. Please read this thread for detailed information and links to the actual laws: https://www.caudata.org/threads/axolotls-are-illegal-in-california-here-are-the-relevant-laws.30779/
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Raising GH and KH with Aquarium Salt
- Thread starter daremo
- Start date
Re: Raising gH and kH
The product here is called "aquarium salt". I have no idea what is available in Argentina.
Using 0.5 to 1 Tablespoon of aquarium salt per 5 gallons (20 liters) of water is safe for amphibians.
There are also more-expensive products available commercially specifically to raise GH. For example:
Seachem. Equilibrium
The product here is called "aquarium salt". I have no idea what is available in Argentina.
Using 0.5 to 1 Tablespoon of aquarium salt per 5 gallons (20 liters) of water is safe for amphibians.
There are also more-expensive products available commercially specifically to raise GH. For example:
Seachem. Equilibrium
Re: Raising gH and kH
I have sea salt, that I've used for when the axie got fungus
this one: Product Catalog
Do you think this is suitable?
I have prepared a tank with 10 litres and 1 teaspoon of it to check water parameters, it raisied the KH and PH too
I have sea salt, that I've used for when the axie got fungus
this one: Product Catalog
Do you think this is suitable?
I have prepared a tank with 10 litres and 1 teaspoon of it to check water parameters, it raisied the KH and PH too
Re: Raising gH and kH
so there are freshwater aquarium salts and sea salt for marine aquariums?
they are different then? what I have is called "sea salt" and the package does not list what's in it.. So I guess better to leave it out..
this is what I used for treating fungus: Product Catalog - should I not use water supplemented with that to add hardness to the tank's water?
Thanks
so there are freshwater aquarium salts and sea salt for marine aquariums?
they are different then? what I have is called "sea salt" and the package does not list what's in it.. So I guess better to leave it out..
this is what I used for treating fungus: Product Catalog - should I not use water supplemented with that to add hardness to the tank's water?
Thanks
Re: Raising gH and kH
I did this test: added 1 teaspoon of that Sea Salt product and after a few days PH stays steady at 7.5, and GH is at about 100 ppm
but that salt is Sea Salt and it doesn't say its for freshwater aquariums, actually I think its for marine... so I don't think thats safe for axies, right?
How about this "Equilibrium" product? do you use that?
is it worth to add salts to the tank at all?
I did this test: added 1 teaspoon of that Sea Salt product and after a few days PH stays steady at 7.5, and GH is at about 100 ppm
but that salt is Sea Salt and it doesn't say its for freshwater aquariums, actually I think its for marine... so I don't think thats safe for axies, right?
How about this "Equilibrium" product? do you use that?
is it worth to add salts to the tank at all?
michael
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Instant Ocean sea salt has trace elements added and is the high quality needed for Marine or salt water fish. Aquarium salt is normal salt without iodine. Either is fine for axolotls. The sea salt just has more trace elements. I used to use rock salt, switched to sea salt, and now to be more economical switched to a type of salt used for water softeners. I think it is called solar salt. As long as it is NaCl without iodine it should be fine.
excellent!
so is it a good idea to fill a bucket of 20 L of dechlorinated water, add 1 teaspoon of salt and use that water to refill my tank when I clean?
that should be safe for the axies and help harden the water, am I right?
so is it a good idea to fill a bucket of 20 L of dechlorinated water, add 1 teaspoon of salt and use that water to refill my tank when I clean?
that should be safe for the axies and help harden the water, am I right?
Re: Raising gH and kH
I don't use Equilibrium, but I know someone who uses it to keep an amphibian that requires hard water.
I tried to google to find out what the difference is between "sea salt" and "aquarium salt". I found a lot of explanations, but no real DATA about what they contain. They are not the same thing. Sea salt contains a lot more different kinds of salts and buffers, and it is NOT recommended for treatment of freshwater fish. "Aquarium salt" is mostly sodium chloride.
Is it worth adding salts - that's hard to say. It is theoretically true that axolotls would be under less stress in hard water than in very soft water. I don't know if there is any data to back that up. The Axolotl Colony, which produces axies for research in the US, routinely keeps them in a diluted salt solution containing several different salts. I would have to dig to find the exact composition of the salt solution that they use. It's not something that you could easily mix up at home. Oceanblue was working on an article about how to make this kind of salt solution at home, but the whole article became too complicated and we never finished it.
I don't use Equilibrium, but I know someone who uses it to keep an amphibian that requires hard water.
I tried to google to find out what the difference is between "sea salt" and "aquarium salt". I found a lot of explanations, but no real DATA about what they contain. They are not the same thing. Sea salt contains a lot more different kinds of salts and buffers, and it is NOT recommended for treatment of freshwater fish. "Aquarium salt" is mostly sodium chloride.
Is it worth adding salts - that's hard to say. It is theoretically true that axolotls would be under less stress in hard water than in very soft water. I don't know if there is any data to back that up. The Axolotl Colony, which produces axies for research in the US, routinely keeps them in a diluted salt solution containing several different salts. I would have to dig to find the exact composition of the salt solution that they use. It's not something that you could easily mix up at home. Oceanblue was working on an article about how to make this kind of salt solution at home, but the whole article became too complicated and we never finished it.
bayhicoach
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1 tsp per 20L isn't much at all. So you're not jeopardizing anything. If it works to adjust your water hardness, good for you.
I don't want to risk the axies at all... I do love them...
The thing is that a few months ago my golden started to show her toe tips reddish, like something was "eating" her toe tips, I added an almond leaf as recommended here and the problem solved with that
Sometimes, like a few days ago, the tip of her tail was a little reddish too, but I can't say if she may have scratched her tail with something... the next day it was gone, today I checked and she has no reddish at all... it's very weird
I read that it could be because my water tests so soft, but I don't want to play with water chemistry and hurt the axies by trying to solve a problem either...
In Argentina I didn't find salts for freshwater aquariums and no one seems to use salts for their tanks so I can't get any help or experience on the matter...
The thing is that a few months ago my golden started to show her toe tips reddish, like something was "eating" her toe tips, I added an almond leaf as recommended here and the problem solved with that
Sometimes, like a few days ago, the tip of her tail was a little reddish too, but I can't say if she may have scratched her tail with something... the next day it was gone, today I checked and she has no reddish at all... it's very weird
I read that it could be because my water tests so soft, but I don't want to play with water chemistry and hurt the axies by trying to solve a problem either...
In Argentina I didn't find salts for freshwater aquariums and no one seems to use salts for their tanks so I can't get any help or experience on the matter...
It's not difficult to find limestone rock. It occurs all over the world. Limestone is a very gentle way to add a little hardness to the water. It does not dissolve fast enough to have a big impact on the pH. I agree that it's generally better not to play with the water chemistry too much.
another question.. isn't limestone calcium carbonate, the same as sea shells?
I was recommended to use sea shells to raise the GH, would that also work?
sorry for all the questions, and thanks so much for you patience !
I was recommended to use sea shells to raise the GH, would that also work?
sorry for all the questions, and thanks so much for you patience !
There are several different forms of calcium carbonate you can use: bird grit, sea shells, Calci-Sand, limestone, etc. Some may dissolve more readily than others, so be careful how much you use. Limestone is pretty slow to dissolve. As long as you only do 10-20% water changes, it shouldn't be a problem to use your regular water.