To Salt or Not to Salt Your Pond

Article by: Brett Fogle

The important question of whether or not to add salt to your pond , Daylily Just Plum Happy is often confusing for beginners and forgotten by experienced pond-keepers. To newbies and pro's alike we have this to say:

"Add Salt Today to Keep the Fish , Bamboo: a Versatile and Renewable Resource Doctor Away"

True, there are some negative effects of higher salt levels on plants , Outdoor Wood Furniture – Check the Wood Species Before Purchasing in the pond, , Sheds but overall we think it is absolutely the very best thing you can add to your pond , Forever & Ever Double Pink Hydrangea in terms of keeping your fish , Basil: The King of Herbs happy and healthy. , Teak Furniture - How to Care for it Properly Salt acts as a natural , Tips For a Long Lasting Amaryllis 'stress coat' and essentially thickens the slime coat on the fish's body - which is it's own natural , Forever & Ever Double Pink Hydrangea defense system against bacteria and parasites.

Salt is also very effective in killing bacteria and parasites in the pond. , Adirondack Chairs: An Ole' Time Becon for Rest When added in proper doses, salting your pond , Vegetable Garden Layout can dramatically reduce the threat of disease , Bonsai Trees For Sale: What Are Your Options? affecting your fish. , How to Win the War Against Slugs and Snails

It's just like with humans - we are always exposed to the common cold , Kill 'em or Cure 'em : Moving Houseplants Outside for the Summer cells in their body, but can usually resist if their immune system is strong. Similarly, pond , Outdoor Wood Furniture – Check the Wood Species Before Purchasing fish and KOI are always exposed to some degree of parasite and bacteria presence in the pond, , Preparing The Garden For Winter but by keeping their immune system strong and their slime coat thick, you shouldn't have any problems.

Pond fish , Composting for Kids actively maintain a natural , Dwarf Korean Lilac balance of electrolytes in their body fluids. Electrolytes such as potassium, sodium, chloride, calcium and magnesium are removed from the water , Teak Furniture - How to Care for it Properly by chloride cells located in the gills. These electrolytes are essential for the uptake of oxygen and release of carbon , Tomatoes: Apples Of Love dioxide and ammonium across gill membranes.

The lack of electrolytes can cause serious health problems to the fish. , Composting for Kids Pond , How to Win the War Against Slugs and Snails Salt is an all natural , Kill 'em or Cure 'em : Moving Houseplants Outside for the Summer salt, providing the essential electrolytes fish , Teak Furniture - How to Care for it Properly need to survive. Pond , Ultra Violet Filter Salt is not just a table salt ( sodium chloride ). It is made from evaporated sea water. , Japanese Beetles in the Roses Evaporated sea water , Grey - Not Drinking Water- For Your Garden contains the necessary electrolytes pond , Patio Umbrella Covers fish need.

How Pond , Tips On Growing And Caring For Orchids Salt helps Improve Gill Function to Reduce Stress....

During periods of disease , Potting Benches: Beautiful and Practical and stress, healthy , The Advantages of Both a Liner Pond and a Preformed Pond, Rolled Up Into One Box! gill function is disturbed. This can lead to the loss of electrolytes through the gills, sometimes called osmotic shock. Osmotic shock interrupts healthy , Daylily Just Plum Happy gill function by reducing the intake of oxygen and the release of carbon , Tips On Growing And Caring For Orchids dioxide and ammonium from the fish. , Plant A Simple Tea Garden Pond , Our History with Blueberries - Reviving Their Home-Grown and Local Farm Status Salt reduces the risk of osmotic shock by supplying natural , Daylily Just Plum Happy electrolytes through the chloride cells in the gills.

Nitrite Toxicity

Overcrowding and overfeeding can lead to elevated nitrite levels especially in newly set-up ponds. , Edgeworthia Chrysantha The nitrite ion NO 2 enters the gills and prevents the blood from carrying oxygen resulting in nitrite toxicity or "methemoglobinemia". Pond , Beneficial Mycorrhizae - Your Plant's Best Friend Salt will temporarily block the toxic effect of nitrite.

All natural , Grey Water- Not Drinking Water- For Your Garden Pond Salt is safe , Designing Your Flower Garden For Year-Round Beauty and non-toxic to all pond , Plant A Simple Tea Garden fish when used as directed. Pond , Stone Garden Benches Salt can be used safely with Pond , Calla Lilies - Flowers for All Occasions Care water , Outdoor Wood Furniture – Check the Wood Species Before Purchasing conditioners, filtration materials and fish foods. , Grey Water- Not Drinking Water- For Your Garden

Directions for Use:

1. When used as a general tonic for fish, , Landscaping Lighting Techniques and as a stress reducer, add 2 -1/2 cups full (728g) of Pond , Getting Up to Speed with Landscape Lighting! Salt for each 100 gallons (378 L) of pond water. , Ultra Violet Pond Filter Sprinkle salt evenly around the perimeter of the pond. , Top 5 Secrets to Growing Beautiful Carnivorous Plants Avoid any contact between salt crystals and pond plants. , A Simple Tea Garden If this is not feasible, pre-dissolve salt first.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Once added to a pond, , New for 2006 - Granite Flexible Preformed Rock s salt does not evaporate and is not filtered out. Pond , Read This Article if You Want to Stop Droughts Salt should only be added as directed; with each water , Edgeworthia Chrysantha change, or when fish , Roman Concrete - How They Did It have been treated with medications.

2. When used to reduce stress in separate treatment tanks or during fish , Bonsai Trees For Sale: What Are Your Options? transportation, use 4 tablespoons full (95.2g) of Pond , Designing Your Flower Garden For Year-Round Beauty Salt for each 10 gallons (37.8L) of water. , Designing Your Flower Garden For Year-Round Beauty

For the health of your pond , Planning the Vegetable Patch and environment, , Plant A Simple Tea Garden it is important that you test pond water , Southwestern Landscape Art - An Investment? regularly. We recommend Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Dry-Tab Master Test Kit for Ponds , Roman Concrete - How They Did It to test for pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.

For more information , Shrub Roses and Climbing Roses about Pond , Landscaping Lighting Techniques Salt, click here: http://www.macarthurwatergardens.com/Additives/pondcare_pondsalt.html

About The Author

Brett Fogle is the owner of MacArthur Water Gardens , Fish Health in Hot Summer Heat and several pond-related websites including macarthurwatergardens.com and pond-filters-online.com. He also publishes a free monthly newsletter called PondStuff! with a reader circulation of over 9,000 pond , Plant A Simple Tea Garden owners. To sign up for the free newsletter and receive a complimentary 'New Pond , How to Win the War Against Slugs and Snails Owners Guide' for joining, just visit MacArthur Water Gardens , Brilliant Corners: House Plants and Your Health at his website.

What's Inside
Gift Ideas for Bird Lovers - Some of the best gifts you can give to a bird , The Gazebo Spa: One of 5 Creative Ways to Use Your Garden Gazebo lover are those that have to do with birds! , Compost: Food for the Soil :)Here are a few favorites of all bird , A Creative Patio lovers:* Bird , Gardening - When to Prune HousesYou can find a wide variety of bird , Discount Garden Benches house designs , Container GardeningTips and styles. Usually anyone...
Would You Like More Information About Climbing Roses? - What is more beautiful , When to Fly Old Glory than seeing a home , Making the Most of the Front of Your Using Wind Chimes or building , Abatement Conflicts with Eco-Systems with an arch of climbing roses , Landscape Gardening in the landscaping? Climbing roses , Discount Garden Benches are one of many plants , Abatement Conflicts with Eco-Systems that branch out and intertwine themselves among arches, trellises, or even buildings , 7 Natural Stone Pebble Projects For Every Home and railings. The...
Hillside Landscaping-Proper Watering - Sloped and hillside lawns , Rose Gardening and landscapes , An Outdoor Swing is A Great Way to Relax tend to develop dry dead spots during the hot , Concrete Mold Buying Tips part of the season. , A Quick Overview of Outdoor Hot Tubs This is primarily due to water , Starting Seedlings Indoors run off before it has a chance to saturate into the soil. , Imagine Your Own Orchid Garden In A Pond Deep saturation is a key to a healthy , Seeding Flowers Indoors: An Inexpensive Way to a Beautiful Summer Garden lawns and plants...
Trust Your Plants - They Know How To Grow! - I've done a lot of container gardening , Your Home is Your Fortress: the Art of Garden Fencing over the years, and one thing is a given for potted plants: it's a life of constant change. , Flag Day: Will You Be Ready? Moving around from one part of the garden, , Home for a Gnome? patio , Discount Furniture – An Easy Way to Get the Best or sunroom , Understand Your Soil: Healthy Soil Grows Healthy Plants to another, moving indoors , Boundaries and Rooms in Your Garden and back outdoors , Natural Pest Control On The Rise, But Does It Work? again, and...
Garden Gnomes Inspire Cult Following Worldwide - Garden gnomes have inspired an enthusiastic and devoted cult following, both in the real world and in cyberspace. Perhaps nowhere is the garden , Commercial Ponds gnome's cult status more apparent than in North Devon, England at The Gnome Reserve and Wildflower , Forest Tent Caterpillars Gar...
Tractors and Their History - I recently bought a small tractor , Delavay's Blueberry (Vaccinium delavayi) for my garden, , Get your Cooking with Friable Soil which prompted me to right this article.The tractor , Redwood Outdoor Decor: Relax This Season With Furniture You Can Trust was a John Deere, GT235. John Deere tractors , Flowers For U are quite popular in the USA, so thought I would share a few words about the man himself!...
Using Garden Decor For a Complete Garden - For many people, the garden , The Coliseum Is One Of The Best Complete Hydroponic Systems On The Market is an extension of the home; a living area to be beautified just as they would want to decorate , Hurricane Landscaping Considerations the interior , Basic Swimming Pool Water Chemistry of their house. , Adirondack Chairs: An Ole' Time Becon for Rest Much of the beauty, both in their eyes and those of the passer-by and visitor, comes from the...
Seeding Flowers Indoors: An Inexpensive Way to a Beautiful Summer Garden - Every year you plan , The Coliseum Is One Of The Best Complete Hydroponic Systems On The Market that THIS will be the year you have pots , The Flower Garden in August and pots , The Cottage Garden of lush plants , Floral Arrangements on your balcony or deck. , Gardening Tips, Hints and Advice Then you visit your local , Shrub Roses and Climbing Roses nursery in the spring , February Plants are Going to Pot and reality hits -– the cost for your fantasy is just outrageous! Sound familiar?B...
Add Color and Fragrance to Your Garden with the Korean Spice Viburnum - One Shrub , Growing and Harvesting Dill Perfumes the Entire NeighborhoodThere are two things that are essential in every spring garden , You Say Tomato I Say Mosquito - color , Gardening Basics: Inspecting Your Soil and fragrance. As the cold , Concrete Curb Landscaping days of winter , Three Tips for a Better and Cheaper Lawn become the warm days of spring, , An Introduction to Bonsai Maple Trees there is nothing better than looking...

To Salt or Not to Salt Your Pond

Landscape Gardening

Seasonal Gardening