"Aquarium salt" vs "reef salt" ?

[Omrit]

Have you tested your water?

Yes

If yes, what is your ammonia?

0

If yes, what is your nitrite?

0

If yes, what is your nitrate?

0

If I did not test my water...

1. ...I recognize that I will likely be asked to do a test, and that water tests are critical for solving freshwater health problems.

Do you do water changes?

Yes

What percentage of water do you change?

31-40%

How frequently do you change your water?

Every week

If I do not change my water...

1. ...I recognize that I will likely be recommended to do a water change, and water changes are critical for preventing future freshwater health problems.

My 300 gallon tank has ich, and I was going to try and cure with salt.

I was wondering what "aquarium salt" really means? Is it the aquarium salt you see advertised for use in freshwater tanks, or is stuff like "Instant ocean" also fine?

Also I have grass cutter catfish and a shovelnose cat. Is 2 teaspoons per gallon still safe?

Another thing I want to clarify. Due to the size of the tank raising it to the mid 80s is not feasible, so at 78F how long should treatment last?


Tank is heavily understocked, so my parameters are pristine. I think the ich came in on these severums I got

 

[tlindsey]

it the aquarium salt you see advertised for use in freshwater tanks

Yes freshwater.
Instant Ocean has other ingredients added to sustain marine life.

Instant ocean" also fine?

No

Is 2 teaspoons per gallon still safe?

I'm not sure but know scale less fish can't tolerate too much salt.

 

[jjohnwm]

The stuff sold as "aquarium" salt is just plain old NaCl non-iodized salt; I used to buy Kosher pickling salt which is the same thing and waaaaay cheaper. For about the last 20 years I have used ordinary iodized table salt and have seen no ill effects. I am talking about using the salt along with heat as an Ich treatment, not for continuous use.

When I got out of marine tanks a long time ago, I had a bunch of expensive Instant Ocean marine salt which I used whenever I wanted a therapeutic salt dosage for temporary aquarium use. It seemed to work just as well as any other, but it's far too expensive to buy for this purpose.

I'll be honest: as much of a PITA as it is to heat a big tank up to the suggested 86+F, I would still do it today if I had to treat an Ich outbreak. I've successfully treated Ich with just heat, no salt involved; I don't remember ever getting away with just salt and no additional heat.

If it were me, I would buy a couple of spare heaters and keep them on hand for this purpose. You only need to maintain the temperature for a couple of weeks; it's not going to break the bank to do this on the rare occasion when you have an Ich outbreak.

 

[duanes]

The stuff sold as "aquarium" salt is just plain old NaCl non-iodized salt; I used to buy Kosher pickling salt which is the same thing and waaaaay cheaper.

For curing ick, salt (NaCl) is salt (NaCl) is salt (NaCl)
All salt does the same thing, it create osmotic conditions that kill emerging ick, if concentrated enough.
I just make sure I use a concentration at least 3 ppt ( 3 parts per thousand)
To do this I use 3 lbs per 100 gallons.
By using the weight method, you are assured of getting the right salinity no matter what size crystals used.
I use 3lbs per 100 gals of the hardware type below, I believe it was about $5 for 50lbs.

I had some fish arrive like this below

After using the salt above, they looked like this, below.

 

[jjohnwm]

Forgot to mention: when it comes to heating a big tank, an easy way to achieve the temperatures required is to use a quartz or radiant-type heater set up a few feet away and pointed at the tank. They generate infrared rays which heat objects rather than just the air; I have an old vertical-style quartz heater that I set on the Low setting (750 watts rather than 1500) and set up about 5 feet from the tank. It will raise the temperature of a 360-gallon tank several degrees per hour if the rheostat is turned up all the way. I'm sure this depends upon the clarity of the water, type of decor, colour of background, etc. but the long and the short of it is that it's an easy and relatively cheap way to heat up a bigger tank to Ich-killing temperatures relatively quickly. I like it because I don't have to mess up the settings on the existing heater on a tank. I'd suggest setting it up on a day when you can be around to monitor the temperature until you get a feel for how fast it heats up.