GardenBanter.co.uk - Salt in ponds

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Hi all. This is my first time posting here, and I have a couple of
specific questions which I'll ask in separate posts . . .

I had fish die from (according to my local pond outfit) "mouth rot"
(see my next post).

After researching online, I learned that treating the pond with salt
is one of a couple of recommended procedures to help control the
disease in fish.

For the moment, I opted to use the malachite green product instead
(although I did ad 1/4 of the recommended salt dose to the pond as
well), and here's why I'm afraid to use salt:

Not only does it make the environment unfriendly to plants in the pond
to a greater or lesser degree, but it also creates a water disposal
problem for me . . .

Until my fish got sick, whenever I cleaned the filters or took water
out of the pond, I felt comfortable using the water to irrigate my
garden plants. I am in California, and I always try to be water
conscious. Plus the gunk form the filters is supposed to be
organically favorable, and (I supposed) good for plants.

Once I add salt to the ponds, doesn't the water become dangerous for
use in irrigation? Will it gradually collect in my clay soils and make
them toxic to my garden? If that's the case, is it legal to dispose of
the water down the toilet? Or pump it into street drains? What the
heck do I do with it?

For that matter, what about the malachite green? What is the
consequence of disposing this as irrigation/fertilization of yard
plants/lawn? Is it legally disposable into municipal sewer or storm
drains?

If the answer to all of the above is no, then what the heck do I do
with it?

Thanks!

D

Hi again, Ingrid,

So it sounds like the malachite green product, which the pond place
recommended, was totally inappropriate, given that the product
controls fungus, and mouth rot (columnaris) is a bacteria.

Of additional interest is the fact that the second fish died with a
lesion on its side (which I thought was fungal in nature?), and this
was after the malachite green treatment.

Fish husbandry (or is that fish spousery?) is a heck of a lot tougher
than I was led to believe!

Arrrrgh.

D

wrote in message ...
it is too bad that your local pond outfit doesnt use the scientific names for various
infections. mouth rot is usually columnaris which is caused by a bacteria. salt is
not a treatment for this.
malachite green is useful against fungus. it is inactivated by sunlight.
plants have no problem with salt up to 0.1% or 0.9lbs per 100 gallons. in gardens
that level of salt isnt going to do anything, nor will it be a problem in the sewer.
actually... you need to check your natural salt level before adding salt to your
pond. in your neck of the woods you got high levels of salt in your water.
Ingrid

Forgot to say thanks for the info, but also to ask the following
question:

The malachite green instructions said nothing about keeping a UV
filter on or off, so I left mine on. Since your message says that it
is inactivated by sunlight, does that mean that the UV filter rendered
my treatment totally useless?

Also, after it is deactivated, can the water treated with it be used
in my landscaping (you said salt wont hurt, but you weren't as
definitive about the malachite green).

Thanks!

D