Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Salt in ponds
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 |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Salt in ponds
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 |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Salt in ponds
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 |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Salt in ponds
most likely.
sure. malachite green is in such small amount not really a factor (seed lover) wrote: 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 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List http://puregold.aquaria.net/ www.drsolo.com Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the endorsements or recommendations I make. |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Ponds, Plants & Salt | Ponds (moderated) | |||
My Brother's Ponds. Link to on line photo album of his ponds. | Ponds | |||
Rock Salt vs Pond Salt | Ponds |