Salt; Sea Versus Epsom.....

[tom&zuma]

Ooh, that's low. Some of the "solar salt" is visibly grey. Do I have to name the manufacturer? Actually when I use the clean salt I get zero foam. Go down to the SD back bay, you'll see foam on the water there too.

[Russell Peters]

Quote: Originally Posted by tom&zuma Ooh, that's low. Some of the "solar salt" is visibly grey. Do I have to name the manufacturer? Actually when I use the clean salt I get zero foam. Go down to the SD back bay, you'll see foam on the water there too.

Sorry about that, didn't mean to go low. I was thinking that you might have excess protien in your water, which can cause bubbles to stay on the surface.
I use the Diamond Crystal solar salt from H.D. and it is $3.98 or so for 50 lbs. They don't carry any other brand up here.

[tom&zuma]

Just kidding, Russell. As a matter of fact, Diamond is the better grade that we have been using lately. But our bags are 40 lb.

Tom

[REC]

Sorry this took so long but I was goofing off for more days than I should have been... we all suffer most AFTER vacation.

Let me start with George's comment about sodium and calcium. From a pure physiological requirement, sodium is required MORE by the fish than calcium. That simply means that it uses more sodium than say, calcium or potassium. Sodium, potassium and calcium make up the three primary "salts" or electrolytes in fish and mammals and we need to pay some attention to their presence in the pond. Although, a good koi food and a natural salt level in the water (.02-.1%) typically provides all of the mineral salt content the fish need.

When dealing with a severely ulcerated fish in quarantine, I will raise the sodium, potassium, and calcium chloride levels in the water in an effort to help the fish restore lost electrolytes. If you are familiar with Ringer's Lactate, used by medical people, the concept of electrolyte replacement is exactly the same.

Iodine in salt, such as iodized table salt, does the fish absolutely no harmless to fish and the beneficial bacteria in the pond. The only reason NOT to use iodized salt in a pond is the cost (and the problem with lugging around a huge number of one pound boxes of the stuff). There is not enough iodine in iodized salt to affect the bacteria even at .6%.. I know this, I tested it.

No matter what kind of salt you use, you will see some level of foaming when large amounts are delivered to the pond. It just happens.

Water softener salts with additives to prevent rust and corrosion, such as YPS, are potentially deadly to fish. YPS, yellow prussate of sodium, when exposed to UV (like, sunlight) produces arsenic in the water. Not a good thing. Anytime we are dealing with something unnatural from the perspective of what we would reasonably find in natural water, is a red flag to us, so, stay away from water softening salts with any kind of additives. Period.

Someone asked about calcium carbonate. If I am not mistaken, calcium carbonate is precipated out by the presence of calcium in the water. This process affects the pH level. I do know that Calcium chloride is an excellent addition to the pond to raise the GH levels which in turn stablizes (and in some cases, lowers, the pH). I know this drives Jnorth crazy, but on KoiVet is a thread about calcium chloride use in ponds with great info from Dr Roddy Conrad on it. The text of thread deals with lowering pH levels (in the 9's) by properly adjusting the GH (calcium hardness) and KH levels of the pond. It is interesting. Here is the URL http://www.koivetforums.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=20827.

What did I miss??

REC

[Tamianth]

So where do you get the potassium REC?

[junglegeorge12]

I get mine from flowers and plantains. They love tostones.

[KoiCop]

Quote: Originally Posted by junglegeorge12 They love tostones.

Hasta la Vista, Jorge!

When you come back, maybe we can have a nice talk about the benefits to your koi from being fed twice-fried plantain patties. Hmmm, health food.

[junglegeorge12]

Don, the only one I know dumb enuf to feed koi fried food is you. Tategoi anyone? I guess you are too dumb to know about steam and boiling. Being new inventions and all.

[KoiCop]

Tostones / Patacones

Tostones are twice-fried plantain patties. Plantains are sliced in 4-cm (1.5-in) long pieces and fried in oil. The segments are then removed and individually smashed down either by hand or with a tostonera to about half their original height. Finally, the pieces are fried again and then seasoned to taste, often with salt. In some South American countries, the name 'tostones' is used to describe this food when prepared at home and also plantain chips (mentioned above), which are typically purchased from a store.
Source: Wikipedia
http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?...6.171&method=1

Jorge,

Your word. So what do you wanna do now: Change the meaning?

[Tamianth]

Oh boy.... maybe I shouldn't have asked! <insert little guy rolling on the floor laughing here>