Aquarium Salt and Rock Salt...is there a difference?

[Dan]

Years ago I was told Rock Salt is the same as Aquarium Salt. This was in the early 80's. The person who told me this worked at a pet store. So ever since than (when needed) I have used it in all my aquariums.

So in my mind the only difference is price.

Your thoughts will be appreciated.

[rich311k]

Depends if the rock salt is NACL then yes it is the samething. Same as table salt or kosher salt. Salt is salt.

[Brhino]

Are you using rock salt intended for food use, or the big bags of stuff for melting ice off of driveways and sidewalks? I'd be concerned about the quality control on the stuff intended for ice-melting duty.

[Fishguy2727]

I don't recommend using salt all the time in a freshwater tank, but when you use salt regular rock salt can be used. I have used water softener salt (no additives, anti-iron, etc.) with no problems at all.

[Spardas]

As the great Jack Wattley once said or something along the line, "There's no place for salt in a discus tank!"

There's simply no need for continuous salt bath because you should really only use salt with an intended purpose in mind. The same can be said with the usage of carbon.

In a discus tank where the water is expected to be pristine; it's a given that there will be a lot of water changes. If there are a lot of water changes being done, it'd be a waste and silly to have to mix back salt. Not only that, it's not needed when there's nothing wrong.

Skip on the salt and put money back in your pockets to get another setup dedicated to breeding.

[Cermet]

As the great Jack Wattley once said or something along the line, "There's no place for salt in a discus tank!".

I fully agree with all that Spardas says but that quote- when discus get sick, or act funny and you can not determine why (better to try determining first, however), then salt can be a great first choice as a cure all when you don't know whats wrong; such treatment should be combined with high temp (88 - 92 F) and extra air. Too many people (discus experts I've seen far too often) just use a shotgun approch with many meds and salt/temp makes far more sense than that. Meds can do great harm and unless you know the cause, it makes no sense to use them blindly.

Again, take this advice with a grain of salt (had to get that in there) because if you suspect parasites, it is a good idea to treat that right away with the correct med. Likewise, bloat should be treated using only Epsom salt, not NaCl (i.e. sea salt/kosher/regular).

Otherwise, salt for healthy discus does not really help the fish and will kill fry/eggs in any case. Old hands have been known to use salt for really old discus but I'm not really sure that is worth the trouble.

As in all things, there are exceptions to the rule. Always keep enough salt on hand to treat the fish when needed - salt, however should not be used if you suspect parasites - they have special meds and salt will do zero.