Many individuals add salt to their aquaponics system, and you can think about doing the same thing. Aquaponics has its benefits and drawbacks in the practise of adding salt, and you should do so cautiously if you intend to use salt.

In Aquaponics, the main aim of adding salt is for disease control; salt acts as a natural anti-bacterial agent. In addition, a small amount of salt increases the mucous covering of the body of a fish, thus improving the fish's resistance to diseases and parasites. Salt can help prevent fungal infections as well. Use pure sea salt if you opt for salt inclusion, and avoid table salt. If you can't find any pure sea salt, a viable option is swimming pool salt.

Adding too much salt, however, can destroy the growth of the fish and stunt plants. Therefore, you can do so only in measured quantities when applying salt. 1 to 2 ppt (parts per thousand) of salt is a reasonable rule of thumb for water. Some plants and fish can tolerate higher amounts, but you should stick to this amount if you are a beginner in aquaponics systems..Note, the concentration of salt in the system can change as time passes. Water evaporation, water consumed by plants, etc ... A rise in the concentration of salt will result. It is therefore important that you periodically control the concentration of salt, and you can do so by using a device called a refractometer. For just a few bucks, you can buy affordable refractometers and they will do the job..

Many individuals would have a separate small tank, a form of quarantine tank, that they use for sick fish. This is a smart idea since it avoids the transmission of disease to other fish and requires only the sick fish and not the entire system to be given medication. Salt can be very useful if you maintain such a tank, as salt can improve the immune system of the fish. In your sick tank, you can use greater salt concentration-up to 10 ppt for a few hours to a few days. Make sure that the tank is well oxygenated.

As already mentioned, various fish have different salt tolerance levels, so be on the safe side to check with your local fisheries department for the tolerability levels of the species you are developing. Furthermore, note that even if the fish you grow are very salt tolerant (for example, tilapia can be grown at a salt concentration of up to 20-30ppt), high concentrations will not be tolerated by the plants. If you stick to 1-2ppt, it is more secure.

Discover how to optimize your aquaponics system, and therefore maximize yields while minimizing costs, in Aquaponics 4 You