there is no one salt level that is perfect, anything up to 0.1% is fine (1 tablespoon
per 5 gallons).... but it is best to slowly move up to that salt level and 1 teaspoon
is fine when a person doesnt KNOW what the natural salt level is in their water!
people often have salt levels of 0.05% naturally, so adding less is better.
salt tests are very important to prevent "salt creep" which is the accumulation of
salts to higher and higher levels in the tank. example:
10 gallon tank, 2 gallons water evaporate but salt doesnt
remove water leaving 5 gallons behind, add 5 gallons + salt for 5 gallons.
that is salt creep. no salt should be added for the evaporated salt. not to mention
natural salt levels will creep faster. it is even more likely to occur with small
water changes. without a tester good idea to do big water changes once in a while
and add no salt at all.

charcoal is just useless after a couple days in a tank with GF because GF produce so
much wastes. it just isnt needed.

Batting loaded with biobugs looks brownish. you are throwing the colonies away just
when they are forming up nicely. only toss batting when it begins to cut down on the
water flow. and then only 1/2 and put in new to cycle before tossing it all.

what is your alkalinity?



"Devin" wrote:
Salt levels are at just over 1 tablespoon per 10 gallons.
Why no charcoal? Just curious.
NEVER replace the batting, or just once a month? After 3 or so rinsings, it
becomes pretty stained.


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