what kind of salt should I add to my AP?

[foodchain]

The cold is the stresser more than likely. Use the salt, then large water change, and salt again.

Ich will be gone in a few days. Cheaper than over the counter treatments. Being goldfish though, I would add more than 4 ppt just do it slowly. You can google salt treatments for Ich and other versions of that phrase and see what others have done.
Faster you get after it, the better off you will be.

[aquaarche]

don't use salts with Iodine. Iodine kills off all the bacteria

[foodchain]

How does that work in marine systems then? Iodine has to be added there, even when using natural sea salt. Lugol's iodine at one drop per 80 gallons is a common recomendation.
In marine systems bacteria is so much more crucial...in volume, as the bioload seems to be more intense.

[keith_r]

with crayfish you might need to add iodine.. i've actually found quite a few things places that recommended this if it looked like the crays were having trouble molting.. add at half the recommended dosage for marine aquariums.. something like a teaspoon for 50 gallons (this isn't regular "iodine" that you get at the drugstore, it's what i got at a marine aquarium store, and i think is labeled iodide-i'll check it later)

[foodchain]

Okay...that's need for most of your inverts that shed or molt as it helps to soften the carapass.
IF they can't shed it they die.

[aquaarche]

Iodine is found naturally in ocean water and is needed in salt water tanks.

when you start adding large amounts of table salt to a system the Iodine exceeds the natural levels and will begin to destroy bacteria. So if your trying to kill ick or other diseases with Iodized table salt you will have to use volumes above what your bacteria can endure.

[badflash]

Be very carefull if you have plants in your system. It doesn't take much salt to kill most plants unless they are salt tolerant. Iodine is not found naturally in fresh water bodies around the world, with the exception of a few of the rift lakes in Africa. No fresh water fish or crayfish requires iodine. It may not hurt, but it doesn't help. I've never used it.

If you have ich, heat alone won't kill it without killing the fish too. Heat will speed up the life cycle which allows the salt or other chemicals to act on the swimming portion of the life cycle. The level of salt needed for treatment is lethal to almost all plants you may want to grow. The fish should all be removed to a hospital tank to be treated. The ich in the aquaponic setup will die without a host in a few weeks. Be aware that many chemical treatments will make plants unfit to eat.

Here is a really good article on ich:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com ... m_Ich.html

[foodchain]

It's well documented that Iodine assists in the sheding of the carapas. Iodine helps to soften this exoskeleon allowing it to be shed. If you don't add iodine, it can be difficult for the creature to shed, leading to death.
Even my prawns get iodine added. It's not accurate to say it doesn't help and not to use it. However it is not required to be used....I started with mud crays as a kid and never used iodine but as an adult have found many uses for it. One should use it with caution and understanding of what they are doing first, before adding anything to an AP system.

[aquaarche]

It's well documented that Iodine assists in the sheding of the carapas. Iodine helps to soften this exoskeleon allowing it to be shed. If you don't add iodine, it can be difficult for the creature to shed, leading to death.
Even my prawns get iodine added. It's not accurate to say it doesn't help and not to use it. However it is not required to be used....I started with mud crays as a kid and never used iodine but as an adult have found many uses for it. One should use it with caution and understanding of what they are doing first, before adding anything to an AP system.

Prawns in nature are exposed to brackish water that is were both fresh and salt water mix along the shore where prawns live during mating seasons and hatch and grow and eventually travel up fresh water streams but return to the deeper water and the oceans as they enlarge and mature, and then back to the brackish water to mate. their cycle of life

[foodchain]

Hmmm.
We are probably talking about two different prawns then. The ones I have only go to brackish water to mate/breed. They then travel back upstream. Most growth and shedding occurs in freshwater. Which is why I add the iodine. I purchase them as post larval/juevies and grow out in fresh. There's no contact with mine with any brackish or marine. Now, the farm I get them from breeds them in brackish....but mine never see it. But since most of the growth/shedding occurs during the 4 month grow out, I have to add the iodine or risk trapped prawns. Its a production issue.