You might have noticed that a laptop computer can get very hot. It is a good idea to put it where it can get good air circulation to cool it down and extend its life. You can buy items for this purpose. Some simply elevate the laptop above the desk and others have fans built in to further circulate air underneath cooling off the laptop. With the latter you have to be careful that the computer fans connect to where the fans are located on the platform or they do not work as well. This can cause confusion for matching one to the computer and many are not cheap for what they do. The former version can likely be made from something laying around at home.

If you are on a budget (Me!) and do not care if your laptop looks like it has the latest doo-dad that people cannot see anyway since it is hidden underneath, you may want to consider the following or use something similar.

For some time I have simply placed a cookie cooling rack under my laptop and it has worked very well. Some sliding happens if I put it on a lap desk and then hold it in my lap, but not too bad. Usually, I work on a desk and I do not have any sliding. If you want to keep the cooling rack for this use always, take an old mouse pad and cut up some of the rubber bits to be glued or taped to a few spots on the grid to keep the laptop from sliding. You only need it in a few spots, away from the fans.

In the above picture you can see the little feet on the rack. These rest on the table, elevating the laptop above the desk. Air easily gets through the grid from the fans.

The cookie rack is also very light and can be easily stuffed into many carrying cases for the laptop and carted with it. No one has seemed to notice or care that I sometimes have this out when I use the laptop.

Another idea I recently tried is using one of the squares used to build storage cubes that I mention in my cage building post. If you have any of these handy, just leave on the connectors at 4 corners to act as feet to elevate the grid. Place the laptop on there and there you go! Air circulation.

The laptop still gets hot with these but not as bad. I have had funny things happening when it became too hot and now I no longer have this problem.

Maybe its worth a shot. I am sure there is something laying around you can try. You just need to have the fans free and allow the air to circulate underneath and yet still allow you to type. I place a rubber wrist mat in front of the laptop sometimes to raise my lazy arms.

This cube square is a little big compared to the computer so I will leave it on the desk. The cookie rack I will carry with me.

In the left picture you can see the size comparison of the grid and the computer. I meant to turn the square around so the corner connectors did not stick out. Oops.

The picture to the right shows (somewhat)  the clearance under the laptop when placed on this grid. The picture below, left shows the plastic connector that comes with the grid before it is attached to the corner.

These two ideas are a few quick solutions you might have around your house. You can probably come up with many other ideas or take the time to construct something if you have the time. All you need is to get air to the computer where you can still use the thing as well.

I just took care of this problem with one of my goldfish today and thought I would pop a quick note up about it. Some of you may have noticed your goldfish has trouble swimming downward on occasion and just pops right back to the surface like it is full of air. The worse cases end up floating belly-up. This is most often seen in fancy goldfish with compact, round bodies. Their organs are all tightly packed in that round body and sometimes air does get trapped in the intestines. This sounds funny that the fish cannot swim due to a fishy equivalent of a fart but it can kill the fish if it continues too long. Many times they work it out, but not always.

Their diets need to have more grain than protein to begin with and do not overfeed. When/if the air problem happens the best thing I have found to remedy this are green peas. Yep. Peas. I keep a bag of frozen peas handy for this. If you catch it early, you have a chance to get the fish back to its happy dumb goldfish self (I mean that with affection).

I run a few peas under water and work them in my hands to get them to thaw. Then I pop out the insides of the peas to feed to the fish. For some reason I have better luck discarding the outer coating. In the case of this fish, I had to grab him/her and hold the pea in front of his face until he calmed down and realized food was dangling in front of its mouth. Did not take long. This one is very food oriented. Sucked down 3 peas in no time (not a full grown fish-size of golf ball and looks like one too). I broke up more peas into the tank for the others to eat as well. After a few hours the fish was right side up and not struggling to swim down. Another one was having some floating problems too and it is better as well.

Other things to check is your water. The better the water, the less I see this happen too. I am going to do a water change tomorrow to be safe.

Some people also feed larger goldfish Cheerios cereal.

If the fish has been having this problem for days, the peas may not help. I am not sure what to do then other than do water changes.

Peas not helping? Try to feed sinking pellets. The fish may be sucking too much air when they try to get food floating on the surface. The goldfish will clean the food up off the bottom. They love their food.

Oh, and by the way, fish bowls are horrible for goldfish long term.

Hope this helps!

Let me know if anyone has more suggestions!

Item Reviewed:

Donvier by Cuisipro, Yogurt Cheese Maker (fancy name for a yogurt drainer. You still have to make the yogurt and use an incubator.). For use with yogurt that does not have gelatin added as a thickener.

If you have been making your own yogurt and yogurt cheese you may be familiar with draining the whey from the yogurt to thicken it. The batch I am using for this post will be made into thick Tzatziki. Often people use linen sacks or fine cheese cloth to do this. I ran across this little device some time ago and finally decided to try it though I had some reservations. The linen bag works just fine, I just hate washing the thing and scraping the yogurt out. I tend to get covered in yogurt (but I am handicapped in the kitchen). I am also never sure if I get the bag clean enough, though so far it seems I do. I also cannot find a fine mesh strainer the right size around here to use, so I ordered this off of Amazon.com.

Before ordering it I had read several reviews left by people who already tried it. One of the most frequent criticisms of it was that the chamber that catches the whey is too small so the yogurt sits in the whey, defeating the purpose. So I held off for awhile. But curiosity got the best of me. I was in the throws of yogurt bliss at the time (bet you do not hear that one often-probably a good thing).

When I got it, I immediately found it to be much smaller than I expected. Not its fault, it did give dimensions. I just did not think about it. But it looked big enough to hold most, if not all of one of my typical batches of yogurt which are around 4 cups (for some reason I cannot get more than that to come out very well in one batch).

But the reviews were right. There is very little space for the whey to drain. (The picture to the right has the drainer sitting beside the container to give you an idea what space is left to catch whey.) My yogurt tends to fill that space immediately when I use the bags. One would need to empty this thing several times. So rather than use it the way it was intended, I just skipped ahead and modified it. I took a mixing bowl and placed a small cooling rack over the top. Then I simply placed the drainer on top of that (picture to the left). Ta-da! Plenty of room for the whey and I can plop it down and forget about it for awhile. I like that the drainer has a flat bottom so I did not need to find a way to keep it upright. (I could have also put the rack over the container provided. It did drain tidy so I did not need a wide container for the splash zone like I need using a linen bag).

One of the ideas of this product is that the container not only is used to catch whey, but you can then store the yogurt in there when it is done. I am always suspicious of products that try to be several things at once. Something is often sacrificed. In this case, room for the whey. So basically you got a drainer, and a container. I have containers. I would rather have a larger, functioning strainer. A container to catch the whey without having to empty it constantly was more important to me.

Another reason I thought to try this was the interesting shape. It does increase surface area for draining but I think having it drop down to a point would be better. I hang my bags so one point is hanging down. The other point I clip up so all of the yogurt is accumulated in the one point. This seems to work faster than having the flat bottom straight down. Also, the draining whey drains off one spot, making it easier to catch it.

A little over an hour later the level of yogurt has noticeably dropped in the picture to the left. Here it is nice and creamy and can be used for a variety of things or just simply adding fruit and eating as is. Much less watery than when the yogurt first comes out of the incubator (I use fat-free milk with fat-free milk powder added as a thickener. My yogurt may be more runny that milk with fat in it).  For cheese or very thick yogurt, you want to let it go longer.

I let the yogurt drain for around 8 hours (picture lower right-it was pretty much finished) and then I had to leave the house. Here I discovered a nice thing about this product that won me over more than it had so far. I dropped the drainer and yogurt into its container like it was supposed to go, popped the lid on, threw it into the refrigerator, and left. I forgot about it until the next morning. Since it was mostly drained when I put it in the refrigerator, I did not need to worry about it sitting in the whey. It was just fine the next day. So in the future, I will let it sit for a few hours on the rack like I did here and then put it in its container and leave it in the fridge if the dripping has slowed down enough. So maybe this thing does make things easier after all. The whey had more yogurt in it than what I get from using a bag. Most of it settled to the bottom so I poured the whey off of the top to keep. Yogurt without much thickener may run through the mesh more. Something to consider if yours tends to be very thin.

The other thing I like about it was what I bought it for to begin with – easy emptying and cleaning. I just turned it over a container and tapped it a few times. All of the yogurt plopped out. The yogurt at this point was very thick (cheese-like). Less drained yogurt might be more messy but I doubt it. I recommend at least hosing it off with hot water if you do not clean it right away. This will keep you from having to scrub off dried yogurt in the mesh.

(The picture to the left shows the finished yogurt still in the drainer yet in its container.)

Note: Save some of your whey until you are completely done. If you have drained your yogurt more than you like, you can stir in some whey to get it back to where you want it. I will probably do so here for my tzatziki sauce I plan to make with this batch.  The whey is also good to substitute for water in many recipes. Good vitamines!

(The picture to the right shows how thick the yogurt can get. It is clinging to the knife. Not the best picture).

Conclusions:

Pros:

• Easier to clean and sanitize, dishwasher safe
• Easy to get the yogurt out when done
• Small size makes it easy to drain yogurt in the refrigerator (after letting the first of the whey drain off)
• Storage container provided (if you care for one)
• Everything you need is provided if you use it as is
• Flat bottom lets you sit it on a platform like the cooling rack
• Compact and easy to store when not needed
• Cute
• Instructions (such as they are) are in English and French
• The yogurt drains very well and is comparable to the linen bag

Cons:

• Container is too small to hold all of the whey you drain. Frequent emptying will be required at first.
• The whey is cloudy with some yogurt that gets through. If you use the whey for anything, this may be a concern
• Very thin yogurt may drain more through the mesh than in the bag
• Slightly slower to drain. You cannot rush the draining. A linen bag can be squeezed periodically to push the whey out faster. But in a few hours it does have a nice creamy yogurt. For cheese, the wait is longer like with any other method.
• If you make more than around 3 or 4 cups of yogurt at a time, this device will not hold it all. You would need to wait to finish the entire batch or get more than one drainer.
• A little pricey for what it is (~ $17 US)
• A reusable coffee filter with the fine gold mesh is about the same size and may work as well for less money (I have not personally tried this but have heard it works well)

This little device does drain yogurt well. It is also easy to clean. Its compact size makes it easy to drain yogurt in the refrigerator as well. Having already bought it I found all of this to be nice. Especially the cleaning. You can also forget about it in the fridge.

June, 2009: I tried it on runnier yogurt. I lost some through the mesh at first but then it evened out. So it works alright with runny though thicker is better.

If I had not bought it already, I may still consider it since I do not have to find a way to support it while suspending it over a bowl since it has a flat bottom. A good thing since you either have to drain the whey frequently at first or suspend it above a bowl without its container (or put the rack on top of the container). I do not always drain yogurt in the refrigerator so that was less of a concern for me. This is much easier than a bag.

But I probably would try a large, cone-shaped, reusable coffee filter with a fine mesh for less money instead. Or spend about the same money and order a large fine mesh drainer so it could hold more yogurt at a time (though it will take more room-not good if you want to put this in the fridge). I did not do this to begin with because I had to order it and I could never be sure it was the right fine mesh. I hated to get it and then find out the holes would be too big.

It depends what you are looking for in this product on whether it will suit you. Hopefully this will help you decide. I will definitely continue to use this over the linen bag from now on.

This device is also fairly self explanatory so the directions are more of a formality. It would be nice to have had tips on uses for yogurt drained different amounts (creamy vs. cheesy). They do have a few recipes though I think just so they can say they were included on the box. They are OK but vague on how much to drain the yogurt for these recipes. I could find these online so do not buy this thing for that.

I have found that laying plastic wrap across the surface of yogurt cheese helps keep it fresh longer. I also put the lid on the container too.

Hi there. If any of you still follow this blog you probably have noticed that I do not post as frequently. I am working a few jobs now and trying to find a better job, so that and a few other things in my life has kept me very busy. I honestly hope I can add more often later down the road. But I am still here.

Needless to say projects and  hobbies are also getting stunted right now.

I have had a few express concern on whether I will  respond to comments on old posts. Sure do! I may not have time to post anything new right now but I keep a watch out for comments and questions. So do not hesitate to leave a comment. Just be sure to check back if you want to see a response. I try to get back to you within a week, if not sooner. If the response may be very long, I may email  you instead using the email given to me by your post. So if that is not a current email and you have not heard back through the comments section, you may want to check that email.

I do have a few small posts coming related to yogurt and a knitting project (maybe I can finally finish one of my half done knits). I also hope to show how to make a bottle lamp but this is a long, time consuming post. I will at least clean up some of my huge posts that seem to get read often. I keep adding to them and they are rather long and rambling at times. Me talk to much? Never!

Vs. PDF files!

Update: May 20, 2009. Well it was working after I did what I put below. Now it is crashing again. Go ahead and try this but I will post what fixes it this time when I get around to messing with it again. You would think it would stick. Hmph.

Original post:

If you use Firefox on a PC (nothing against Mac, this is just what I use) and have been having problems opening PDF files, this might help. Mine would freeze up any time I opened a PDF link to view with Acrobat. (There is rumor that the latest version of Acrobat does not work with Firefox so I am using 8.0.)

Since the plug-ins offered to bypass this had terrible reviews, I went to the support section of Firefox on this topic (finally) to try and fix this. It took forever going through each troubleshoot. Seems like this is a common problem (yet Firefox is still worth it).  Here is the one that worked for me. One of the others on the list may work for you so do try the link above if this does not work. Just be sure you have a few minutes to kill.

***The following is copied off of their site with my own comments added in green:

Here is a quick, easy way to add freeze-dried yogurt starter to your milk without clumping.

I was making a batch of yogurt this morning and was thinking about my post on making yogurt that I need to go back and polish. As I was adding starter, I realized maybe I should add this little detail as a separate post, instead of including it only in the main post, for people who already know how to make yogurt.

If you have ever added freeze-dried yogurt starter (wonderful stuff), you may have had a problem with stirring it in and getting clumps that need to be broken apart as you stir. This is a problem with many fine powders that need mixed into a fluid. At least for me. It is a minor thing but it drives me nuts (No life). I want to just add, and stir, and throw it in the incubator (after heating and cooling, etc.).

I use a small jar with a screw-on cap. In my case it was an empty herb jar. It was just the right size. Spoon in  (about 1/3 to 1/2  full of a small herb jar) some of your prepared (and cooled to the needed temperature) milk, add the yogurt starter, screw on the lid, and shake. In no time the powder will be well mixed. You can then pour it into the main batch and then stir it in there. No clumps! And it only adds a minute (or less) of extra preparation time.

Tips:

Jar Material: For whatever container you use to do this, I suggest using a glass container, especially if you plan to reuse it. You can clean it much better than plastic which can trap bacteria and will melt or warp if gets too hot when cleaning it. I find that being over-clean when making yogurt is not a bad thing. After cleaning it with hot, soapy water, air dry it well to prevent mildew from growing. Cap the dry container and store for the next use. This will keep dust and debris from falling in.

Size: I tend to make 4 cup batches so I do not use the full packet of starter. If you make a lot of yogurt at once, you might want a slightly bigger jar or do not mix it all at once.

Leaks: When you choose what will be your “shaker”, test it out with water once. This way you can find out if you will have a serious leak and avoid a mess. Mine leaks a little bit of milk but not too bad. It has a metal lid and I can probably get a better seal if I wanted to bother. Suprisingly, the slight leak bothers me less than clumps. I just shake over the sink. Very little really does leak out but it can be messy if I walk around the room shaking it.

Reminder: Be sure your milk is cooled to the recommended temperature for the yogurt starter you are using before doing this. You do not want to kill your starter. Also, remember that the starter may have a different temperature preference than what your yogurt maker suggests. Read the box and avoid the mistake I made my first time. Ick.

If you have not made yogurt yet, it is very worth it. It may take some initial work to get it the way you like it, but once you do, it is easy and delicious. I hate cooking and yet I find this worth it.

Have fun!

Many of you with fish tanks have at least one air pump and bubble stone. Often they are on the floor because of noisy vibrations or other area a little away from the tank. I just wanted to throw a quick post reminding people who have tanks and alerting those about to start the hobby an easy way of killing your fish due to forgetting about the nature of many of your pumps.

My crayfish came down sick a month ago and I could not figure out what suddenly went wrong. Everything was going wonderful until what seemed overnight he stopped eating and started to behave wrong. It took some time to figure out what had happened, or at least what I am sure had happened. Bug spray through the air pump. I am still kicking myself for something I knew better about doing around an object that had blended into the scenery. I had gotten used to the pump being in that spot and thought nothing of it.

I had a mite infestation of my meal worms due to a bad batch of food or some such. So I went a little crazy with the bug spray (those things really creep me out). I made sure to stay away from the tank but I have an annoyingly loud pump that I had put on the floor to keep it quiet and forgot about (I got lazy). Of course, I sprayed near the pump. Shock, my crayfish became very ill (he is fine now but it took a lot of TLC). The air pump pulls air in wherever it is located and then puts that air into your tank. So dust, cigarette smoke, hair spray, cooking fumes, air sprays, bug spray, and anything else you put into the air ends up in the tank if it comes in contact with the pump. Most pumps do not have any filter other than maybe a little bit of a felt plug over the intake that probably does not get replaced.

So I just wanted to put out a word of caution, do not forget about those pumps! They are so easy to forget that they are a potential source of introducing harmful things into your tank. Should you get rid of yours? Absolutely not. Just kind of keep it in the back of your head next time you freak out with bug spray in your hand.

Oops.

(Finally a post!! Woohoo! Geez, long title huh?)

Some of you out there may be thinking of getting, or have bought, a the newer version of the Tetra, Whisper filter for your fish tank. The type that hangs over the back. The price of the filter cartridges that go with these new ones are expensive when compared to the old models that you can buy in bulk and assemble yourself. This might be putting you off. Or you have several old cartridges laying about you need to use up. Or you maybe your store does not carry the replacements (recently here). Well there is a solution! (Insert happy noises here!)

I have had their old version of Whisper filters for years. I generally like them for the price range. I have tried a handful of other brands that are either loud or do a lousy job when compared to this one. These last for years, usually are quiet(ish), do what they need to do, and are easy for customizing the media you use, among other things. These also come with extension tubes, unlike one that is similar to these being sold. A few months ago I had to send my husband to get a new filter to replace one that finally conked out of many years of hard use and neglect. He came back with this new model. Yikes! It was all they had.

I have two now and they work well. I am not as wild about the insert for bacteria colonies as I am the old version but otherwise I cannot complain. One is very quiet, the other is not so I cannot really say there. The one that is noisy came in an opened box so I am guessing the quiet one is the normal mode.

But I did get the nasty surprise on how much the filter cartridges cost. They work very well but I can build my own to be comparable and less expensive. So of course, I had to dabble.

Hopefully the following will give people options for filter cartridges for a filter I do like. I hope the pictures do not move around like some previous posts.

Converting an old style filter to fit the new filter cage:

Materials:

• scissors
• Large or regular size cartridges, not pre-assembled. Whisper brand (in picture)  and one other brand I forgot. The skeleton comes in blue (here), black, and maybe green that I have seen.
• Filter media (comes with carbon), Ammo-chips type media optional.
• New Tetra, Whisper Filter (EX 30 shown in this post)

The new system has a cage that holds the filter inside. The old style has a “skeleton” that slips inside of the filter with the media to keep it rigid. The goal here is to modify that skeleton to fit within the cage. Slipping the old style filter inside without it does not work well.

You will see the bottom of the old type has corners where the cage is curved. The top of the cage also is angled where there are corners at the top of the skeleton (hard to see in this picture). We will cut these corners out.

There are many spots you can cut. The one shown here is not my favorite but I did not want to pull out every filter to find the one I like better.

1. Cut in the middle between the inner rungs. Then cut between the outside edges and the rungs. I cut off the corners completely here but this can snag the filter when you are inserting it. So you may want to leave the corners on and just trim off excess plastic that gets in the way. There is not a perfect way to do this so mess around with it until you are happy.

2. Next, cut the top corners at an angle. I start my angle where the flaps connect together at the top. Again, there is plenty of room for error. You just need to be sure you can still close the flaps over the filter when you are done. There is a close-up view of this in the picture below the one to the left. Notice the angled corners of the skeleton you cut.

3. Now slip the skeleton inside the filter floss pocket. You may need to put your hand around the cut portions while you do this. Your hand should fit. Sometimes the cut portions snag (like the sides of the one shown in the picture…grrr).

4. Now add the carbon that comes with the filter cartridge and any other media you like adding. Ammo-chips in this case (gold fish tank).

5. Fold the  top, plastic flaps over the top and clip in the middle like normal.

6. Open the cage of the new filter and slip the cartridge inside. The top should not prevent the cage from closing. Trim more if it does.

You will need to fold the bottom of the skeleton towards the center to fit inside the curve of the cage.

7. Fold the corners, that no longer have the rigid skeleton inside, towards the back of the cage. (Yes the one here is dirty. I did not want to wait to post this until I had to replace the filter.)

8. Close the cage. You may have to poke some of the filter inside but it should finally fit just fine. The picture to the right shows a loaded cage from the side. This one has been used so it is a little wet and saggy.

Done!

You can reuse the skeleton so you do not have to trim a new one every time you change the filter.

I have been using this method for several months and I am happy with it.

Sorry that the pictures do not align perfectly with the text. I have problems getting pictures to stay where I want them so I am not going to get too picky.

This (left) is the back view of a finished cartridge. This one is in use so it is dirty. Bleh. Notice the corners sticking out. This is fine. They fold up when you insert the filter into the main unit (right). The thing in front of the filter is for bacteria to grow on. It is OK. I like the sponge better. My opinion.

January 25:

I am a little behind on new posts but I am still around and checking in every few days for those who comment. I apologize to the few who are still waiting for a response. Several half finished posts are on the way to completion. It is hectic right now with jobs and such but it should smooth out soon. So if for some reason you follow this blog (Yay!) do not give up!

Thank you to everyone who stops by for a read.

Coming soon: Another knitted mouse (a maid this time), a few fish related articles, and one for making something different. All started, just need to finish! sigh….

Too many hobbies + work + random weird stuff = no time left to post!

- A

(Last post of the year!  Happy New Year!!!! I hope 2009 brings health, happiness, and security (in many forms) to everyone.)

The other day I was researching how much salt to add to our main freshwater aquarium containing an adult Black Ghost Knife fish (1/2 teaspoon/gallon or a little less for an adult) and remembered a common mistake people new to the hobby tend to make. (Yay! Something to post!)

Common Mistakes (in no order):

• Using the wrong salt
• Adding salt to the tank the wrong way (directly to a filter or dumping in directly all at once)
• Adding too much salt after a water change

Adding a small amount of salt to a freshwater aquarium is often a good idea, especially if you do not have live plants. It keeps bad bacteria down, controls some of the unwanted worms, provides things many fish need in their system that tap water does not provide, and much more. It is also generally a must for fish like Mollies and crayfish.

Recently I noticed a bacteria infection starting up in our 55 gallon tank containing our Black Ghost Knife and various tetra. The Cardinals (look similar to neons, but with more red/less white) were getting cloudy eyes, fin rot, and very distressed. They tend to be one of our “Canaries” of that tank by reacting first to a problem that is starting. Water quality checked out fine so I figured it was bacteria. Melefix (great stuff usually) is often a good solution but the knife is sensitive and if you can avoid medicating, it is better. So I added the salt and the problem cleared up in about a week (did not remember to take not of exactly how long-sorry).

Tips on how to use Salt:

There is always a range of opinion on adding salt and how to do it. I will list what has worked for me and you can decide for yourself. I do not claim to be the know-all of fish keeping.

What kind?:  Never use table salt (people salt). It has stuff that is bad for fish. The least expensive way it to get Kosher rock salt. No additives such as Iodine. Or you can get aquarium salt (the easiest but expensive). There is controversy on whether you should use salt for marine tanks. I have had luck but there are things in it that may not be the best for your particular fish. So the less stuff in the salt, the better.

How Much Initially:  Generally it is around 1 teaspoon/gallon for many tropical, freshwater fish. But this is not always the case and I suggest asking someone who knows specifically about your fish or research it. (Not me!) For very sensitive fish like “scaleless” fish such as various Knife fish and peacock eels, you should add less. When in doubt, always add less than you were told. More is not better. Salt is great but only in small doses.

Only add salt to well established tanks! If you are setting up a new tank, do not do this yet. You need to get the good bacteria growing and deal with water quality fluctuations that go with setting up a tank. Once it is stable, then add it. Also, if you can get  your tank stable (with your fish in there too. ), then you have passed the first step in fish keeping if you are new.

Adding:  Do not add in one lump to the tank. You will have pockets of highly concentrated salt until it dissolves. The fish do not know to stay away and you kill some good stuff in the tank. Dissolve the salt in a bucket of dechlorinated water first (especially for rock salt). Add a little at a time through the day, depending on how dilute you have it. It lets the fish adjust and you do not shock the system. My husband was so paranoid (he loves his fish), it took him 4 days to add the salt. That is overkill. You can do it in a day, even in a few hours. If you notice your fish are not reacting well, you may have way too much salt. Again, when in doubt, use less. As you get more experience, you will have a better feel for how much to add and how fast. Caution early is better than trying to save your fish later.

Do not add it to the filter, thinking this will let it dissolve away from the fish then trickle into the tank slowly. It sounds like a generally good idea and I have made that mistake in my early days (oops), but avoid it. It kills the good bacteria that you finally have gotten to establish in there. You may end up going through “New Tank Syndrome” again. Dissolving it in a bucket first also allows you to better control how much gets added.

Adding after a partial water change: This is where I saw the most problems. You do not add the same amount of salt to your tank each time. Remember that the salt you add is dissolved evenly throughout the tank. When you remove water while cleaning the tank, you are removing the proportional amount of dissolved salt. This means there is still salt in your tank. I have seen many people do a partial water change and then add salt back in as if they had removed all of the salt. They then end up with way too much.

Also, salt does not evaporate. So if  you are adding water due to evaporation, you do not add salt too. You only refresh the salt after you, yourself, removed the water, not evaporation.

Calculating:  So lets say you added 10 teaspoons of salt to your tank initially. If you do a 10% water change, then you only need to add 1 teaspoon of salt back. Write down how much salt the tank needs overall so you remember later. After a water change, punch in the number of total teaspoons you need in the tank into a calculator, then multiply that number by the per cent of water you removed (0.1 for 10%, 0.25 for 25%, 0.5 for 50% and so on).  That shoud provide you the number of teaspoons (or whatever measure you use) you need to add back. Since the amount of water you remove is often an estimate, try to be conservative. If you are not exactly sure on how much water was removed, decrease the amount of salt you add to be safe. It does not have to be exact, just not horribly over.

If done right, you can prevent many problems from cropping up. I even think the water looks more clear but that might be in my head.

Plants:  I do not know if it is good to add the salt if you have plants. I have with Java fern but that stuff is tough. I also have a mystery sword plant that is doing OK with it. You may want to forgo the salt until you know for sure. I do not keep many live plants in my tanks, though I think they are fantastic.

Thanks for reading!