Holy freakin' hard water!

[AthagaMor]

I finally went and got my test kit last night and tested my tank and my GF's tank. I used the jungle 5-in-1 kit (w/ the padded strips). I knew we had hard water but OMG!

gH = 150ppm
kH = 300ppm
pH= 8.4+

I assume the high pH is caused by the hardness. The figures apply to both tanks, though I think my GF's tank was slightly above 8.4 pH (I think the driftwood was 'trying' to make the water more acidic in my tank).

Nitrites in both were zero ppm.
nitrates in GF's were <20 and ~20 in mine (ppm).

GF's tank has been up for a while, 8 months or so (just never tested it). Fish "seemed" happy (3 paradise gouramis, 4 serpae tetra, 2 sm. cory, 1 pictus catfish in 10g). I think my tank has finished cycling but I'm holding off with additions until water chemistry is correct and I have the plants and wood under control. I have not tested ammonia 'yet', but I would think its fine as the tank is currently planted (doing well) and I've been feeding sparsely.

I think I need to lower the kH and gH before addressing the pH...?

Can anyone offer some advice? I have the chemistry articles and could mull over the science of it, but I thought someone might toss me a more 'lay' course of action. I will also do the search on the forum.

[SnakeIce]

iether find a source for water that is closer to what you want... some bottled waters would work though check them some are 'mineral' water and would still be quite hard


or buy a system that will reduce the mineral content of your water. an RO system or something like that

there is not much you can do to the water that is in your tank to make it more compatible for the usual comunity fish if the source is as hard as yours is

[NatakuTseng]

I wouldn't do a thing with the water chemistry, if the fish are healthy and your plants are doing well, don't mess with it. Your asking for problems if you start changing things. Yes you have a high pH, and hard water, but most fish can adjust to this just fine. First thing I would do is ask your local LFS what their water is, if its the same (or close to it) their fish will be acclimated to the water conditions of the area, and already acclimated to the pH and mineral content of the water. RO systems are not cheap, bottled water gets expensive, peat filtration will help for a little while, but your water will revert back, and chemicals are never a good idea in my own opinion.

[often dignified]

I have almost the exact same parameters.

What I have started to do is replace the tank water with R/O water during water changes. Walmart sells R/O drinking water for 50 cents a gallon...

I'm changing 1 gallon per week in my 10 gallon to keep the fish happy, and slowly lowering the hardness and lowering the pH w/o shocking the fish.

[Kanstar]

do peat, this fine man even went out of the trouble to put peat use to a perfection. http://hjem.get2net.dk/Best_of_the_Web/peat%20page.html

[anonapersona]

Unless you are trying to breed the fish.... why bother?

[Must4ng s4lly]

What kind of fish are you putting in the tank??? I live in Houston and have a mud district with really horrible hard water with all kinds of junk in it. I have almost every fish under the sun in my three tanks and no one cares about the hardness of the water. They are healthy and thriving. I treat the water with ammo lock as I put it in and that is it.... I have live plants so maybe that makes a diff??? Good luck and I think you will be fine!

[chunksofpoooo]

Im getting an African butterfly (as im sure a few of you know) next week, and i just had a few questions about gH, water chem, and the like.

My total hardness is about 200-250ppm (2 gH?), my total alkalinity is about 180ppm, and my pH is about a 7.2.

I bought the 5 in 1 test strips, they didnt tell me gH or kH, it just says total hardness.

are these peramiters ok for an african butterfly? I looked online and most of the sites said a hardness of about 3. Im getting the Fish from a local store that im presuming is on the same water system as my college (its within walking distance), so im guessing the fish should be able to acclimate.

thanks



ive noticed that everyone just posts a new thread whenever they have a question. you can thank me for not doing this by paying me $5...........im serious....

[JSchmidt]

ive noticed that everyone just posts a new thread whenever they have a question. you can thank me for not doing this by paying me $5...........im serious....

Actually, starting a new thread is good etiquette, as it prevents a thread from becoming 'hijacked' whereby the original question is never answered because people get distracted by later questions.

As far as the original question goes, I agree with anona and the others who ask: why mess with it if the fish are OK?

Jim

[RTR]

First rule of tank-keeping: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

In other words, I'm with Jim, anaona, et al.

[Seaman]

Yes like Jschmidt said know your forum etiquite......Here, chunk watch this.....


Posting 101 (http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/posting.php)

[delmore]

Keep the fish that you now, and continue using the hard tap water. As fish die off due to various reasons, replace with fish that like hard water. Of course quarantine new fish for at least a month.

Simple and easy!