I have a tap water with high pH (approx. 8.0) and high carbonate hardness (180ppm) and currently keep a variety of Corys, plecos and geophagus. In a few weeks, these fish will move to a new set up with pH= 7.0 and Carbonate hardness of around 40-50). What methods would you suggest to make the transition and over what period of time would you do it?
Acclimation techniques wanted
- Thread starter Erik333
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Yes, I do. But its my understanding that the new water (essentially R/O water) will adapt to what you add it to. So if I add the RO water to my current tanks by water changes, it really won't alter the water chemistry and make a gradual change like I want it to. Not sure if anyone else out there can weigh in?
If you really want to know, get a cheap TDS meter ($20 on ebay) & gradually alter your water to match the new parameters. If you look up "osmotic shock" or the defunct "pH shock" you'll see what matters most: KH, GH & TDS (total dissolved solids), not pH. RO will dilute your parameters, less KH & GH, but sudden changes will harm your fish...slow changes are always safer, the longer timeframe the better.
What fish are you moving? Some are less susceptible to changes than others, wild-caught more than Asian pond-bred...for the most part, IME. Slow is best in all cases whether high to low or the other way.
Go slow, & good luck with your move!
What fish are you moving? Some are less susceptible to changes than others, wild-caught more than Asian pond-bred...for the most part, IME. Slow is best in all cases whether high to low or the other way.
Go slow, & good luck with your move!
Doing water changes will dilute your TDS levels with each water change. So if you have 180ppm TDS and you do a 50% water change with 0 ppm RO water then your resulting water will have a TDS of 90ppm. This will continue to dilute with each water change. It won't go back to 180 ppm unless you have something in the tank that is dissolving and contributing to TDS. Of course every time you feed your fish you contribute to TDS also. Which is why it is important to change water regularly.
So to make your transition the best thing is to just make regular water changes with your RO water.
So to make your transition the best thing is to just make regular water changes with your RO water.
Agreed.
Focus less on the pH, and figure out the GH/KH/TDS changes. As mentioned, doing water changes with the new water will dilute your current readings over time, so it would help to acclimate.
Depending on how low some of the levels actually are with the new water (technically true RO/DI would have much lower TDS, depending on the source), you might want to also think about reconstituting some things. For instance, while pH isn't quite the boondoggle people make it out to be, you still do not want it to crash because of a low KH. 40-50 ppm (~2-3 dkh) is about the absolute lower limit, so just keep that in mind.
Focus less on the pH, and figure out the GH/KH/TDS changes. As mentioned, doing water changes with the new water will dilute your current readings over time, so it would help to acclimate.
Depending on how low some of the levels actually are with the new water (technically true RO/DI would have much lower TDS, depending on the source), you might want to also think about reconstituting some things. For instance, while pH isn't quite the boondoggle people make it out to be, you still do not want it to crash because of a low KH. 40-50 ppm (~2-3 dkh) is about the absolute lower limit, so just keep that in mind.
Thanks for the input everyone. That sounds like a good plan. I have a few weeks before I am moving the fish into the larger aquarium so in the mean time, I will do some 25-30% water changes with RO water and just add it back in slowly, probably over the course of an hour or so (drip line probably).
Honestly, I wouldn't bother with the drip. Most freshwater fish are pretty adaptable. After all, in nature there are rainstorms which would alter the chemistry of the water fairly quickly. I think with a 25-30% change and the species you are dealing with, I would just dump it in (assuming relatively similar temps).
wren
wren
I dripped between two massively different ph levels and my pleco did not take it very well. Granted he was 6" at the time (9" now), but he made it just fine. Dripping between ph levels will harm the fish's slime coat/skin, is what I remember from my crazy experience.
