HELP..Ready To Give Up

[twoods54]

Hi Everyone, :hi:

I'm new to this site and new to having fish as pets. A few months ago I had a bad experience with my 10 gallon tank. Due to being clueless of the correct way of doing things and a high amount of amonia in the water unfortunately my fish died,I was so bummed out. :sad: That was all it took to motivate me to try to learn as much as I could about preparing a tank, cycling and doing things the right way this time.

Well this time I have a new 15 gallon tank along with my 10 gallon tank to prepare to do a fishless cyle on. I read it is a good idea to test your tap water before filling the tank. To my utter shock I found that my tap water (well water) sucks ! The 5 in 1 strip and the amonia test strips all registered off the charts, high in every category. I feel as if I am domed before I even begin, I'm so discouraged and frustrated I have thought of throwing in the towel and giving up, I really don't want to do that.

I can't see spending every day a slave to all the different chemical tests and than having to constantly adjust the different levels ug.... I would love to at least have a somewhat normal water to start with. I have read about r/o which sounds like it can be very costly so I don't want to go that rout. I read that distilled water or spring water are sometimes used, but it didn't say anything more about it.

I'm hoping someone out there can advise me about how this would work. :look: To me it sounds like a perfect solution to my problem. I know this too would be a expense with all the water changes and all, but at least my fish would live this time. :dive: Please advise me what to do, throw in the towel or go with the bottled water. I thank you in advance for any advice your kind enough to share with me.

Frustrated but Ready To Go

:help:
Terry

 

[BucJason]

Well since it's 10 gallon tank you may be able to afford using bottled water. If you keep your tank somewhat understocked, you would be fine with a 20% -25% water change once every two weeks. That would mean you only need to buy 4 or 5 gallons a month. Not too bad, but it's up to you and how much you're willing to spend.

By the way, I'm sure someone will contradict me and say you need more water changes than that, but remember 95% of people overstock thier tanks. From my expierence you don't need that many if your tank is understocked.

 

[jason2894]

well i overstock my tank but i do it on purpose it helps me keep aggression levels at bay . but anyway i would also suggest that u may wanna invest in a good quality master test kit bigalsonline offers a very good master test kit for about 15 or 16 dollars very easy to use and alot more accurate than the 5 in 1 test strips. i am not sure what ur test strips test for the ones i would be concerned with are ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite. unless ur water is extremely hard most fish will adapt to higher levels of pH without any problems. dont get to discouraged my buddy has horrible well water and he keeps tropical fish with great success.

 

[kjf91004]

Firstly, those 5 in one strips are really undependable for results. I would reccomend getting a kit for testing. Even the cheapest one you can find would be lots better than those strips.

Secondly, fish need stability. Even of your water is awful, odds are that once aclimated to it, the fish will be fine. At the worst, you could end up mixing 50/50 with purchased water. When you do get a test kit, and it still tests bad, try aging your water (let it sit out for at least 24 hours.) Sometimes the parameters will come back into check.

So, get a liquid test kit, and post your parameters... there are lots of knowledgeable people around here willing to help! Keep reading... there is lots of great info around here... keep learning.

You can do this, and we are willing to help! You have come to the right place!

 

[DebbyS]

Rather than using tap water or carrying bottled water home on the bus, I use Brita-filtered water. Similar filters would probably do a good job, too. I figure if I drink it, it's okay for my fish to live in it.

 

[desertgoldhound]

OK I have your solution. Send me your current equipment and I will send you some water.....OK OK NOT A GOOD SULUTION.

Those test kits realy are no good. I bought some for an emergancy and found they read off the charts and ended up doing water changes twice a day untill I figured out the problem. If they have ever gotten damp thay will do this. Before you go out and buy a test kit take you well water to a LFS and have them test it for you. If it is high you may have another sollution.

Find a friend that lives in a different area or in the city and test their water. If this water is any better buy it from them for pennies on the gallon. I have had this problem before and found there was a place that gave free water for RV's I got my water from them for free. I had over 2000 gallons worth of tanks at the time becouse of the breeding I was doing. I did 25% a week at the time. I simply carried a 100gal a trip home with me in my 1ton pickup. Being that you only have 25g total the most you would need is 12.5g after the cycle was done.

The bennifit of your water now is in the cycle. You could do a fishless cycle without buying the amonia see its not all bad.

 

[Daudzegier]

Another word on ageing your water, if you do a water change, and then get a trash can with a lid, shove an airstone in it, and let it bubble in your closet with the lid on it so nothing gets in that is even better, just cut a whole or two in the lid so the air has ample enough space to get out. Pumping air into the water that you will be useing to add to your tank will help age it faster, and remove most of your impuritys out of the water, most people do this just a couple of days before they change thier water. I would, in your position though, would start bubbling a NEW TRASH CAN FROM TARGET THAT YOU NEWLY PURCHASE FOR THIS PURPOSE, as soon as you are done with the water that was in it. Get it bubbling as long as you can before you use it.