Recently moved, now using well water

[ArkyLady]

I recently moved to a house in the country that uses well water and my water parameters have changed rather drastically and I'd like some advice on how I should handle the changes.

At the old house I had city water and it was very soft with a PH of around 6.8 and a KH that was basically nonexistent. The well water I'm using now has a PH of 7.8, a GH of 150ppm and a KH of 180ppm. While I'm very excited that I now finally have water with a KH that actually registers on the test strips, I'm a bit concerned about the PH and the hardness of the water .. especially considering that the only fish I currently have are tetras and a pleco.

The tetras have been in this water for over 2 months now and seem to be handling everything fine. I've only had one fatality and that was within the first day of the move, so I don't think it was caused from the water (I adjusted them as slowly as possible to the new water conditions). I am concerned about their long term well being in this high PH water as well as if I decide I'd like to get other fish that prefer a low PH.

Since they are doing fine so far, am I worrying about nothing? At least now I have a KH that should buffer the water better and keep things more stable. Should I be doing something to help lower the PH? In my old water I used crushed coral to help boost the PH and buffer (don't have that in there now of course), but I'm not sure what reliable measures could be taken to help lower the PH. I will not use those commercial PH products, so please don't recommend those

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated! On the brighter side, I am very excited about finally being able to setup that cichlid tank I always wanted without too much fussing with the water!

 

[RTR]

"if it ain't broke, don't fix it" - and I do agree with that strongly.

Your KH does mean moderately hard water/alkalinity which will be well buffered. Soft acid water is important for blackwater Tetras and other fish from the same waters for breeding purposes, not for maintenance. So, unless you are trying to breed these fish, ignore it.

Rift lake fish will do fine without additional minerals, of have for me at slightly lower KH. Wild-caught Rift lake specimens might need slight adjustments.

You may meet a bit of mineral creep on your coverglasses and tank rims that you did not have before. Not a big chore, just one you escaped previously.

Good Luck!

 

[Aquatick]

You'll be fine so no worries. Might want to check the ammonia levels regularily though. Had quite a few people who asked to have their well water tested for aquarium purposes and their ammonia levels were off the charts straight from the tap.

 

[MamaBarb]

ArkyLady - definitely keep an eye on the ph - I test 3x weekly since I had an incident with rain screwing up the ph on my well water. Also - I have a salt based softener system on my well water that helps alot with ph & kh - do you have one?

 

[ArkyLady]

Thanks for the replies!

RTR, that's what I've been thinking so far, the fish are healthy and doing well so leave it alone. Just wanted to make sure it wouldn't have any long term effects on the tetras.

Aquatick, so far I've seen no ammonia, hopefully it stays that way

MamaBarb, there is no filter as far as I know. Thanks for the heads up on the rain causing changes to the water, I had never considered that possibility. So far I've tested from the tap a few times and the tank a few times since living here and things have been consistent, but I think it may be a good idea to test the water from the tap each time before a water change to make sure things haven't changed too drastically.