Also I have no fish right now so that is why I am asking now before I get anymore. But from the sounds of it I should change out the water in the tank to remove the salt that I added?
The fish don't last?!?
- Thread starter potterboy1
- Start date
I don't think the salt necessarily killed your fish,but it is just not needed.
Ever test your well water parameters ?,then test your tank parameters?
As mm said I would up the water changes to weekly,and maybe test your parameters between changes to help guide you.
Ever test your well water parameters ?,then test your tank parameters?
As mm said I would up the water changes to weekly,and maybe test your parameters between changes to help guide you.
Reverse Osmosis - http://hometown.aol.com/mattgic/myhomepage/index.html - cool site for looking up the acromyns used here.
You add fish when the tank is cycled /ammonia- 0 ,nitrites 0,nitrates 0-20(10 is a very obtainable number).Tha ammonia and nitrites should stay at zero.If the nitrates go above 20 the water is becoming stale and polluted and is a breeding ground for bad bacteria and parasites.Fish tanks are very very small eco- systems.
Ph is another test to be done.Rocks with calcium will drive ph up ,wood will lower it.Wide range ia usually acceptable 6.5-8.4 but it is important that it remains stable from week to week.Fish do have preferences to ph,neons would not do good if the ph is too high.Research the fish always be fore buying them,
Ph is another test to be done.Rocks with calcium will drive ph up ,wood will lower it.Wide range ia usually acceptable 6.5-8.4 but it is important that it remains stable from week to week.Fish do have preferences to ph,neons would not do good if the ph is too high.Research the fish always be fore buying them,
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A water softener is built into the home's plumbing system. I know this because I have and use well water that passes through a softener. The softener should have no ill effects on your fish. Bypassing such a system is impossible.
try doing more water changes. you keep saying dip checker. i am guessing a test strip or something. get a liquid test kit like api master test kit. check your ammonia nitrate and nitrites.
No, I keep saying drop test kit. Although I only have the ammonia and nitirite test kits I am going to buy a ph test kit today.
If you have already cycled the tank, the ammonia and nitrite test shouldn't really be needed. (unless something is seriously wrong with the tank) Typically speaking, pH and nitrate are more important for a cycled tank. I don't remember if this was addressed or not, but petsmart recommends salt because it aids in preventing transmission of various illnesses between fish, as their entire system is connected to one central filter. (typically about 3000 gallons of water cycling through approx. 140 tanks, all going to one main filtration unit running on 3 3/4hp pumps.) They are also receiving fish on a weekly basis, on the order of 200-500 at a time, and these fish are VERY stressed when they first arrive, so they need to do everything they possibly can to protect their livestock. In the home aquaria, adding salt (especially as much as you were adding.. to treat ich you only need a teaspoon or so for every 5-10 gallons of water) is really unnecessary, and in excess can kill your fish. (disrupts their osmotic balance)
the statement of nitrates going above 20 = stale water and a breeding ground for bacteria and parasites..is simply not true.
while we strive to maintain clean tanks..nitrate readings are simply used as a 'barometer' for water changes. in planted tanks the nitrate readings may well reach 0(not good for a planted tank) in planted tanks..nitrates are added in the form of fertilizers. we try to reach 10-20 to keep the plants fed and the algae at bay.
actually what we are trying to remove with water changes are TDS(total dissolved solids) these are pollutants we cannot measure simply because the test equiptment to measure these is difficult to use and expensive..so we use nitrates as a 'barometer'
some water supplies have nitrates of 10-20 and the water is copmpletely safe to use(and consume)
