Total newbie with some Qs! (new freshwater tank)

[carlyod]

Thanks again for all of the input!

I'm looking into RODI units right now...seems like Philly tap is WAYYYYY too hard. Yesterday my KH read between 7 and 8 but my GH was over 15. @myswtsins I very well might message you about that. I have nooo idea what I'm even looking for to be perfectly honest. Yet another thing that's going to require a lot of research!

In other news, my cycle seems to be moving along! Any thoughts about the actual readings on these? I swear it seems like the colors change depending on where I'm standing in my room (direct lighting in both places though).

 

[FreshyFresh]

Carly, welcome to the site and that's a nice looking setup you've got going. I'm totally confused by your GH and KG readings you stated above. 8-15 is extremely low as far as I know. I know my lake Erie municipal water is always a pH of 7.6 and my GH and KH are always in the lower 100 range. Let a sample of your tap water site out over night before you measure it. Also, and sorry if this has been mentioned, but MAKE SURE you're following the nitrate test instructions step by step. It won't read properly if you fail to do this. IMO, nitrates are kind of irrelevant until you have an established nitrogen cycle going.

 

[carlyod]

Carly, welcome to the site and that's a nice looking setup you've got going. I'm totally confused by your GH and KG readings you stated above. 8-15 is extremely low as far as I know. I know my lake Erie municipal water is always a pH of 7.6 and my GH and KH are always in the lower 100 range. Let a sample of your tap water site out over night before you measure it. Also, and sorry if this has been mentioned, but MAKE SURE you're following the nitrate test instructions step by step. It won't read properly if you fail to do this. IMO, nitrates are kind of irrelevant until you have an established nitrogen cycle going.

Sorry I realized I didn't put units in there! According to my kit, my KH is between 125.3 and 143.2 ppm. My GH went past the max on their conversion chart but was thus well over 214.8 ppm (the internet is telling me that the 15 drops mean it's about 250 ppm)

And thank you for mentioning the nitrate directions! I have been shaking the heck out of the second bottle as per instructions, etc. As you said, nitrates aren't super important *yet* I guess so I'm not going to worry about them too much until my nitrites begin to drop. Also have yet to do the tap water thing but I'm going to do that later this week when I have a moment (organic chemistry exam tomorrow RIP).

 

[carlyod]

My water situation is unique (I literally have not found one case like mine). So my pre-treatment wouldn't work for you. Since you have a higher pH than you want and ammonia and nitrates in your tap water there is one very clear answer....you know what it is....RO unit! It is a big investment, I get that. I struggled with the initial cost at first too but it is SO worth it. The way I look at it I don't miss that money I spent but I would miss my RODI unit! If you can't buy one now I'd advise you to find a local fish store (LFS) that sells RO water and use that while you save for your own unit. Prime water conditioner can take care of the ammonia but with 40 nitrates (if that's right) RO is the only sensible solution I know of, maybe someone else knows of something else? I recommend Air, Water & Ice and if you decide to go with them I can get you a small discount, just pm me. There are other good places for RODI units too though.

I don't think i've posted enough to be allowed to PM yet because I keep getting an error message when I try to! But I was looking at this filter from Air, Water, & Ice or this filter from Amazon. Lemme know if you know how to get past the PM restrictions!

 

[myswtsins]

Most of the time I see people reporting their hardness in degrees (like you did originally) not ppm. You say over 15 for GH, did you stop adding drops then?

The test kits takes some getting used to and even then I'm not 100% sure I or others are doing it exactly right or that these tests are even that accurate but anyway! I find the easiest way to read them is to have the sunlight behind you shining directly onto the vial. Also a daylight bulb vs. any other color temp makes ALL the difference. When using a non day-light bulb I thought my GH test kit didn't work cause you couldn't see it turn green, after the bulb change it is obvious. If you are using an API GH test kit it is also very helpful to look down through the top of the vial instead of from the side. You should not do any other tests like that though.

If you want to check your nitrate test/testing procedure etc. you can try testing some bottled water.

As far as which RO unit, I can't say for you. Personally I was looking at the mighty might originally but figured if I am spending that much I may as well spend a little more and get a big girl model. Ended up with the typhoon III and it has not disappointed, gets my TDS from 200+ to 3ppm without DI. If I was on a student budget though with a temporary situation (I assume you will not be staying at your current location for more then a few years?) I might just get a cheap model. Then again if you get a really good one now (like the typhoon/III), you will have it ...forever essentially! But sometimes the most economical (like buying the best to begin with instead of buying junk now and still getting the best later) or "right" way to do something isn't always the way we CAN do things. But even a cheap RO unit is a better choice then trying all the other ways to fight with your water so you'd be head of the game no matter which unit you get.

I'll try PM'ing you.

 

[myswtsins]

BTW If you go with anything off amazon (or anywhere else!), have you heard of honey? I just started using it a couple months ago but it is really neat. Saves me money, shows me better deals and it really is free! lol Honey showed me that you could save almost $5 on that unit you linked (without prime shipping though). If you decide to sign up with honey please use this referral link and I'll get...something, can't remember what though, points or cash or something. lol joinhoney.com/ref/flwwdq