Water treatment when changing water

C

cambro

AC Members
Nov 7, 2004
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What kind of water do you guys use for water changes? And what do you do to treat that water before putting it in your tank?

I have been using tap water, but we are on a well. I check the pH before adding it to the tank and use pH Up or Down depending to treat the water before adding it to the tank. Our pH seemed to go way down in summer and is back up with the cooler weather. Is that normal? I have not been very careful about KH but know there are white deposits on the hood and filter, so I'm sure the water is pretty hard. I also add a conditioner to the water before adding it to the tank.

I have really been enjoying the forum here and am getting pumped up about our fish again. I get frustrated because I have SO many stupid questions that I don't feel get full attention by the staff at the LFS (maybe I don't know what to ask). I am not very confident - it seems like every time I clean the tank someone gets sick and dies! So, I muddle through and hope for the best. My fish deserve better! So any and all help is appreciated! Thanks.
 
What I do when changing water is just that, I change part of the water. Adding chemicals to the tap water without knowing what your KH is and whether or not you are getting stability for your addition is not the best practice. If you water changes seasonally, is it due to dissolved gases or real change in the KH? Have you tested the pH after letting a bowl sit out overnight? You are likely to get a different reading after aging if it is dissolved gas. (Note: I do age my water before use, but water normally has chlorine added and aging with circulation allows that to off-gas).

If you have post water change/tank cleaning problms, either your treated water is not stable, or you may have a problem with the way you are doing the cleaning. Could you sort of briefly describe what you do for cleaning and how often? If you have pH, KH, and nitrate test kits, any readings you get (before and after) would be helpful also.
 
The quick and easy way

My fish have adapted to my tap water and its fairly high PH but i dont think they mind i lower it somtimes

but while doing i change i stick an extra heater in and drop in the conditionerand just put the hose straght into my tank.
i dont mix or do anything to the water prior to it going into my tank.

SubH8U
 
Thanks RTR I actually do have a bucket of water sitting out. After reading a few forums I decided to try letting it sit out overnight. The PH is pretty high (7.6?) so I put a little ph down into. Does letting it sit out lower the KH? It all seems so confusing! I don't know if I'm making it harder than it is or what.

I'm afraid before when I would clearn the tank and I was siphoning water out of the tank and vacuuming the gravel i was not very gentle. I thought I had to keep the tube moving back and forth in order for it to work, so I stirred up quite a bit of junk. In the last week I've done a couple of water changes and I have been a lot more gentle and have hardly stirred up much at all - and other than my pl*co bloating up like a balloon I haven't lost anyone yet. I'll do another change tomorrow night. I'll keep a record of my ph while I'm at it.

Thanks for the input!
 
No, "aging" water does not affect the KH, but it may well affect the pH. Water from deep wells in rocky areas may have lots of disolved gas, very frequently CO2, which lowers the pH of the water while it is present. Aging allows the water to off-gas (the gas equalizes with the air above the water) frequently raises the pH due to loss of CO2.

Vacuuming shold remove much more than it stirs up into the water column - I'm glad you are catching on to the technique, it is not hard or so many of us would not preach it all the time - but like most things, there is a technique to it. I promise it is much easier than roller skating or bike riding... ;)

There is nothing wrong with a pH of 7.6, especially if it is stable. Believe it or not, fish don't care much about pH. For breeding purposes, certain fish eggs care a lot about TDS (total dissolved solids) but not pH. Very soft waters in nature are very low TDS and also low pH. Adding chemicals to reduce pH generally increases TDS, not lowers it. The figures given that this or the other fish "needs" soft acid water refer to breeding conditions for certain blackwater fish - it has little or nothing to do with the fish having a long and healthy life in moderate to hard high TDS water. You just can't breed them there. But you cannot breed them in chemically treated water either - the TDS is too high.

BTW, my water is moderately hard (GH) and alkaline (pH and KH). I do lots of schools of blackwater Tetras without any problems and they live far longer than they do in the wild, despite my "bad" water.
 
First thing I'd do is throw out those bottles of pH Up and pH Down. They generally do more harm then good. They cause pH swings and add unnecessary chemicals to the water, which can affect the osmottic pressure for the fish. A stable pH is *far* more important than a specified target value.

Most pH values that are considered "acceptable" refer to the conditions in the wild, or if you are buying wild caught fish. Most fish you buy are farm raised and have already been acclimated (somewhat) to your pH if your petstore is on the same water system as you.

As for what I do...I add dechlor and add the water to the tank:)
 
Keep it simple. I agree with Leoapardess. Don't sweat the ph. I was worried about ph, when I read up on fish and saw how they all preferred different ph values. All my fish that 'prefer' different ph levels are thriving in the same water. My ph is a steady 7.5. Add dechlorinator and go with the flow. You'll have other things to worry about lol.

On well water, you may not need dechlorinator if there is no chlorine or chloramine added. But, you still might want to use a 'stress coat' protective coating for the fish, whis is part of the dechlorinator. (read labels)
 
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My pH has been really low in my Q tank lately. Do you all know what could cause it? It was a hamster cage at one time, the guy who gave it to me said, so I gave it a good rinsing out.

I lost a male cherry barb and two otto cats to it! :sad

I've tried adding buffer since there are no plants in the tank (just in case of ick or whatnot). After doing a significant water change and using water from my main time, I added pH buffer again and then all of the fish started acting as if hellbent on escaping through the sides of the glass. Was it because of a change in pH?

Btw, when I did the water change I used a razor to scrape the entire inside besides the seals. Then I used a sponge to scrub it. Would this be best thing to do if they ever used Lysol or any type of disinfectant to clean the tank b4 it was given to me?
 
Thanks everyone! I guess I can relax a little! I'll just put the water out to age a day or so before doing a water change and see how it goes! Have a good weekend everyone!
 
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