KH and GH - chemistry advice please 👩‍🔬

CPDtank96 said:

Thanks so much for the advice

Am I right in thinking still bottled water still has dissolved minerals in it but just a lot less than my tap water? Do you still have to treat the water from a bottle or is it untreated because it isn’t tap water?

Thanks again for your help

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That's correct...way, way less than your tap water.
I suspect different brands have different mineral contents.
Stuff that is filtered through granite, such as most of the Welsh and Scottish waters, are the softest.
Stuff that goes through limestone, such as Buxton in the Peak District, will be harder.

I moved this lot in from the shed this morning.....Thursday's water changes....(the Nestle Life is for me and my coffee machine, not the fish)

wasmewasntit said:

I use bottled water in all 5 of my aquariums due to horrible tapwater

No treating required such as dechlorination....straight out the bottle.

Just make sure that the pH is the same....I use Highland Spring, Evian, Volvic and Buxton...not mixed in each aquarium but from the start used the one brand per aquarium

No hassles whatsoever with fish health or welfare, good growth, no issues with chemistry etc

Buy in bulk as its cheaper....currently my supplier is Asda.

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Thank you so much that’s a relief I’ll swap to this for now and buy in bulk can’t thank you enough for your advice

Do you just test your pH before adding Everytime to ensure it is the same?

Really glad the fish are healthy with this set-up as would be devastated if I made them unwell so better to make the change sooner rather than later !

wasmewasntit said:

I moved this lot in from the shed this morning.....Thursday's water changes....(the Nestle Life is for me and my coffee machine, not the fish)

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Oh my goodness you’ve got a warehouse of the stuff there!!!!!!! 10/10 fish keeping and don’t blame you getting your own supply can’t have only the fish tap water free

That's correct...way, way less than your tap water.

Bruce Leyland-Jones said:

I suspect different brands have different mineral contents.
Stuff that is filtered through granite, such as most of the Welsh and Scottish waters, are the softest.
Stuff that goes through limestone, such as Buxton in the Peak District, will be harder.

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Okay I will stick to one brand thanks for the heads up ! ️

Ah right okay assuming this is as granite doesn’t dissolve as readily into the water?

I assume if I read the labels I can differentiate the source for the water and then have a better ideal of the mineral content that’s so good to know

wasmewasntit said:

I moved this lot in from the shed this morning.....Thursday's water changes....(the Nestle Life is for me and my coffee machine, not the fish)

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How much did all that cost?

An RO system has one connection to a facet. Another to a drain, and then one hose to a container to stop RO water. This 50 gallon per day system cost $62. It comses with adaptors for a facet and then you run one hose to the sink drain and the other to a bucket to store your ROwater. depending on the size of your aquarium this RO system would probably pay for itself in about a year or two.

i don't have the RO system in that link but I do have a 20gallon per day system under my sink that I had before I got my small tank. I have about 3 gallons stored in pressurized tanks under my sink. I also have containers to store enough for about 2 or 3 water changes. I am thinking of upgrading to 20 gallons and for that I will probably get a bigger pressurized storage container

Bottled water bottles all have labels with their source and their pH etc, very easy to sort what you want.

My empties go out for recycling every fortnight, 6-7 tubs full, and the binmen collect without any issues/cost to me

wasmewasntit said:

Bottled water bottles all have labels with their source and their pH etc, very easy to sort what you want.

My empties go out for recycling every fortnight, 6-7 tubs full, and the binmen collect without any issues/cost to me

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@wasmewasntit so I’m looking at this bottled water and I’ve been checking the hardness and the ph - any idea which would be best or if any need to be avoided as attached

My fish live in the following parameters according to seriously fish

pH 6.5-7.5
Hardness 90-268ppm

I was thinking Buxton?

My aquariums were started on bottled water and every water change since has been the same label bottled water

Evian, Buxton, Highland Spring (2 aquariums) and Volvic

Across my aquariums I have mixed stockings......Danios, Cories, Blue Rams, Gold Rams, Apisto Red Throat Viejta, Cardinal Tetras, WCMMs, Platies, BNs, Honey Gouramies and Flame Tetras

All have thrived for tween 3 and 6 years on their bottled waters.....I don't mix the waters, I keep one label to each aquarium

By law in the UK all bottled waters must have their full make up & source label on them, so the best way to find your best match to your stock would be to read the labels and cross reference since you are going to be changing to bottled water after the aquarium is established...mine were on bottled water from day one of the cycle.

I spend around £30 a month on water for 50% water changes on 5 aquariums (around 35 litres per aquarium each water change) plus my many many frothy coffees and fruit/herbal teas.

RO units are out of the question due to living in a local authority owned flat...ie...I asked, they said "no"

wasmewasntit said:

RO units are out of the question due to living in a local authority owned flat...ie...I asked, they said "no"

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Mostunder sink RO systems require modifications to to pumping. apartment owners don't want to deal with leaks and problems due to bad RO nstallations.

The unit I linked to does not require any modification to the plumbing. and with a 50 gallon per day production rate you could hook it up to your sink run it overnight and then disconnect stand put it away in the morning. How would they ever know? Given the current exchange rate of the pound to the dollar using that RO system, using it twice would pay off the cost of all the bottled water you are buying.