Filtering tap water

[Stormyrose786]

Hello. I wasn't sure where to post this, hope this is okay. I need advice about filtering tap water.

But first, I want to mention that yes, I know about RO water, but that is not an option for me at the moment. I really hope someone who has either dealt with this before or knows about it can help me.

So here's the thing. I have always used filtered tap water (for years) to do water changes. And I treated the water before adding it. But we had a faucet filter. And now we don't.

I live with my uncle. He bought a Brita water pitcher, & I was using that. But it's small, & it takes 9 hours - literally - to change out a total of 12 gallons. I can't keep doing that. So I decided to get a 2nd pitcher to cut the time down. I looked at 3, & they all do different things (I had thought they were all the same.). I have read that they don't really do anything much for the water, but each of these pitchers say they filter out different things, including certain heavy metals.

So the 3 brands I looked at are Brita, Pur, & Great Value (Walmart brand). If anyone has any advice on these, I would really appreciate it.

On the other hand, I wondered if a filter pitcher was even necessary. I always treat the water before adding it to my tank. And I have tested it (using liquid tests). No Nitrites, Nitrates, or Ammonia. KH, Gh, & pH are a little high, but I can adjust those. With the pitcher, those 3 do go down a little. And of course, I have filters in both aquariums. So do I even need to filter my tap water before adding it to the tank? I would still treat it, of course. Or is filtering better?

As a side note, I looked at the python style thing to change water, but I still don't know if using my tap water is okay. One more thing, there is built up lime in the pipes., which is why we started filtering to begin with.

Sorry this is so long...final note -

I have Guppies, Tetras (not Neons), Mollies, Cories, a loach, & a snail.

Any help is greatly appreciated! And sooner is better, thanks ☺

 

[NannaLou]

I use straight tap water (treated for chlorine etc.) in my tank without filtering. My water is hard (16dH) but I just choose fish that like that type of water. I also have a smaller tank with a Betta in it and have to mix my tap water 50/50 with RO water as I didn’t know anything about water hardness when I bought him.

 

[Stormyrose786]

I use straight tap water (treated for chlorine etc.) in my tank without filtering. My water is hard (16dH) but I just choose fish that like that type of water. I also have a smaller tank with a Betta in it and have to mix my tap water 50/50 with RO water as I didn’t know anything about water hardness when I bought him.

Hi ☺ I had to mix mine, too, a couple years ago, because of the hardness, when I was getting a new tank going. But now that they are established, I just go by what the tests show to see how much to change out & what to use. But...whereas I used to have decent parameters, for a while now, I have had low KH & high GH...so I haven't figured out the best way to deal with that yet, or why it's like this now, when it wasn't before. My other parameters are usually good, but my nitrites do go up sometimes, due to my uncle overfeeding whenever I'm away a couple nights.

Anyway, I usually just change out with filtered tap water to bring the KH up, & then use a water softener pillow to bring the GH down. But last week, in my 10g, KH was extremely low, & pH was, too. GH was normal. I did a few water changes to get the KH & pH back up, but last was last Wednesday, & I can't do them again til this Wednesday. And later today is when I was considering getting another pitcher.

But thank you for your reply. I keep thinking my tap water might be okay, since my water conditioner is for chlorine, chloramine, & heavy metals, but the idea of the lime stops me. And I can't find out if that matters or not.

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Guppies, mollies and snails do best in hard water with lots of minerals.
Most tetras, loaches and Corydoras catfish do best in soft water with few minerals.

Ideally you want 2 tanks, one for the guppies and mollies and use tap water on the guppy tank. The other tank can have the soft water fishes and you can look into distilled or rain water mixed 50/50 with tap water.

-------------------
Most water filters like the Brita, only remove some chemicals and heavy metals. They do not remove minerals like calcium and magnesium. You need to distill or use a reverse osmosis unit to get rid of the minerals.

Ion exchange units fitted to taps swap the magnesium and calcium ions for sodium ions to soften water. Unfortunately sodium is bad for soft water fishes like tetras, loaches and cories.

If you have chlorine or chloramine in your tap water, and no heavy metals, then just use a dechlorinator to neutralise the chlorine/ chloramine and use the tap water as is (but dechlorinated).

 

[itiwhetu]

What are the parameters of your tap water? I would have said don't bother with the filters.

 

[Stormyrose786]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Guppies, mollies and snails do best in hard water with lots of minerals.
Most tetras, loaches and Corydoras catfish do best in soft water with few minerals.

Ideally you want 2 tanks, one for the guppies and mollies and use tap water on the guppy tank. The other tank can have the soft water fishes and you can look into distilled or rain water mixed 50/50 with tap water.

-------------------
Most water filters like the Brita, only remove some chemicals and heavy metals. They do not remove minerals like calcium and magnesium. You need to distill or use a reverse osmosis unit to get rid of the minerals.

Ion exchange units fitted to taps swap the magnesium and calcium ions for sodium ions to soften water. Unfortunately sodium is bad for soft water fishes like tetras, loaches and cories.

If you have chlorine or chloramine in your tap water, and no heavy metals, then just use a dechlorinator to neutralise the chlorine/ chloramine and use the tap water as is (but dechlorinated).

Thanks for the info & advice ☺

 

[Stormyrose786]

What are the parameters of your tap water? I would have said don't bother with the filters.

I don't remember exactly, & I'm not at home. But I think pH was 7.6, & KH & GH weren't extremely high, but higher than I would like.

And like I said, 0 Nitrites, 0 Nitrates, & 0 Ammonia.

 

[itiwhetu]

I don't remember exactly, & I'm not at home. But I think pH was 7.6, & KH & GH weren't extremely high, but higher than I would like.

And like I said, 0 Nitrites, 0 Nitrates, & 0 Ammonia.

pH will usually be above 7 coming from a town supply.

 

[Stormyrose786]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Guppies, mollies and snails do best in hard water with lots of minerals.
Most tetras, loaches and Corydoras catfish do best in soft water with few minerals.

Ideally you want 2 tanks, one for the guppies and mollies and use tap water on the guppy tank. The other tank can have the soft water fishes and you can look into distilled or rain water mixed 50/50 with tap water.

-------------------
Most water filters like the Brita, only remove some chemicals and heavy metals. They do not remove minerals like calcium and magnesium. You need to distill or use a reverse osmosis unit to get rid of the minerals.

Ion exchange units fitted to taps swap the magnesium and calcium ions for sodium ions to soften water. Unfortunately sodium is bad for soft water fishes like tetras, loaches and cories.

If you have chlorine or chloramine in your tap water, and no heavy metals, then just use a dechlorinator to neutralise the chlorine/ chloramine and use the tap water as is (but dechlorinated).

And as for heavy metals, I don't think there are any. I was sent a link on information on the water, but I don't think it's the right one. It does not mention heavy metals, but does other things

I read that if you use hot water, then you have copper in the water...but I actually just heated up cold water last week, because for some reason, in the pitcher, it made a difference in the pH, GH, & KH when I used hot & cold water mixed - I can't remember the exact numbers - the list is at home.

Anyway, the only thing I know of for sure is the lime in the pipes, & Idk anything about that.

 

[Stormyrose786]

pH will usually be above 7 coming from a town supply.

Okay.

It was strange to me that it was lower when filtered, & that the hardness was also lower, because the faucet filter did not change those numbers. With the faucet filter, those 3 were the same as the plain tap water.

 

[Colin_T]

I read that if you use hot water, then you have copper in the water...

If you have a hot water storage system, then you can get copper readings from the hot water. However, if the hot water is used regularly throughout the day, then it won't have a lot of copper in it.

If you have instant hot water (like instant gas), then you won't have copper in the water.

The hot water storage systems get copper because the water is hotter and sits in the pipes for longer. This allows copper to slowly leach out of the pipes and into the water.

 

[AbbeysDad]

As others have mentioned, it sounds to me that you can just use tap water of the appropriate temperature and conditioned as/if necessary for chlorine/chloramine.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Agreed with others. As long as your hardness and pH are OK for the fish you're keeping, just use conditioned tap water.

 

[Stormyrose786]

If you have a hot water storage system, then you can get copper readings from the hot water. However, if the hot water is used regularly throughout the day, then it won't have a lot of copper in it.

If you have instant hot water (like instant gas), then you won't have copper in the water.

The hot water storage systems get copper because the water is hotter and sits in the pipes for longer. This allows copper to slowly leach out of the pipes and into the water.

Oh, okay, thanks, didn't know that ☺

 

[Stormyrose786]

As others have mentioned, it sounds to me that you can just use tap water of the appropriate temperature and conditioned as/if necessary for chlorine/chloramine.

Okay, thanks ☺