Finally did full test on my water.

[Sky042]

Gouramis tank(est 1week)

PH 7.0
KH/Alkalinity 80ppm
GH/Total Hardness 120 PPM
Ammonia <0.5(registers a color change but not enough to even match the .5-1)
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20ppm

Oscar Tank(est 2 months though suffering from total filter failure 1 week ago)
PH 7.2
KH/Alkalinity 80ppm
GH 250ppm
Ammonia 0
Nitrite .5
Nitrate 40


I'm a kinda concerned about the water hardness. and my plans for a large community tank. Should I throw a softener pad in the new tank or not worry about it?

Also the oscar tank is cloudy right now and I can't figure out why. Almost looks like small particulates blowing around in the water. Could it be a bacteria bloom from the regrowth after the filter failure?

Also any opinions on what I might need to change based on these readings.
Thanks

 

[Sky042]

bueller???

 

[Sky042]

Should I have posted this somewhere else like a different forum on this board?

 

[Mesome]

Hi Sky,
I would guess that the cloudiness is indeed a bacteria bloom, but keep an eye on it!

I don't know about the rest, but I hope someone who does responds to you!

 

[pendragon]

bueller???

Save Ferris! What a great movie.

I don't really feel sufficiently confident in my water hardness knowledge to say much on the issue. Water hardness is typically one of the lesser parameters we worry ourselves with, but that's not to say it's unimportant altogether. Although generally I think harness is like pH in the sense that it is better for your fish to adjust to it than to undertake the risks of playing chemist. I think placing peat in your filter has a prolific softening effect, if that's what you need, but the downside is it makes your water dingy and boggy-looking, unless you go to a lot of measure to avoid it. There is a method in which you use peat-in-a-package and an airstone in a bucket of tank water for a few days, and then soften the aquarium water by adding the bucket water to it. Maybe someone with more experience will weigh in on this topic.

As for the particulate-looking stuff in the water, if you have a good filter the mechanical filtration should take care of particulate matter given enough time. Are you certain this couldn't be very, very small bubbles created by the water return from your filter? When I first setup my tank, I couldn't figure out why the water looked "cloudy" on the side of the tank my power filter was on. It looked like tons of dust or other particular matter suspended in the water. I fretted about it for several days, wondering why the filter didn't get it out, then one day I needed to switch the filter off for a bit, and I saw all the "particles" float to the top and dissapear. It then dawned on me that the "particles" were just very fine bubbles created by the filter's water return.

pendragon!

 

[Sky042]

bueller???

Save Ferris! What a great movie.

I don't really feel sufficiently confident in my water hardness knowledge to say much on the issue. Water hardness is typically one of the lesser parameters we worry ourselves with, but that's not to say it's unimportant altogether. Although generally I think harness is like pH in the sense that it is better for your fish to adjust to it than to undertake the risks of playing chemist. I think placing peat in your filter has a prolific softening effect, if that's what you need, but the downside is it makes your water dingy and boggy-looking, unless you go to a lot of measure to avoid it. There is a method in which you use peat-in-a-package and an airstone in a bucket of tank water for a few days, and then soften the aquarium water by adding the bucket water to it. Maybe someone with more experience will weigh in on this topic.

As for the particulate-looking stuff in the water, if you have a good filter the mechanical filtration should take care of particulate matter given enough time. Are you certain this couldn't be very, very small bubbles created by the water return from your filter? When I first setup my tank, I couldn't figure out why the water looked "cloudy" on the side of the tank my power filter was on. It looked like tons of dust or other particular matter suspended in the water. I fretted about it for several days, wondering why the filter didn't get it out, then one day I needed to switch the filter off for a bit, and I saw all the "particles" float to the top and dissapear. It then dawned on me that the "particles" were just very fine bubbles created by the filter's water return.

pendragon!

It's not bubbles. this tank has been running for about 2 months now. it just showed up the other day about a week after the old filter failed and I replaced it. I have a second tank with the same filtration system and it doesn't develop air bubbles like that.

I guess I'll just do another water change on it tomorrow and see if things clear up. based on the chemistry the water shouldn't be negatively affecting the fish.

 

[Bol]

Not sure about the particles, but a water change can't hurt.

As for your chemistry, your KH (and GH) in the gourami tank -- I assume that's the community tank -- are nearly ideal. However, with a KH of roughly 4.5 degrees, I would thiink that your pH should be closer to around 7.6. Do you happen to have any driftwood in that tank, or perhaps something else that may be releasing acids?

 

[Sky042]

Not sure about the particles, but a water change can't hurt.

As for your chemistry, your KH (and GH) in the gourami tank -- I assume that's the community tank -- are nearly ideal. However, with a KH of roughly 4.5 degrees, I would thiink that your pH should be closer to around 7.6. Do you happen to have any driftwood in that tank, or perhaps something else that may be releasing acids?

the gouramis is just a 5g hex with only two gouramis in it. I don't have another other than the fish and a few plants. The gouramis water is nearly identical to what comes out of my tap. I haven't added anything I can think of that could have adjusted the PH. Though the test strips I'm using for total hardness aren't extremely accurate. they're color based but go from 50 to 120 to 250 in those steps. and my GH test from API I can't seem to get a reading on so I think the liquid has expried and is no longer reacting.