I decided to get an API liqiud test kit to test my GH myself. I wanted to make sure of my results before posting so I tested 3 times. It took 8 drops which means it's 143.2 ppm. My Kh is 71.6 ppm. This is different than the water department said from what I gather. But, the results were very clear each time. So, is this going to be ok for live bearers like my platy and swordtail? Thanks you all for your help!
Help all my platys are dying!
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First on the livebearers, no, this is not hard enough. GH at 143 ppm (equivalent to 8 dGH) is moderately soft to give it a subjective term, but think on the soft water side for suitable fish.
The API is easier for me to remember by counting the drops, as each drop is 1 dGH. So 8 drops is 8 dGH (or sometimes seen as 8 dH). To convert between ppm and degrees, use 17.9, multiplying dGH by 17.9 or dividing ppm by 17.9 to have dGH. Same holds for KH.
With the API test, as soon as the green tint appears, you are at the drop limit. Some people think the first change is rather pale, and add another drop or two to make it obvious; as soon as the orange changes to seem greenish, that is your number.
Did you test the tap water alone, or water from the aquarium? This is following up on the slight variance in GH.
Sorry to keep posting but wanted to add that I have had aquariums with this water in the past and have had a lot of luck with angelfish and plecos. But, this tank is too small for angelfish and I really want platys...can I do anything to make this water work?
Yes, test the tap water. Let's see if it is closer to the city's 5.6 mentioned earlier.
As I said back a few posts, soft water species will be fine in this water, so the angelfish and plecos were naturally OK, as far as parameters.
Let's get the numbers pinned down before we consider adjusting parameters, which obviously can be done but it is complex because as soon as you start messing with water parameter adjustments there are other related factors in water chemistry, and you may need to prepare the water at water changes, which can get expensive.
I cannot explain a difference in the source water, I suppose there are factors that could do this. My main idea was pinning down the tap water going into the tank. Had this been much lower, and the tank water much higher, it might have been due to calcareous material in the tank. But that is not the case, and you can take the water as being moderately soft to soft.
ok, I really like platys but dont want to get into the expense of altering the GH I guess. Ive put alot of money into this already. If I can rehome the platy and swordtail what would you recommend for my tank? Its too small for angels. Its a 20 gal tall and I would like fish that are going to be relatively easy and hardy. How about female bettas like 3 or 4? There are alot of hiding places etc. Do you have any suggestions?
The tank is not sufficient space for the swordtail anyway, so he has to be rehomed. The platies, say four or five, would be OK with harder water.
Now that we have the GH/pH sorted out, I will mention the two ways to increase these in the tank, so you know. One is by purchasing the mineral salts; rift lake salts are the sort of thing you want. The rift lakes in East Africa have moderately hard water and the cichlids are popular fish. The salts are the salts of calcium and magnesium primarily, not to be confused with common salt which is sodium chloride; no freshwater fish can permanently manage with sodium chloride. But you need to prepare the water with these salts at each water change. Emergency water changes can happen, and this is another aspect to keep in mind. A 20g tank is not very large, so this is not that onerous, but it is an ongoing expense.
The second method is to change the substrate to a calcareous sand composed of aragonite or dolomite. Again you do not want the marine sands with sodium chloride, but there are calcareous sand substrates with no salt. These slowly dissolve in the water, raising GH and pH; the pH especially can go very high. I've not experimented with this, and I do not know how much the GH might actually increase, and that is the critical aspect. I do know that very little of this sand can send the pH soaring.
If you decide to stay with the source water you have, which I do honestly recommend at least for the present as it makes life much easier and fish care is easier, there are a number of fish species suited. You would want to avoid active swimmers as they tend to need more space. Many of the tetras will work; there are some lovely red species like the Red Phantom Tetra, or more mauve like the Rosy and Ornate Tetras. The Ember Tetra is small, and reddish-orange. Neon tetra and cardinal tetra are certainly bright colour. A group of cory catfish perhaps? A whiptail catfish for interest? Some of the pencilfish species; the smaller hatchetfish like the Marble? Honey Gourami, a trio? The rasboras like the Harlequin?
You are most welcome. As you find fish you might like, run the idea past this forum. It is better to learn the risks first and avoid the loss of fish, something we have all probably experienced and learned from.
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