Im Going To Sccrrreeeeaaaaammmmmm.......

[zoeb2912]

could someone answer my questions please?


Is R.O water expensive?

Would I be able to keep my cories with cichlids?

How would I re-home my current fish if I was to change stock if they have problems?

Would I need to treat the cories if I decided to keep cichlids instead?

thanks x

 

[MBOU]

RO water is about £3.50 for 25L, you would only want to change it bit by bit to lower the hardness and ph. You would probably need to spend £3.50 - £7 every week or two for water changes.

Fish selection doesnt really matter at the moment, there is no point in changing anything until you can sort out he water or you will just end up having the same problems but with different fish.

Dont know what you are on about treating cories if you go for cichlids instead? Treat them for what and with what!?

 

[snazy]

Wouldn't peat in the filter work for lowering the Ph, rather than RO water?
Almond leaves to additionally soften it if you don't mind tannins. The almond leaves have antibacterial properties too and other stuff good for fish.

 

[thereverendturtle]

First, cories will not do well with most African cichlids.

Second, tap water contains CO2, which lowers the pH of the water, as its driven off and replaced by oxygen, the pH rises. Hence the 8,9,9.5.

Thirdly, you can get water softening "pillows" that go in your filter. These are usually rechargeable and need to be recharged every week or so. Peat and Indian almond leaves will also help, but stain the water the color of tea.

Lastly, at least here in the states, there seems to be a RO machine at every grocer and convenience store. Usually labeled with pure drinking water on the machine.

 

[zoeb2912]

RO water is about £3.50 for 25L, you would only want to change it bit by bit to lower the hardness and ph. You would probably need to spend £3.50 - £7 every week or two for water changes.

Fish selection doesnt really matter at the moment, there is no point in changing anything until you can sort out he water or you will just end up having the same problems but with different fish.

Dont know what you are on about treating cories if you go for cichlids instead? Treat them for what and with what!?

i meant if i was going to change the stock to cichlids and the cories would of been ok with them, would i of needed to treat the cories with medication before i added the cichlids to the tank.

Wouldn't peat in the filter work for lowering the Ph, rather than RO water?
Almond leaves to additionally soften it if you don't mind tannins. The almond leaves have antibacterial properties too and other stuff good for fish.

First, cories will not do well with most African cichlids.

Second, tap water contains CO2, which lowers the pH of the water, as its driven off and replaced by oxygen, the pH rises. Hence the 8,9,9.5.

Thirdly, you can get water softening "pillows" that go in your filter. These are usually rechargeable and need to be recharged every week or so. Peat and Indian almond leaves will also help, but stain the water the color of tea.

Lastly, at least here in the states, there seems to be a RO machine at every grocer and convenience store. Usually labeled with pure drinking water on the machine.

i dont really want to go with ro if i can get away with it.

do you know what these 'pillows are called?

i dont mind the water being stained with tannins. i quite like it.

i dont want the water to become too soft as my main aim was to keep show guppies.

 

[zoeb2912]

Bump........

 

[daz4321]

If treating the tank to lower its ph you will have issues with fish health. reason is that you add stuff to tank to lower ph, it does this slowly so after a week say your ph in the tank is 7.5 you then do your regular water change 50% problem is your tap water is high ph so as soon as you add it your ph in the tank goes up immediatly, big shock to fish, over the next week ph slowly lowers again due to you additives and then next week water change time and bang ph back up, you will have very high stress levels on your fish from this regular jump in ph, your best way is to either use ro mixed with some tap water to acheive the ph you want before adding to the tank then use this every week or get fish that do not mind being in high ph and get rid of what you cant keep. simples.

remember that gh and kh is more imprtant than ph anyway so its these you really want to avaoid changing too quickly.

 

[snazy]

I am not sure, I haven't used peat or almond leaves(though I have a pack) but you should start probably putting a little bit to see how much it will make a difference, and then increase or dicrease the ammount depending. It all depends on your particular type of water so it will be trial and error the first time. Start slow and then work it up till you get the desired result. As for almond leaves, I love tannins, wish the driftwood was still leaking some

What type of corys do you have? Most prefer the water on the soft side though home grown ones would be ok with harder water. Mine are in 7.4 with no problems.

As far as I am aware, lowering the Ph in terms of adding CO2 for example or certain off the shelf chemicals is no good because it doesn't change the mineral content of the water, which is what you need. I don't know anything about those "pillows in the filter" but you need something natural that changes the mineral content of the water like peat or almond leaves. Of course RO water will do the trick but is a lot more work I'd imagine and additional ammount of money.
As for the guppies, your water is still on the high side even for them. I'd add the almond leaves regardless of which way you go, because fish that are used of hard water will become succeptible to diseases in softer water and those are supposed to have natural antibacterial/antiseptic, etc.. properties though this is not exactly proven.

 

[zoeb2912]

If treating the tank to lower its ph you will have issues with fish health. reason is that you add stuff to tank to lower ph, it does this slowly so after a week say your ph in the tank is 7.5 you then do your regular water change 50% problem is your tap water is high ph so as soon as you add it your ph in the tank goes up immediatly, big shock to fish, over the next week ph slowly lowers again due to you additives and then next week water change time and bang ph back up, you will have very high stress levels on your fish from this regular jump in ph, your best way is to either use ro mixed with some tap water to acheive the ph you want before adding to the tank then use this every week or get fish that do not mind being in high ph and get rid of what you cant keep. simples.

remember that gh and kh is more imprtant than ph anyway so its these you really want to avaoid changing too quickly.

thanks

I am not sure, I haven't used peat or almond leaves(though I have a pack) but you should start probably putting a little bit to see how much it will make a difference, and then increase or dicrease the ammount depending. It all depends on your particular type of water so it will be trial and error the first time. Start slow and then work it up till you get the desired result. As for almond leaves, I love tannins, wish the driftwood was still leaking some

What type of corys do you have? Most prefer the water on the soft side though home grown ones would be ok with harder water. Mine are in 7.4 with no problems.

As far as I am aware, lowering the Ph in terms of adding CO2 for example or certain off the shelf chemicals is no good because it doesn't change the mineral content of the water, which is what you need. I don't know anything about those "pillows in the filter" but you need something natural that changes the mineral content of the water like peat or almond leaves. Of course RO water will do the trick but is a lot more work I'd imagine and additional ammount of money.
As for the guppies, your water is still on the high side even for them. I'd add the almond leaves regardless of which way you go, because fish that are used of hard water will become succeptible to diseases in softer water and those are supposed to have natural antibacterial/antiseptic, etc.. properties though this is not exactly proven.

I have pandas and false juliis, 5 of each.

I will buy some leaves and peat, but when I do a water change will it not shoot back up like the ph ups/downs?

 

[snazy]

If treating the tank to lower its ph you will have issues with fish health. reason is that you add stuff to tank to lower ph, it does this slowly so after a week say your ph in the tank is 7.5 you then do your regular water change 50% problem is your tap water is high ph so as soon as you add it your ph in the tank goes up immediatly, big shock to fish, over the next week ph slowly lowers again due to you additives and then next week water change time and bang ph back up, you will have very high stress levels on your fish from this regular jump in ph, your best way is to either use ro mixed with some tap water to acheive the ph you want before adding to the tank then use this every week or get fish that do not mind being in high ph and get rid of what you cant keep. simples.

remember that gh and kh is more imprtant than ph anyway so its these you really want to avaoid changing too quickly.

thanks

I am not sure, I haven't used peat or almond leaves(though I have a pack) but you should start probably putting a little bit to see how much it will make a difference, and then increase or dicrease the ammount depending. It all depends on your particular type of water so it will be trial and error the first time. Start slow and then work it up till you get the desired result. As for almond leaves, I love tannins, wish the driftwood was still leaking some

What type of corys do you have? Most prefer the water on the soft side though home grown ones would be ok with harder water. Mine are in 7.4 with no problems.

As far as I am aware, lowering the Ph in terms of adding CO2 for example or certain off the shelf chemicals is no good because it doesn't change the mineral content of the water, which is what you need. I don't know anything about those "pillows in the filter" but you need something natural that changes the mineral content of the water like peat or almond leaves. Of course RO water will do the trick but is a lot more work I'd imagine and additional ammount of money.
As for the guppies, your water is still on the high side even for them. I'd add the almond leaves regardless of which way you go, because fish that are used of hard water will become succeptible to diseases in softer water and those are supposed to have natural antibacterial/antiseptic, etc.. properties though this is not exactly proven.

I have pandas and false juliis, 5 of each.

I will buy some leaves and peat, but when I do a water change will it not shoot back up like the ph ups/downs?

Yes, it will, but you can do smaller water changes that don't have that much effect,adding it slowly as if you were acclimating them until you experiment how much tap water/tank water would have an effect on the Ph. Or you can just boil almond leaves, store the tea in something and then add it to the tap water before you pour it in the tank. Not sure how much conentration you would need with that hard water, but you can test I guess.. It's just something I would try.

The below is part of an article that will be useful for the peat method:

Some fish (e.g., discus, cardinal tetras, etc.) prefer soft water. Although they can survive in harder water, they are unlikely to breed in it. Thus, you may feel compelled to soften your water despite the hassle involved in doing so.
Typical home water softeners soften water using a technique known as ``ion exchange''. That is, they remove calcium and magnesium ions by replacing them with sodium ions. Although this does technically make water softer, most fish won't notice the difference. That is, fish that prefer soft water don't like sodium either, and for them such water softeners don't help at all. Thus, home water softeners are not an appropriate way to soften water for aquarium use.

Fish stores also market ``water softening pillows''. They use the same ion-exchange principle. One ``recharges'' the pillow by soaking it in a salt water solution, then places it in the tank where the sodium ions are released into the water and replaced by calcium and magnesium ions. After a few hours or days, the pillow (along with the calcium and magnesium) are removed, and the pillow recharged. The pillows sold in stores are too small to work well in practice, and shouldn't be used for the same reason cited above.

Peat moss softens water and reduces its hardness (GH). The most effective way to soften water via peat is to aerate water for 1-2 weeks in a bucket containing peat moss. For example, get a (plastic) bucket of the appropriate size. Then, get a large quantity of peat (a gallon or more), boil it (so that it sinks), stuff it in a pillow case, and place it in the water bucket. Use an air pump to aerate it. In 1-2 weeks, the water will be softer and more acidic. Use this aged water when making partial water changes on your tank.

Peat can be bought at pet shops, but it is expensive. It is much more cost-effective to buy it in bulk at a local gardening shop. Read labels carefully! You don't want to use peat containing fertilizers or other additives.

Although some folks place peat in the filters of their tanks, the technique has a number of drawbacks. First, peat clogs easily, so adding peat isn't always effective. Second, peat can be messy and may cloud the water in your tank. Third, the exact quantity of peat needed to effectively soften your water is difficult to estimate. Using the wrong amount results in the wrong water chemistry. Finally, when doing water changes, your tank's chemistry changes when new water is added (it has the wrong properties). Over the next few days, the chemistry changes as the peat takes effect. Using aged water helps ensure that the chemistry of your tank doesn't fluctuate while doing water changes.

 

[coolie]

Here's an idea, go down to Asda a buy 2 litre bottles of still water for 17p each, do a 20% water change (don't want to change the PH too much at once or the fish will stress)
Can't remember how big your tank is but for a 200 litre tank, that's only 20 bottles costing £3.40. A lot less than RO water or special equipment and easier than going to a reservoir (but you could always use the empty bottles to do that next time if you want). If you've got any plants and fancy experimenting, make one of the bottles sparkling water - same price 17p.

 

[DrRob]

Can't see that working all that well, most mineral waters are just that, mineral loaded. Even the cheap stuff is generally fairly hard.

 

[coolie]

It's filtered tap water - it was in all the papers about 3 weeks saying what a scam it was.

 

[ColR1948]

In cases like the above, just curious here, what do the fish shops do in that area seeing as the op is haveing problems, what do they use to keep their water stable?