Is there something I can do to the water to make it harder?
When I test the water in the goldfish tank with the same strips I used today for the tap water, the GH reading is always at the maximum colour end of the strip, at 180mg/L (although I never know what it really is, because it could be even higher). The straight tap water today, with exactly the same type of strip, read 0 GH, or barely over 0. KH is always either 0 or 40mg/L or somewhere in between.
When I first went to my local aquarium to set up the little 20L aquarium, they gave me water conditioner crystals & water conditioner drops. Could the crystals be making the soft water hard?
The water conditioner crystals are "Show Master" and are packed locally. The pack doesn't say what they actually are, and simply says they "assist in adjusting clean tap water to make the water condition as natural as possible for fish and plants". It says it doesn't remove chlorine, should be used every time water is added or changed, and "assists in preventing sickness and disease".
A bit of a Google lead me to a handful of conversations, some of them saying this kind of water crystal is used to raise GH.
I don't know the product mentioned, but it seems likely it is doing things. That begs the question, just what is it doing. This may not be beneficial to the fish, but could be detrimental.
The safe way to increase hardness is by using a substrate composed of calcareous mineral. Calcium and magnesium are the minerals involved, and I have used dolomite and aragonite, which contain both. This is OK when the GH and pH can be high without worries, as with livebearers (my mollies thrived for years with dolomite) but any soft water preferring fish will have issues (like the cories mentioned below) depending upon how hard it gets. This method lasts for years, as the substrate very slowly dissolves calcium and magnesium into the water. I don't know how long exactly, but I did this for I guess 5-6 years with no lessening in the effectiveness.
You can also use chemicals/substances specifically intended to increase GH, KH and pH. It is critical to have all three covered. I've never done this, as it is very expensive long-term, the substrate method worked for a couple tanks for that period, and I have since stayed with fish suited to my tap water.
I can say that this is a significant concern, when you start adjusting parameters. You need to do regular (weekly) water changes of 50% or so. But there may occur times when you need multiple major water changes; at the first sign of a problem, a major water change is usually helpful, and there can be situations where you need multiple such changes. Having to pre-mix water is not that easy.
It really is a better option, especially as this is a relatively new adventure (tropical aquarium), to select fish that will thrive in your tap water. Later, another tank may be the time to start experimenting. And there are so many extraordinary soft water species. Many members on here who are burdened with fairly hard water will lament the fact. I know I would; my fishroom of 8 planted tanks full of wild-caught fish from SA and a few from SE Asia would only be wishful thinking if I had to fuss with water adjustment.
I'm really, really hoping that there's a way I can have some livebearers. I do also want some little catfish, and was hoping to get one dwarf gourami (I read that they aren't super social with other gourami), and maybe some danios or tetras if there was room after all the other, more-wanted fish, but only if there was room.
If you go with hard water and livebearers, forget the gourami and tetras (though there are a few tetra species that will work, like the Pristella). Danios, maybe, depending upon where the GH ends up being. One of the commoner cories would work, like the Corydoras aeneus or C. paleatus in a shoal of 7-12. Livebearers are not small fish; swordtails reach 4-6 inches, with 4-5 usual in tanks, and are active swimmers. Mollies can attain 3 inches (males) and 5-6 inches (females).
Having male and female means hundreds of fry to deal with;not all will get eaten. Most keep only males for this reason. If both genders, then a ratio of more females to male of each species to spread out the aggression of males toward females (drive to spawn).
The pet store where I bought the new 220L aquarium from gave me "API Quick Start" and "API Stress Coat +".
The QuickStart is some sort of bacterial supplement that helps speed up the cycling. I am not saying I would use it...that is another story. But once the tank is cycled, this should not be continued.
StressCoat is something I personally would not use. It is basically a water conditioner, but it contains aloe vera, and studies now suggest this substance can cause damage to fish gills with prolonged use. I would recommend a conditioner that has as little "extras" as possible. API's Tap Water Conditioner is the one I now use. It is so concentrated you use very little.
And that point brings me to a general comment on additives. Everything that goes in the water enters the fish's bloodstream and gets circulated to the internal organs. While some of these additives are worse than others, we should always keep additives to the absolute minimum. There is no reason to add more than needed, or use products that are not absolutely essential. The relationship of fish to their aquatic environment is much more interactive that the relationship of most all terrestrial animals to air.
When I test the water in the goldfish tank with the same strips I used today for the tap water, the GH reading is always at the maximum colour end of the strip, at 180mg/L (although I never know what it really is, because it could be even higher). The straight tap water today, with exactly the same type of strip, read 0 GH, or barely over 0. KH is always either 0 or 40mg/L or somewhere in between.
When I first went to my local aquarium to set up the little 20L aquarium, they gave me water conditioner crystals & water conditioner drops. Could the crystals be making the soft water hard?
The water conditioner crystals are "Show Master" and are packed locally. The pack doesn't say what they actually are, and simply says they "assist in adjusting clean tap water to make the water condition as natural as possible for fish and plants". It says it doesn't remove chlorine, should be used every time water is added or changed, and "assists in preventing sickness and disease".
A bit of a Google lead me to a handful of conversations, some of them saying this kind of water crystal is used to raise GH.
I don't know the product mentioned, but it seems likely it is doing things. That begs the question, just what is it doing. This may not be beneficial to the fish, but could be detrimental.
The safe way to increase hardness is by using a substrate composed of calcareous mineral. Calcium and magnesium are the minerals involved, and I have used dolomite and aragonite, which contain both. This is OK when the GH and pH can be high without worries, as with livebearers (my mollies thrived for years with dolomite) but any soft water preferring fish will have issues (like the cories mentioned below) depending upon how hard it gets. This method lasts for years, as the substrate very slowly dissolves calcium and magnesium into the water. I don't know how long exactly, but I did this for I guess 5-6 years with no lessening in the effectiveness.
You can also use chemicals/substances specifically intended to increase GH, KH and pH. It is critical to have all three covered. I've never done this, as it is very expensive long-term, the substrate method worked for a couple tanks for that period, and I have since stayed with fish suited to my tap water.
I can say that this is a significant concern, when you start adjusting parameters. You need to do regular (weekly) water changes of 50% or so. But there may occur times when you need multiple major water changes; at the first sign of a problem, a major water change is usually helpful, and there can be situations where you need multiple such changes. Having to pre-mix water is not that easy.
It really is a better option, especially as this is a relatively new adventure (tropical aquarium), to select fish that will thrive in your tap water. Later, another tank may be the time to start experimenting. And there are so many extraordinary soft water species. Many members on here who are burdened with fairly hard water will lament the fact. I know I would; my fishroom of 8 planted tanks full of wild-caught fish from SA and a few from SE Asia would only be wishful thinking if I had to fuss with water adjustment.
I'm really, really hoping that there's a way I can have some livebearers. I do also want some little catfish, and was hoping to get one dwarf gourami (I read that they aren't super social with other gourami), and maybe some danios or tetras if there was room after all the other, more-wanted fish, but only if there was room.
If you go with hard water and livebearers, forget the gourami and tetras (though there are a few tetra species that will work, like the Pristella). Danios, maybe, depending upon where the GH ends up being. One of the commoner cories would work, like the Corydoras aeneus or C. paleatus in a shoal of 7-12. Livebearers are not small fish; swordtails reach 4-6 inches, with 4-5 usual in tanks, and are active swimmers. Mollies can attain 3 inches (males) and 5-6 inches (females).
Having male and female means hundreds of fry to deal with;not all will get eaten. Most keep only males for this reason. If both genders, then a ratio of more females to male of each species to spread out the aggression of males toward females (drive to spawn).
The pet store where I bought the new 220L aquarium from gave me "API Quick Start" and "API Stress Coat +".
The QuickStart is some sort of bacterial supplement that helps speed up the cycling. I am not saying I would use it...that is another story. But once the tank is cycled, this should not be continued.
StressCoat is something I personally would not use. It is basically a water conditioner, but it contains aloe vera, and studies now suggest this substance can cause damage to fish gills with prolonged use. I would recommend a conditioner that has as little "extras" as possible. API's Tap Water Conditioner is the one I now use. It is so concentrated you use very little.
And that point brings me to a general comment on additives. Everything that goes in the water enters the fish's bloodstream and gets circulated to the internal organs. While some of these additives are worse than others, we should always keep additives to the absolute minimum. There is no reason to add more than needed, or use products that are not absolutely essential. The relationship of fish to their aquatic environment is much more interactive that the relationship of most all terrestrial animals to air.
