Only one addition in and it feels like I've already made a mistake...

[Snagrio]

Okay so, as has been explained in other posts I'm going for a South American themed 125 gallon, right? Well, as I'm aware effectively all the species I want to add (tetras, hatchets, cories and dwarf cichlids) prefer neutral to low PH. My water is high PH (even with driftwood in the water and such it's still 8.2) yet soft as it's quadruple filtered from a well. Figured I can try and buy some peat granules to put in the filtration and see if that helps as testimonials say it's a very reliable method compared to others, and it's affordable (I cannot afford a RO system).

However, from my calculations I've already made a compatibility error as I've recently bought a couple mystery snails, who actually NEED the higher PH as anything lower than neutral will start to erode their shells, and adding supplements to maintain the minerals in the water they need will just bump up the PH again. That and with them are a few fish and live plants already in the system, so that adds another hazardous issue of messing with PH parameters with live animals at the same time.

So, now I don't know what to do. I really like the snails as it's been years since I've gotten to keep any, but I'd hate to change my stocking plans at the same time and simply moving things around to other tanks isn't an option as I only have the one and can't start up another. Would (very carefully) getting the PH to neutral be enough to appease all sides since all the fish I'd get would be tank raised and theoretically used to higher PH? Or did I screw up and have to change the entire plan...

 

[Colin_T]

What is the GH (general hardness) and KH (carbonate hardness) of your well water?
Take a glass full of well water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

If you have a high GH and KH, you will need to use distilled water, rain water or reverse osmosis (R/O) water to dilute the well water.

-------------------
You can make a solar still out of a plastic storage container, plastic bucket and a couple of non porous rocks.

Put the plastic storage container outside in the sun or in a warm room and half fill it with well water.
Put a rock in the bucket and put the bucket in the storage container. The rock in the bucket should stop the bucket moving around.
Put the lid on the storage container and put a small rock on the lid, but in the middle of the lid. The small rock causes the lid to sag in the middle and any water that has collected on the underside of the lid, will drip into the bucket. The water that collects in the bucket will be pure water and can be used to dilute the well water.

 

[LordHappy]

Happy day...I am no where near as smart as @Colin_T but I agree that the lower ph will corrode the snail shells over time. But 10 gallon tanks are cheap and easy to come by so re-homing the snails is easy to do (notice how slick that was...in sales lingo, I used a presumed close to set the natural expectation of an additional tank as being the only reasonable solution. Because it is.). You could also do the botanicals and almond leaf trick, too, and lower ph that way. Or rush it down with sodium bi-phosphate.

 

[Snagrio]

Okay so, I did a lot of testing and discovered a blunder. The water from all my tap sources is actually around 7.5 PH (a much more agreeable level all around). Yet the tank water itself is 8.2. And then it hit me. It was the rocks.



I had bought some ohko dragon stones (one of them is the farthest left) but it wasn't quite enough hardscape, so I got some rocks from the backyard to make a cave by gluing some together with silicon. In hindsight it was a foolish move because I knew for a fact all the natural stones around here were sedimentary but I thought maybe I could get away with it. Clearly not. Thusly I've promptly removed them.



So now I have two problems. There's now a gaping void for nearly a third of the tank, and I don't know how to go about with bringing the PH back down to where it should be. Thinking of filling in the space a nice big chunk of branching spiderwood if I can find one, and I'm guessing periodic water changes to gradually switch out the hardened water? Maybe adding a tiny amount of peat granules?

As an aside, I don't know about the KH and GH. Need to get a separate test for those annoyingly as the "all in one" API test kit I bought didn't have those included (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and regular and high range PH).

 

[Snagrio]

Well, went to the Petco I haven't been to in years and not only did they not have any KH/GH test kits. Should've trusted my gut and just brought some vials of water... Also their fish selection that I scouted for in the future was just as paltry as the rest of the stores. The internet will be my fish source once this kerfuffle is dealt with it would seem...

 

[Slaphppy7]

"I'm guessing periodic water changes to gradually switch out the hardened water"

That's what I would do...

 

[nik_n]

I don't know if this was already said but you should ask the fish store from which you are getting your fish about their water perimeters. If they raised them and kept them the fish will be used to the water perimeters of that area. You should try to match the water perimeters the fish were raised in instead of the instead of the water they would have in the wild. you need to match the water they have been raised in not the water where they originate from. Unless they are wild caught.

 

[seangee]

I don't know if this was already said but you should ask the fish store from which you are getting your fish about their water perimeters. If they raised them and kept them the fish will be used to the water perimeters of that area. You should try to match the water perimeters the fish were raised in instead of the instead of the water they would have in the wild. you need to match the water they have been raised in not the water where they originate from. Unless they are wild caught.

That may not work. I live in a hard water area and I know that my LFS puts wild caught soft water fish into very hard water for 2 weeks. Whatever does not die they sell and tell customers that they have been acclimatised to hard water.

 

[nik_n]

That may not work. I live in a hard water area and I know that my LFS puts wild caught soft water fish into very hard water for 2 weeks. Whatever does not die they sell and tell customers that they have been acclimatised to hard water.

This is a problem. I would suggest that you find out the source the fish come from. More specifically where the batch has been hatched and raised. If you can't match the perimeter you can still try (if they are a hardy fish) but if not then try getting them from another source. Not all fish stores do that but you should still do your research.

 

[parkranger405]

This is a problem. I would suggest that you find out the source the fish come from. More specifically where the batch has been hatched and raised. If you can't match the perimeter you can still try (if they are a hardy fish) but if not then try getting them from another source. Not all fish stores do that but you should still do your research.

just remember that the efficiency of a river is calculated by dividing the cross-sectional area by the wetted perimeter. The greater the value, the more efficient!

 

[Snagrio]

Well, I did an over 50% water change yesterday. Waited until this afternoon to test and, it didn't make a bit a difference... Maybe like, a decimal lower but that's it. Kind of wanted to replace nearly all the water but then that would've meant shutting everything off, that and the drastic sudden shift would've been dangerous for the denizens anyway but, it's still frustrating. I'm guessing that's how it's supposed to work though, very slowly changing out the old higher PH water until it normalizes.

Also still haven't gotten a test kit for my GH/KH either. Haven't gone to any stores since the Petco. Nearly just bought one online but seems silly to pay all the extra shipping for something I should in theory be able to find within my usual places. Just haven't gone out to do so yet (I rarely left the house before it was "cool").

Still half tempted to try a very small amount of peat granules in the canister filters though, just to see what happens...

On the bright side all the regular parameters have remained perfect. No ammonia, nitrites or nitrates.

 

[Snagrio]

Okay, so I for the life of me could not find a drip test that does both GH and KH even after checking four stores so I resorted to test strips, which I know aren't the most accurate things in the world but it's at least something.

According to the results, the GM is completely zero while the KH is on the opposite end at a whopping 240 PPM.

 

[madmark285]

That may not work. I live in a hard water area and I know that my LFS puts wild caught soft water fish into very hard water for 2 weeks.

How common are wild caught fish in your area? I doubt that my LFS (western New York) sells any wild caught fish, they all come from farms.