spring water change

[Corp000085]

I have a 10 gallon tank that just won't clear up. I have cichlids in it, so i assume that they're just giving off too much waste for the bacteria to clear up, but anyways, i tried changing 50% (5 gallons) of water with spring water that i bought at the store. I treated the h2o with aquasafe and added a teaspoon of aquarium salt to the tank and it looks amazing so far. Its clearer than a 50% change with tap water anyday! Now, hopefully i didn't screw up the bacteria in the tank too badly (did a 1/3 gravel sweep, and left the filter media untouched). The big test will be 48 hours from now, when the tank traditionally gets cloudy after a change.

 

[Corp000085]

oh, i'm a moron... I forgot to ask if anyone has any feedback with using bottled spring water as opposed to tap water for a ~50% water change, both positive and negative.

On a side note, i did notice that the change dropped my temperature 4 degrees, from 78 to 74. I'm a little worried that this change will damage my fish, even though they seem pretty hearty. Even though the tap water changes haven't worked out too well, i am a master at getting the faucet to pump out 78degree water. (i'm in ferenheit, for all you metric folks...)

 

[guppymonkey]

First off, I suggest getting a larger tank. Cichlids are messy (as you noted) and a ten gallon tank is just too small, crowded and gets too messy too quickly. A cichlid tank should be at least 3 times as big.

I haven't tried spring water vs. my tap water. Spring water can be better than tap water but it can also be worse! Spring water can be a lot harder water or it can have minerals dissolved in it. Since the label doesn't say anything about the water conditions there is no way to know besides testing it yourself. Tap water has chlorine and chloramines in it usually. Spring water doesn't have either (usually). I am not sure if it would be better or worse overall though. I guess you will just have to keep us updated.

The temperature change is not really that scary of a thing. Cichlids are mostly hardy fish and some even seem to like cold water. A difference of a few degrees in the water can stimulate breeding in some fish. As long as the temp doesn't drop to lower than 70 the fish should be fine at least for a short time until the temp rises again. Did you cool the spring water? Or was it room temperature? I sometimes let my water sit overnite to make sure its room temperature before I change my water because I don't have hot water in the sink closest to the tanks!

 

[kuter]

It is my understanding that if you are using bottled water to watch those labels carefully. Spring water should be ok as it is suppose to be bottled at the source with no tampering with it. However distilled water is a big NO NO as it has, just as the label implies, been distilled to remove everything but the pure H2O..
Did you test the spring water prior to adding to your tank for Ph? There could be a big difference in the spring water Ph and your tap water Ph. I am still very new to all this but from what I am reading, many fish will tolerate a wide range of Ph but it must be consistant. Sudden changes in Ph can be hazardous.

 

[Corp000085]

I did not test the water, but seeing that its been 3 days, they're fine and the pH is at 7, where it should be. As for the reply on the cichlids, i know that my tank is too small. I'm getting a 60 gallon tank for christmas, so that's where they're going. This is just a temporary home. Its extremely messy in there, but these fish are responding extremely well. They've doubled in size since i got them a couple months ago. They eat well and swim well, so i'm not really concerned. Another 2 months (i need time to cycle the big tank, let alone get it to my apartment), and they'll be all set for their new big home