Switching from spring water to tap water

[merrall412]

I’ve been using spring water for my betta fish for as long as I have had him (since September) I am finding it hard to keep up with buying enough spring water to make frequent water changes as i do not have a car. Would it be hard on him to switch over to tap water at this point? He currently has a very bad case of fin rot so I am worried it would having a more significant effect on him than if he was healthy.

I have tried many methods to cure his fin rot such as betafix, maracyn 2, and aquarium salt.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Actually tap water is safe for Betta unless your tap water is very hard (high GH).
Do you know your spring water and tap water GH and pH?

Whenever you change your water source, you don't water to have too drastic change in GH and pH.

Also, take note that Betta prefer soft water and lower pH as they come mostly from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia that have soft water and low pH.

Tap water shouldn't affect the fin rots.
Fin rots is caused by bacteria in the water and mostly from "gram negative" bacteria.
Make sure your filter has been properly cycled/stable.
High ammonia and nitrite probably may also promote fins rot.
Don't over clean your filter media or replace all at one time as it may cause ammonia and nitrite to increase due to losses of too much beneficial bacteria in your filter media.

Also, what is your tank size, how frequent do you change the water and how much water do you change each time?

I guess Maracyn 2 isn't very effective to treat fin rots based on my reading from this link.
You can try different medication such as Sulfaplex by Seachem.

Aquarium Medications Part 2 | Antibiotic & Antimicrobial Treatments

Aquarium & Pond medications Part 2, antibiotics and antimicrobials such as Kanamycin, Triple Sulfa, Tetracycline, Metronidazole, Nitrofurazone, Neomycin, & more. Based on research from aquarium keeping guru Carl Strohmeyer

www.americanaquariumproducts.com

 

[merrall412]

Actually tap water is safe for Betta unless your tap water is very hard (high GH).
Do you know your spring water and tap water GH and pH?

Whenever you change your water source, you don't water to have too drastic change in GH and pH.

Also, take note that Betta prefer soft water and lower pH as they come mostly from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia that have soft water and low pH.

Tap water shouldn't affect the fin rots.
Fin rots is caused by bacteria in the water and mostly from "gram negative" bacteria.
Make sure your filter has been properly cycled/stable.
High ammonia and nitrite probably may also promote fins rot.
Don't over clean your filter media or replace all at one time as it may cause ammonia and nitrite to increase due to losses of too much beneficial bacteria in your filter media.

Also, what is your tank size, how frequent do you change the water and how much water do you change each time?

I guess Maracyn 2 isn't very effective to treat fin rots based on my reading from this link.
You can try different medication such as Sulfaplex by Seachem.

Aquarium Medications Part 2 | Antibiotic & Antimicrobial Treatments

Aquarium & Pond medications Part 2, antibiotics and antimicrobials such as Kanamycin, Triple Sulfa, Tetracycline, Metronidazole, Nitrofurazone, Neomycin, & more. Based on research from aquarium keeping guru Carl Strohmeyer

www.americanaquariumproducts.com

My tank is 5 gallons and I was originally doing a 25% water change once I week but I am going to increase that.

The parameters of the different waters are -
spring water:
0 - NO2 (nitrite)
0 - NO3 (nitrate)
7 - pH
120 - KH (carbonate hardness)
120 - GH

Tap water:
0 - NO2 (nitrite)
0 - NO3 (nitrate)
8 - pH
0 - KH (carbonate hardness)
0 - GH

And thank you for the suggestion! I have ordered some Sulfaplex

 

[Lajos_Detari]

My tank is 5 gallons and I was originally doing a 25% water change once I week but I am going to increase that.

The parameters of the different waters are -
spring water:
0 - NO2 (nitrite)
0 - NO3 (nitrate)
7 - pH
120 - KH (carbonate hardness)
120 - GH

Tap water:
0 - NO2 (nitrite)
0 - NO3 (nitrate)
8 - pH
0 - KH (carbonate hardness)
0 - GH

And thank you for the suggestion! I have ordered some Sulfaplex

The pH difference is big 7 & 8.
Your tap water GH & KH at 0 also isn't good.

Whenever you change water, you don't want to have a change of more than pH 0.5 in 24 hours.
API even suggest not to have more than pH 0.2 change in 24 hours as some fish are sensitive to pH change.

If you want to use the tap water, probably you change only about 25-30% of the water each time to prevent big swing in pH.
You may have to change about 6 times before all the spring water is replace by the tap water.
You can change the water once a day or once a week.

Btw, I'm afraid that the pH of 8 may not be so suitable for Betta in the long term.
Perhaps, you can mix half spring water and half tap water to get about pH 7.5.(estimation).
Fish also may require some minerals such as Calcium and Magnesium in the water to be healthy even for soft water fish based on my reading from here.

Aquarium Chemistry | Calcium & KH & GH & pH & Electrolytes (ions)

Aquarium Chemistry; The Most IN DEPTH internet article on the subject of pH, GH, KH. The need for positive mineral ions such as calcium. Freshwater or marine aquariums. Researched article from fish keeping guru Carl Strohmeyer

www.americanaquariumproducts.com

A GH of 0 probably may not have any Calcium or very low Calcium.
A KH of 0 also can cause your pH to swing easily.