Water Chemistry
- Thread starter shell4375
- Start date
Sibelius
Fishaholic
It depends on your fish, what type of set up you are having, etc etc.
helenx0x0
New Member
What fish do you have, what tank size?
You probably didn't find it since there is no one optimum water chemistry -- the simplest reason is that not every fish's home waters are the same. They range from the very mineral poor, very acidic waters of the Amazon basin, to the extremely mineral rich, very hard, very basic water of the African Rift Lakes... and those are just the freshwaters! There are fish in freshwater, slightly salty, brackish, to full saltwater. So you can see why there is no one optimum.
In general, the best situation for the fish would be to replicate their home waters as closely as possible. This will involve researching the native habitats of the fish(es) you want to keep.
However, that said, many of the fish you can get from the LFS can accommodate a wide range of waters. It is a very difficult task to change water conditions, a change in one parameter usually causes changes in the others, so it is very difficult to target one specific set of parameters. Also, you will typically have to add chemicals to the water to change the parameters. Most of the users here want to add as little as possible to the tank -- primarily to keep it as simple as possible and to know exactly what is in the their water. In addition, a lot of the chemicals have undesirable side-effects. For example, many of the popular pH buffers are so rich in phosphates that algae will treat that as an all-you-can-eat buffet and grow exceptionally quickly. Then, you have the problem of unstable water conditions. Oftentimes, you can add the chemicals and the tests right after mixing gives you the target parameters you want. But, a few hours later, the water has changed again. Many, many times it is very difficult to keep the water conditions steady for long times.
The real problem with that, is that it is far, far worse for the fish for the parameters to be changing a lot, even if they are changing in that fish's particular preferred range. To put it another way, steady water parameters that may be outside of the preferred range is far healthier for the average fish than constantly changing water parameters that are in the preferred range.
Most fish will adapt, rather quickly too, to a set of parameters that aren't exactly in their preferred range. This is where research is necessary again -- how hardy and adaptable is the fish you'd like to keep. For example, the common goldfish is usually very adaptable, but discus have quite a reputation for being very particular about their water.
So, post your current water stats from your tap, and what fish you'd like to keep and the many experienced fishkeepers on this forum will let you know their experiences with that fish.
In general, the best situation for the fish would be to replicate their home waters as closely as possible. This will involve researching the native habitats of the fish(es) you want to keep.
However, that said, many of the fish you can get from the LFS can accommodate a wide range of waters. It is a very difficult task to change water conditions, a change in one parameter usually causes changes in the others, so it is very difficult to target one specific set of parameters. Also, you will typically have to add chemicals to the water to change the parameters. Most of the users here want to add as little as possible to the tank -- primarily to keep it as simple as possible and to know exactly what is in the their water. In addition, a lot of the chemicals have undesirable side-effects. For example, many of the popular pH buffers are so rich in phosphates that algae will treat that as an all-you-can-eat buffet and grow exceptionally quickly. Then, you have the problem of unstable water conditions. Oftentimes, you can add the chemicals and the tests right after mixing gives you the target parameters you want. But, a few hours later, the water has changed again. Many, many times it is very difficult to keep the water conditions steady for long times.
The real problem with that, is that it is far, far worse for the fish for the parameters to be changing a lot, even if they are changing in that fish's particular preferred range. To put it another way, steady water parameters that may be outside of the preferred range is far healthier for the average fish than constantly changing water parameters that are in the preferred range.
Most fish will adapt, rather quickly too, to a set of parameters that aren't exactly in their preferred range. This is where research is necessary again -- how hardy and adaptable is the fish you'd like to keep. For example, the common goldfish is usually very adaptable, but discus have quite a reputation for being very particular about their water.
So, post your current water stats from your tap, and what fish you'd like to keep and the many experienced fishkeepers on this forum will let you know their experiences with that fish.
Similar threads
Most reactions
-
308 -
213 -
212
-
188 -
167 -
167 -
151 -
146 -
142 -
134 -
120 -
118 -
109 -
96 -
92