Water hardness/Ph info??

[utahfish]

If you do have a water softener you can switch out the sodium chloride softening salts for potassium chloride, which is sodium free and will add the extra potassium that plants need. If you dont have plants no worries the extra potassium isnt going to hurt the fish.

 

[Essjay]

Too much potassium is not good for fish either. They have not evolved in water that contains sodium or potassium. With a water softener, the bypass tap should be used and mixed with RO water.

 

[Byron]

Thanks so much for the reply! I will have a play with some ro water and try get the ratios right. In reply to the other comments I love Cory's and angels but I have never had any Cory's breed no matter how much I try. I realise they all like the softer more acidic water where as mine is really alkaline.

With spawning, it is primarily the hardness (GH) not the Alkalinity [whether you mean this to refer to the KH (carbonate hardness) or a basic (above 7.0) pH] that is the issue. Hard water can inhibit spawning behaviours, but it can also (if spawning should occur) prevent the eggs from hatching. That does not mean that a fish species will absolutely never spawn in water that is harder than their preference; I am only noting the issue. Success is certainly more likely if the fish have parameters that are closer to those in which evolution has designed them to best function.

[And for the record I concur with essjay in post 17.]

 

[Hf21]

With spawning, it is primarily the hardness (GH) not the Alkalinity [whether you mean this to refer to the KH (carbonate hardness) or a basic (above 7.0) pH] that is the issue. Hard water can inhibit spawning behaviours, but it can also (if spawning should occur) prevent the eggs from hatching. That does not mean that a fish species will absolutely never spawn in water that is harder than their preference; I am only noting the issue. Success is certainly more likely if the fish have parameters that are closer to those in which evolution has designed them to best function.

[And for the record I concur with essjay in post 17.]

Thank you so much!