Water issues

[Maryjaeee]

Hello, in my city the water is very hard. Over 500 ppm . So we got a full house water softener system. It’s salt water, aquasure harmony series so it’s a good system for us but I’m not 100% sure if it’s safe for the fish. In the past 4 or 5 months I have lost a couple fish which is not normal.
about 3 months ago also I decided to try out having discus . I have a marine land canister filter with a bio sponge , plants and driftwood , heater set at 82 degrees With the soft water & me using purified mineral water for changes my water parameters are;
ph - 7.2
ammonia - 0
nitrite - 0
nitrate - 20

ive been told by my LFS to just use tap water with a declor instead of the soft. I was also told that the soft water has trace amounts of nitrates that could b causing stress to my discus so I should use purified mineral water. I’m not sure what I should do now. I’ve used tap water my whole life but I use to live in California we’re the water was about 300 ppm hardness so all I needed was a declor. Now with the discus.. I’m having some issues. I kno soft water is important but a steady ph is essential & They are sensitive to nitrates..
I have nitra-zorb in my canister now hoping that helps with the nitrates.
So I guess my question is this.. should I just use mineral water for water changes now to help lower nitrates? Or should I use the soft water , tap water , or a combination of 2? Thanks & Happy 4th to you all!!

 

[Essjay]

Salt water softeners are not good for fish as they replace the hardness minerals with sodium, and no soft water fish can cope with sodium in the water.

The best thing for your discus would be to use reverse osmosis (RO) water or DI or distilled. This is pure water so a few minerals would need to be added, either by mixing your tap water with it - tap water that has not been through the softener - to get the right GH, or add remineralisation salts.
With both of these you would need experiment in a container to see what proportion of tap water or how much remin salt to add to the RO water to get the GH needed for discus, then use that exact proportion/amount to prepare the water outside the tank for water changes.

Using RO water would also lower the nitrate level.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

I agree with Essjay.
I think your only option is Reverse Osmosis or Distilled water which has GH 0.

Though Discus requires soft water, you can still mix some of your tap water with the RO or DI water to get a GH of 3-5 or 50-100ppm (my rough estimation).

 

[Maryjaeee]

Salt water softeners are not good for fish as they replace the hardness minerals with sodium, and no soft water fish can cope with sodium in the water.

The best thing for your discus would be to use reverse osmosis (RO) water or DI or distilled. This is pure water so a few minerals would need to be added, either by mixing your tap water with it - tap water that has not been through the softener - to get the right GH, or add remineralisation salts.
With both of these you would need experiment in a container to see what proportion of tap water or how much remin salt to add to the RO water to get the GH needed for discus, then use that exact proportion/amount to prepare the water outside the tank for water changes.

Using RO water would also lower the nitrate level.

ok so distilled or RO, I have a 5 gallon jug that I can fill at the grocery store but I don’t believe I’ve seen those for distilled water.
I got the seachem trace elements . would this b good to add to the water or should I get the remineralization salt?
ive got a 5 gallon bucket of tap water from yesterday now sitting .

 

[Essjay]

Seachem Trace is a plant supplement containing trace elements. Seachem Fresh Trace contains trace elemens needed by most freshwater fish. Seachem Discus Trace contains trace elements needed by discus.

But these contain only trace amounts. What is needed for RO or distilled water is calcium and magnesium (GH) and carbonate (KH) as well as these trace elements.
Other American members will be able to tell you which brands are available there.


But I need to warn you - discus need big tanks and large regular water changes. That's a lot of RO or distilled water every week. With your hardness you may be better looking at Rift Lake cichlids which need hard water so you would be able to use your tap water, before it goes through the softener.

 

[Maryjaeee]

alright so I mixed the distilled with the tap water. I got the GH & KH test kit today. From the tap the water is 9 for KH and somewhere between 7-8 for GH
I kno you were saying I could mix those 2 waters to get a proper level for the discus .
What if I used half tap water and half purified drinking water?
I have a 5 gallon jug that I could fill up at the grocery store so it wouldn’t b too hard for me .
Ill get more water this week , test that water & post here

 

[Maryjaeee]

Seachem Trace is a plant supplement containing trace elements. Seachem Fresh Trace contains trace elemens needed by most freshwater fish. Seachem Discus Trace contains trace elements needed by discus.

But these contain only trace amounts. What is needed for RO or distilled water is calcium and magnesium (GH) and carbonate (KH) as well as these trace elements.
Other American members will be able to tell you which brands are available there.


But I need to warn you - discus need big tanks and large regular water changes. That's a lot of RO or distilled water every week. With your hardness you may be better looking at Rift Lake cichlids which need hard water so you would be able to use your tap water, before it goes through the softener.

alright so I mixed the distilled with the tap water. I got the GH & KH test kit today. From the tap the water is 9 for KH and somewhere between 7-8 for GH
I kno you were saying I could mix those 2 waters to get a proper level for the discus .
What if I used half tap water and half purified drinking water?
I have a 5 gallon jug that I could fill up at the grocery store so it wouldn’t b too hard for me .
Ill get more water this week , test that water & post here

 

[Essjay]

In the first post you said your unsoftened tap water is over 500 ppm ie over 28 dH.
In the last post you say your tap water is 125 to 143 ppm - 7 to 8 dH. This is soft water, not hard.

Is the 7 to 8 GH water which has been through the softener or water from a bypass tap? Or is it a mix of tap water and distilled?






Discus need large tanks of at least 70 gallons. That means at least 35 to 40 gallon water changes every week. Can you manage the amount of distilled water this would need?

 

[Maryjaeee]

In the first post you said your unsoftened tap water is over 500 ppm ie over 28 dH.
In the last post you say your tap water is 125 to 143 ppm - 7 to 8 dH. This is soft water, not hard.

Is the 7 to 8 GH water which has been through the softener or water from a bypass tap? Or is it a mix of tap water and distilled?






Discus need large tanks of at least 70 gallons. That means at least 35 to 40 gallon water changes every week. Can you manage the amount of distilled water this would need?

Yes when we got our water tested when we first moved in, the guy showed us that the hardness was around 500
Then again, he was trying to sell us a water softener. When I used a water strip test, it was purple indicating 300+ ppm.

I used the test kit yesterday for the tap and I was at 9 drops for KH and 7 or 8 for GH ( lil xtra of a drop got in tube) when I tested ph it was at a 7.8 and a 8.0 on the high ph test . So it could b either one really..
I’d rather not have to go to the store once a week for a cart of distilled water.. but I have that 5 gallon jug I could fill with purified water to mix with my tap? I’m just trying to find the best solution for the long run

 

[Essjay]

9 GH is soft water not hard which is why I asked where that water came from. If it's from a bypass tap, this may be OK for discus. But if it's from water which has been through a softener you need to test the bypass tap. Though as I have never kept discus, someone who has will be able to tell you the GH they need.

When you tested the pH, was that freshly run water? You need to leave a glass of water to stand overnight then test that - pH often chnages on standing.

 

[Maryjaeee]

9 GH is soft water not hard which is why I asked where that water came from. If it's from a bypass tap, this may be OK for discus. But if it's from water which has been through a softener you need to test the bypass tap. Though as I have never kept discus, someone who has will be able to tell you the GH they need.

When you tested the pH, was that freshly run water? You need to leave a glass of water to stand overnight then test that - pH often chnages on standing.

really? Well that would be awesome!! I got that water outta the hose in the back of our house. My families had discus before and ive looked around a lot online. People do have success keeping discus in tap water I found the most important is a steady ph even tho they prefer low. So I will gradually change my main tank over with just tap water then.
So no purified at all then correct?
Thank you for your help. I’ve been stressing for the last few months

 

[Essjay]

Only if the 9 GH is from the bypass tap. If it's been through the softener then no you can't use it.

If the bypass water has a hardness of 9 GH, you don't need a water softener at all. It's already soft.