What Do People Think Of These Water Conditions?

[DJNut]

Hi, my tank is still cycling, so to combat the itchy finger I've got of wanting to get on with it. I've been playing with water chemistry.

I'm using 1 part tap water to 4 parts RO water and these are the results.
PH 7.2/7.4 can't make my mind up on the colour. ( Using API master kit)
GH 6
Kh 3

Zero Nitrates ( my tap water is roughly 40ppm)

I'm thinking of Bolivian Rams, Black Neon tetras, maybe an Angel( not decided as read so many conflicting views as to temperament.)

It's a 4ft long, 300l tank.

What do people think of the water? is the Mix an ok balance, as in will it be stable enough without having to add buffers?

Just to clarify, this water has been made up in a big container, not in the tank.

Many thanks for your time.

Dave

 

[lloyd]

if were asuming all your fish are captive bred which i would imagine they will be than i would not worry to much about softening your water with ro most captive bred angels and b rams are quite happy in slightly hard conditions . if your tap water is really really hard then i would suggest just a 50 50 mix as a kh of 3 is border line and may be succeptable to chrashing. kepping it above 5 is still quite low and it is alot safer

your stocking sounds good in a but you should have a pair or small group of anels. when you tank ios mature i would add a group of hatchet fish

 

[DJNut]

Thanks for the info, I'll do a 50/50 mix now and see how that fairs, the tap water is very hard, and high in nitrates. If I remember correctly it was up in the high teens.

 

[KkAaNnEe]

High teens of nitrates?

To be honest I cant remember but I believe there was a study done that confirmed nitrates only become harmful in the very high range, I wouldnt really be concerned about 15-20 of nitrates

If you're softening your water because of the south american fish, fair enough. Ut to be honest ive kept Angels, neons and bolivians all at 7.5ph. If you were going with Apistogrammas or blue/gold/electric rams then I would consider softening but Its not that neccessary for those fish, depending on the species. Especially if they are being kept in your lfs' water, it could be more of a ph shock to put them in really low ph

 

[CezzaXV]

That is exceptionally soft tbh. Very few tropical fish really need specific conditions. The ones you have should certainly be happy with whatever your tap has to offer.

 

[DJNut]

High teens of nitrates?

To be honest I cant remember but I believe there was a study done that confirmed nitrates only become harmful in the very high range, I wouldnt really be concerned about 15-20 of nitrates

If you're softening your water because of the south american fish, fair enough. Ut to be honest ive kept Angels, neons and bolivians all at 7.5ph. If you were going with Apistogrammas or blue/gold/electric rams then I would consider softening but Its not that neccessary for those fish, depending on the species. Especially if they are being kept in your lfs' water, it could be more of a ph shock to put them in really low ph

Thanks for the reply, High teen to low twenties of GH and KH sorry. My tap Ph is 8.6 and 40ppm Nitrates.

 

[DJNut]

I've do a 50/50 mix and it comes out as;

6Kh

11Gh

7.4Ph.

So I'll run with that one i think, there is not much if any difference between these results and a 60/40 mix.

Thanks all for the input

Just need the good little bacteria to sort their act out now.

 

[lloyd]

You could alwayss see if any one on here is near you and has any mature medie they would give you. your water is still very soft but it is a lot more stable than before.

One thing you havent thought about (neither did i till now) is that your fish wont mind soft water bbut others will so softening it may stop you from making changes to your stocking in the future

 

[DJNut]

Cheers Lloyd, I'm in catch 22, I'm limited by my hard tap water if I don't mix. But I suppose really I need to decide what fish I want, as to what level of mixing is required

 

[lloyd]

my tap water is almost as hard as yours yet iv kept alsorts of soft water species that have thrived and bred. as long as you pick the right soft water species then they do fine as long as they are acclimatized properly. i under stand you want the best for your fish so just softening your w\ater slightly might be the best way to go

 

[OldMan47]

Your water mix sounds close to ideal for soft water fish like the neons and rams. Although we often try to discourage people making changes in their water, you have good water in that mix if you intend to breed those fish. If you do not intend to do any breeding, tap water is always easier to maintain and most fish will acclimate to whatever you have.