Maintaining soft water and low PH
Jim Reed
Neil Law wrote:
> We have 2 problems in our area: our water is always hard and the PH is always
> over 8 (usually about 8.5).
You can adjust the Ph with Aquarium Pharmaceuticals " PH Down". You need to try to
not change the Ph too much from your stock tap water. The more you change the Ph the
more hassel it's going to be to maintain. Same goes for altering the hardness, the
more its changed from the tap water condition the more hassel its going to be to
maintain. Sounds like you are going to have to keep fish that come from waters with
a high ph and hard water. African Rift Valley Cichlids would do well. You need to
investigate these fish and be cautious what you buy or you will end up with a tank
too small for your fish.
>
>
> I have been using softened water (run through a standard water softener) to help
> with the hardness.
I would not use water run through a water softener as it may remove required
minerals from the water. You could use rain water if you do not live near any large
industries which may create 'acid rain'. The best thing to do would have a holding
tank for water changes. A large plastic trash container @ 15- 20 gallons. Fill with
tap water. Add an airstone to circulate the water and prevent it from becoming stale
and to help mix up the "Ph down". This will allow you time to adjust the ph with "PH
Down" weeks before you do a water change. A heater probably wont be required in the
holding tank if you only change @30% of water volume.
>
>
> One pond place around here has a peat fountain setup that I've been considering.
> Peat will lower the PH and I think also softens the water. What they are
> charging is rather expensive though, and I'm not sure about this as a permanent
> setup in my basement.
Drift wood will soften the water, not a lot and it takes time. Fluval brand "Peat
Pellets"will soften the water also. This will not happen overnight. To maintain a
softer water the tank will need to be established for weeks. Once you have a tank
full of softer water and only change @ 30% during water changes, you should be able
to maintain a softer water. The Peat pellets can be put inside a canister filter or
put inside a nylon bag and dropped in the corner of the tank. I like to stick an
airstone in the bag along with a rock to weight it down. I believe the air
circulates the pellets allowing them to softer the water quicker. Quicker?? Bad
choice of words, the is nothing quick about softening the water
AND keeping the needed minerals in the water. Once your new tank is set up for 6 - 8
weeks with filter, heater, some drift wood and peat pellets you should have an
acceptable water hardness. Water changes are directly related to the fish load in
the tank. You need to try to not overstock the tank so it requires often water
changes. You should be able to maintain water hardness IF you only change @ 30 of
water every 2 - 3 weeks. You could also use driftwood and peat in the holding tank
to help maintain softer water. There should not be any problem useing 50% water
softener water and 50% tap water in the holding tank. Sorry about this small book,
hope this helps. Good Luck, Jim.
>
>
> Any suggestions are appreciated.
>
> Tx,
> Neil Law
> Waterloo, On, Canada
Daniel Carle
Daniel
Neil Law wrote:
>
> We have 2 problems in our area: our water is always hard and the PH is always
> over 8 (usually about 8.5). This is not a problem with the gold fish I keep in
> the pond. My zebra danios and bristle-nose plecos don't seem to mind either
> (their in a 10 gallon acquarium).
>
> I'm planning on putting in a 25 gallon tank soon and would like to add some
> other fish, for example Kuhuli loaches. Most fish I've looked at though don't
> seem to like water that hard or that alkaline.
>
> I have been using softened water (run through a standard water softener) to help
> with the hardness. I've heard that some fish may not like that type of water.
> Also, I haven't found any good solution for the PH.
>
> I'm looking for suggestions on how to resolve these types of problems fairly
> efficiently. Doing it cheaply would also be great.
>
> One pond place around here has a peat fountain setup that I've been considering.
> Peat will lower the PH and I think also softens the water. What they are
> charging is rather expensive though, and I'm not sure about this as a permanent
> setup in my basement.
>
Beverly Erlebacher
Neil Law <neil....@waterloo.ncr.com> wrote:
>We have 2 problems in our area: our water is always hard and the PH is always
>over 8 (usually about 8.5). This is not a problem with the gold fish I keep in
>the pond. My zebra danios and bristle-nose plecos don't seem to mind either
>(their in a 10 gallon acquarium).
>
>I'm planning on putting in a 25 gallon tank soon and would like to add some
>other fish, for example Kuhuli loaches. Most fish I've looked at though don't
>seem to like water that hard or that alkaline.
Most commonly sold aquarium fish are very adaptable about pH and hardness,
as long as conditions don't change too rapidly. You may have trouble breeding
softwater fish, but they should stay healthy as long as the water stays clean.
One advantage of using plain, dechlorinated tap water is that it is much easier
to do frequent partial water changes, and the pH and hardness won't fluctuate
much. These two factors are more important than having conditions that match
those of their native waters, which can only be done in your case by starting
with reverse osmosis or deionized water - this is expensive.
Note that the huge tropical fish industry in Florida is based on raising fish
in very hard water.
>I have been using softened water (run through a standard water softener) to help
>with the hardness. I've heard that some fish may not like that type of water.
>Also, I haven't found any good solution for the PH.
Standard home water softeners reduce hardness by exchanging calcium and
magnesium ions for sodium. THe resulting water is usually harder on the
fish than the original hard water.
>I'm looking for suggestions on how to resolve these types of problems fairly
>efficiently. Doing it cheaply would also be great.
If you want to breed your fish, stick with common species of livebearers and
other fish from hard water areas, e.g. Central American and African rift lake
cichlids. Most rainbow fish species come from hard water areas. If you just
want the fish for display, almost any inexpensive captive bred species is worth
trying. Avoid fish that have an absolute requirement for soft water, or those
that have a reputation for being delicate, and you still have hundreds of
species to choose from. Kuhli loaches should do fine. Even most common
tetras should live for years in your tank, provided other conditions are
good. If they are happy, they may spawn, but the eggs probably won't hatch.
>One pond place around here has a peat fountain setup that I've been considering.
>Peat will lower the PH and I think also softens the water. What they are
>charging is rather expensive though, and I'm not sure about this as a permanent
>setup in my basement.
Peat softening can be done inexpensively by circulating* water in a plastic
tub or garbage can with a porous bag of garden store peat hung in it. This
is most successful with water that is not extremely hard. You'll have to
experiment and see whether this is a worthwhile solution for you. You'll
need to test pH and hardness and be careful not to let conditions in the
aquarium fluctuate too much. Peat softening colors the water a yellow or
brown color, which some people dislike. THe color also reduces the amount
of light that gets to your plants. Activated carbon will remove the color,
but you'll have to change it frequently.
>Any suggestions are appreciated.
Do you know just how hard your water really is? Many people think their
water is much harder than it actually is. If you are on a municipal supply,
phone up the water dept and ask them to mail you an analysis.
Btw, there's a very active aquarist club in the K-W area. You might find out
from people there what will and won't do well in your water.
* "circulating" the water can be done continuously with a pump or intermittently
with a stick!