Very hard local water?

Question

My local tap water is very hard. It limes up my tank and totally messes with the Ph. I've tried a salt pouch that kinda works but then I can't have snails (I'm guessing thats why they die). Peat helps too. But nothing really seems to fix it.

I have a 30g tank set up now. I've been buying 10g of water a month from Wal-Mart (5g "spring" water 5g "distilled" water) for my water changes and usually keep a gallon of spring water nearby for top-offs.

I've been doing this for a while now so I'd expect that all the original tap water would be gone. But my Ph is still off and when I try to adjust it w/ chemicals I get bad algea outbreaks (I've read that's because the hard water makes it so the Ph chemicals dont work... and if you keep adding more, you get bad algea).

I want to upgrade to a 100g tank but I want to get this water problem sorted out first.

HELP?

I forget the exact Ph, but it is on the high side. I add Ph down and the Ph jumps right back up and all I get out of it is algea!

I have an algea eater, but snails all die.

I've used a Britta water pitcher to filter water and add it to the tank and that does nothing.

Live in South Jacksonville, IL and our water sucks!

Maybe I didn't explain well enough... I do not use chemical Ph down anymore as it does no good. The Ph stays the same and all I get is algea.

I want a way to soften the water, neutralize the Ph, and make the water better on the fish.

Currently my water is so out of wack its hard to get fish to be healthy and stress free.

The water is also very hard on pumps, filters, powerheads, etc. Gets kind of pricey when you cant even get a year out of a powerhead.

So no good way to soften the water THEN adjust Ph?

Answer 1

The first thing you need to do is stop messing with the pH. pH is very, very hard to stabilize in a tank and adding chemicals to alter it is a sure path to disaster.

Unless you plan on keeping very pH sensitive fish such as Discus, there is no reason that you should try to change the pH at all.

You are far better off simply altering the fish you keep to match your local water parameters.

Stick with fish that can tolerate hard water and a higher pH and you'll be fine with your 100g tank.

Answer 2

The problem you hare having is due to the buffering capacity of your water. The more buffering capacity your water has, the more it will resist changes in the pH. Hard water has a much higher buffer than soft water. If you do change the pH of your water it will just bounce back because the buffer. Unfortunately you will always be battling this because you have hard water. The best way to approach this is to buy fish that don't mind the high pH and the hard water.

Please keep in mind that a lot fish will live and thrive with pH and hardness conditions other than their "ideal" conditions. What they won't tolerate is changes in pH. Just leave your pH and water hardness alone. A lot of the fish you will find won't be bothered by it. Trying to change the chemical makeup (pH and water hardness) of your water will just give you more problems than it is worth (as you are finding out).

http://www.aquariumhelp.aliveinindy.com

Answer 3

Start with 90% R.O. water,10% purchased drinking water or spring water......................................................................................................... FACT; R.O. water (distilled) averages a PH of 6.8 (7.0), Total Alkalinity of 10-20 ppm (10-20ppm), hardness of 0 ppm (0 ppm), Total Dissolved Solids of 10 ppm (0 ppm)................. Water This void of hardness is agressive and unhealthy for fish survival. Yet the purfect parameters to start from and easily adjusted by the addition of 10% purified drinking or spring water. ( Until you get a quality O.R. system, which is recommended only for it's reliable purity, long term cost efficiency and your desire for a 100Gal. tank) . You can get the same water parameters and quality by using 90% distiled to 10% drinking/spring water ( NO TAP WATER EVER) at an increased cost. When you start with this 90/10% ratio, the only chemical adjustments needed will be indicated by the PH rising from your initial PH test of the 90/10 ratio. Adjusted with chemicals designed for fish waste treatment or by removing half of the tank capacity and refilling with the 90/10 ratio. Other than that chemical adjustment you would top off with distilled or R.O. water. Consequently an Alkalinity Total above 120ppm is the base cause of Ph bouncing problems, T.A. between 10-100 ppm keeps the Ph in check between 7.0-7.8 and easily adjustable. As water evaporates T.A. inevitably increases, so topping off with water extremely low of Total Alkalinity will keep the rising T.A. and PH in check. Algae prefer higher Ph levels. Algae thrives in water thats rich in co2(carbon dioxide),fish survive by transfering via the gills oxygen from the water and co2 into the water. Invest in live water plants to absorb the co2 naturally, thus reducing the algaes livability. The plant life will also help keep the nitrates from fish waste in check, naturally..................FACT; spring or drinking water still has the minerals, hardness and thus a higher alkalinity than distilled or R.O. water but none of the harsh chemicals that tap water contains.

Answer 4

My water has so much iron in it If I threw a glass of it into somebodys face it would knock them out. I bought some tap water conditioner and my water stays clear as a bell. I bought it at pet soulutions online but I bet any big pet store like pet smart carries it

Answer 5

Well, I,m not sure how this would affect fish, but an RO (reverse
osmosis) would help the line problem, and the ones under the sink don,t cost that much ( home depot).

But I give my frogs RO water for their tank, had them for about 3 years.

Answer 6

where do you live and what is the ph?
wouldn't a britta water filter help a little?

you might want to have a african cichlid tank setup... They naturally prefer hard water.

Answer 7

Snails and salt don't mix. You might try competely emptying the water out and putting new water in. Or you might consider getting algae eaters.

Answer 8

I use Paragon Watersystem Inc. Clearwater,FL 33760 and I live in MI..I have a small one and I have had it for 4 yrs and it still works great.They have bigger ones too.Check it out and good luck