Is my aquarium water chemistry safe to start tropical fish?

Question

Hi all, I am a newbie to the fish hobby. In fact, I don't even have any fish yet. I've been doing research on the web and have learned a lot. My tap water with test strips says that my water 0 nitrates, 0 nitrites, is very hard, high alkalinity and high ph. So I replaced 2 gallons of the water with rain water. That dropped the ph and alkalinity and softened the water. But the problem is the nitrites is now saying stress. The nitrates didn't change. I was planning to go get a couple of starter fish tonight. Now I'm worried that they'll die before my 10 gallon tank has a chance to cycle. Any suggestions? Thank you.

Thank you for all your answers. Several are very good! But I can only choose 1 as best. I went ahead and bought 2 neon tetras. The chemistry of the shops water was a lot lower in hardness, alkalinity and ph than mine. Anyway, they survived the long trip (I live 60 miles from shop plus we went shopping for several hours with temp freezing outside and I bought them before going to the mall). And this morning they look great, even happy. Now maybe my tank will cycle so I can add more! Thank you all again!

Answer 1

really the best thing to do is find fish that like your ph. african cichlids like high ph a lot. if you keep messing with your water you will have to do it all the time and if your water comes out consistantly a high ph then you are good. cycling in my opinion is kind of overrated and hard to do in smaller tanks. 10 gallons you might be able to pull it off. you do need a fish to actually cycle though unless you want to put drops of ammonia in. the ammonia from the fish and or ammonia bottle are needed to grow the beneficial bacteria you are trying to get in a "cycled" tank. In general start with one or 2 fish and go from there. your work is done for you by fish making poop. you have to pay very close attention to making sure you do gravel vacuums and 20-25% water changes weekly.

here is a webiste where you can find fish that like high ph. if you are a couple points off they won't jump out and hurt you for it.


http://www.aquahobby.com/e_gallery.php

Answer 2

OK my two cents worth....

My bet is that the local fish shop uses the same tap water you do, so for getting fish from the store to your tank you want them to match as closely as possible, which means using straight tap water. Dechlorinated of course. Without fish or doing a fishless cycle, you shouldn't see any ammonia, nitrites or nitrates, but some tap water does contain various amounts of these chemicals due mainly to agricultural run off in the watershed.

My suggestion would be to go back to tap water, get two small starter fish and cycle the tank using those fish. If your tap water has nitrites, it will mean additional water changes to keep the level in check until the tank cycles, but that should only take 2 weeks or so. Once you have cycled the tank, then look into altering the pH and hardness to suit the fish you plan on keeping. No doubt this will be easier on you as well as better on the fish in the long run.

One last suggestion: While the web can be a great source of info, you can also find huge differences in opinion and knowledge level, even at seemingly professional sites. I would strongly suggest you invest in a book on aquarium keeping. They are subject to much closer review for factual detail than any website and therefore much less likely to be misleading.

Hope this helps

MM

Answer 3

PATIENCE. Your nitrates won't change until your cycling has run it's course. Rain water as well as tap water all have nitrates. (I really would suggest getting a better testing kit one that is Ranged. Good testing strips (If using strips) Should be marked in ppm from 0 on up. Or you can use a chemical testing kit like the fish stores use (this is what I use) or take a sample to the store)

Your nitrates are safe under 20-40 ppm. It is almost impossiable to have a 0 reading unless your test kit at the 20-40 ppm range reads as 0. Stressed would then be above 60 ppm. Bottled water, distilled water and rain water all still contain nitrates of some level. (Tap water usually around 7 ppm)

You need to complete the cycling process. Right now the easiest way to do this is to take a few pieces of fish, shrimp etc. Just a few small pieces. cut them up and toss them into your tank and let the bacteria goto work. There are several types of bacteria necessary to neutralize wastes produced in your aquarium. Having the good bacteria in the first stage of the Nitrogen cycle, which your tank should have already begun to grow. Lay off the water changes and allow the cycle to compelet. In a week, test your water again.

When the readings are all in the safe zone, then try a fish or two.
It is never any fun looking at an empty aquarium, but it is even worse when you look in and they are all dead.
Good luck.

Answer 4

Some fish like high alkalinity, high ph. Try Africans like Malawi cichlids. Your fish store should know what I mean. These are cheap, beautiful fish. I don't recommend taking extreme steps to change your water chemistry - forget keeping discus (low alkalinity, low ph) you will just spend money and time. The nitrites will drop as the tank cycles. Your LFS (local fish store) should sell you some giant danios or other tough fish for this phase - and accept them back in trade when the nitrites reach zero. This can be just a week or two. There are also some products that let you cycle in one day. But the cheap ones DO NOT work - do not waste money on them. Don't forget to add some Amquel (or equivalent) if you have city supplied water.

Answer 5

When you start a tropical fish tank the water has to be treated first with tap safe which you can get from the pet shop. This removes all harmful nitrates etc. You should ideally leave your tank to stand for approximately 2 weeks before introducing fish.

When it's ready, start with fish such as Neon Tetras. These are very hardy fish and will regulate the water ready for other fish.

You should do a regular Ph test and make sure it stays between 6.0 - 7.5.

When you tank is established you should change one quarter of the water about once a month but remember to treat the new water with tap safe before putting in the tank.

I have kept tropical fish for over 10 years and there are always times when things can go slightly wrong but with trial and error and regular water checks you should be ok.

Hope this helps

Answer 6

Nope, not ready yet. Don't use rainwater, there can be unknown chemicals in it. You don't need to soften the water for most tropicals, they can thrive up to 9. You also don't want pH swings because the swings kill fish. It sounds like you aren't even started to cycle yet. Have you added an ammonia source? The cycle won't start without an ammonia source. You should use liquid test kits as well, strips are notoriously wrong/

Answer 7

Rain water isn't a good source for fish tank. It varys too much chemically and variations are very bad. Keep in mind hard basic (7.5+ pH) water is bad for some fish, but great for others. I'd go with the hardier live bearers guppy, swordtail, and platty. (no molly your tank is too small)

A good starter fish for a 10 gallon tank is a female betta. (Only one betta male or female in a 10 gallon as they fight other bettta.) Otherwise a pair of guppy will work.

Answer 8

Please read up on the Nitrogen Cycle. I recommend doing a fishless cycle... it's too long for me to explain twenty million times a day, so please read something on that as well. There are other reasons to wait. If you add fish now you will be doing water changes EVERYDAY to keep ammonia and nitrites low. Any amount of ammonia or nitrites will kill a fish. That's why I recommend doing a fishless cycle. Just setting up a tank and adding aquasafe doesn't mean the tank is ready for fish. Once again read up on the nitrogen cycle, so you can familiarize yourself with what will be going on in your tank... And a fishless cycle is the only humane way to cycle a tank!

Answer 9

NO! don't do that. you must get distilled water and then go to the pet store and get a chemical that will make the water safe, dechlorineizer and such. also when you get the fish home you are supposed to leave them in the bag and float it in the water for about ten minutes to let them get used to the temperature change.