Anyone got a fish tank in VERY HARD WATER AREA???

[Mr Parsnip]

Hi i have a well working fish tank with no problems ie no fish died for years lol but a friend of mine lives in a very hard water area ie he carnt drink it cause its so horrid n can only use it if he boils it for food etc.

the problem is he has tried having fish and they seem to die after 2 months,i have tested water and ph is correct n also the amonia levels he feeds them correctly and has air pump and fluval 4 filters which are all working ok.

im sure the root of his problem is the actual water i am going to set it up the same as mine but would like to know which is mthe best way to sort the hard water issue i know boiling it will work but is that it boiul the water and let go go cold etc??


mr p

 

[v14]

i don't know anything about keeping fish but i know that water is "hard" due to high mineral content.
Boiling it won't help, in fact it might make it worse.

 

[nara]

.
Boiling it won't help, in fact it might make it worse.

Correct. Boiling will increase the mineral ratio, effectively making the water "harder".

 

[Mr Parsnip]

uummm thats weird as thats what the water board said to do when he rang them complaining lol


there must be a easier way


mr p

 

[nara]

uummm thats weird as thats what the water board said to do when he rang them complaining lol


there must be a easier way


mr p

If you boiled it, and then distilled the steam, you'd get pure water, but that's probably not practical.

 

[sargie]

You can buy water softners m8.

API Water Softener Pillow Lowers GH In Aquariums, C.D. Aquatics Aquarium Supplies A UK Supplier of API API Water Softener Pillow Lowers GH In Aquariums TRE593

 

[hatab]

don't know how practical, if its the water why not take him some of your water, it will be a ball ache the first time but you will only need to take top-up in the future.

you will need to borrow water containers from any friends who go camping or caravanning to transport it.....

 

[Mr Parsnip]

what a fuckin knob i am ive got 25 gallon containers here lol


never thought of it


mr p

 

[madnlooney]

try peat extract. its ment to bring hardness of the water down but it also clogs the filter up if you use loads of it

 

[bro]

what a fuckin knob i am


never thought of it


mr p

bro walks of an whistles :roflmao:


you not got a long hosepipe roud:

 

[Padda]

I live in a very hard water area in Shropshire, water is that bad it affects your skin in the winter!
I have a Trigon 190 fish tank overstocked with gold fish (din't realise at the time - beginners error) and I change 50% of the water every weak. Goldfish are not has hardy as they used to be (inbreeding) and all I do is treat the water with Tap Safe dechlorinator. No probs apart from the one fish getting swimbladder cos he is a greedy ba.....

 

[Mick]

I keep marine fish and corals.

nitrates caused by excess food being left and not filtered out, you need to make sure that the bacteria in your filter is fully colonised before you add fish.

Most times that fish die is because they are put in when your tank has not matured and cycled. the cycle can last from 2 days to 1 month or more and you will need to check for ammonia (first spike) then nitrite (second spike) and finally nitrate.

your levels will drop to 0 and then you can add fish.

Remember that keeping nitrates down is not so easy because you need to make sure that your tank is clean and free of detritus (food waiste) and if a fish dies it will cause an ammonia spike (deadly) if you do not remove it right away.

Becareful what kind of stones / rocks you put in your tank because they can leach phosphates which will cause algea blooms.

One last thing and really on topic about your water is that if its so bad (nutrients) then you could install a RO (reverse Osmosis) filter which will clean your water until its pure (if used with a DI RESIN FILTER) it will polish the water down to 0.00 (you can check this with a TDS meter)

but do not buy fish and put them straight in the water let your filter build up bacteria, this bacteria is what keep your tank stable.

I am no expert this is from what I have picked up and I know nothing about fresh water apart from all tanks cycle regardless of type of culture

And as above you need to do water changes weekly or at least every two weeks, but remember wash your sponge out lightly in the excess tank water and not in the new water as it will kill the bacteria.

Mickie

 

[gasman]

RO water is the way to go if it really is that bad, you can actually buy the stuff from aquatic centers or indeed as mickie states buy an RO filter. You can also have magnetic water softeners fitted in your mains pipework, they are fairly cheap at around £30 and the benefits are vast as high mineral content water will deteriorate clothing and many appliances considerably faster. The amount of boilers ive seen with lime clogged heat exchangers is unbelievable and it's been the death of many a washing machine. But again make sure that tank was cycled properly it will help if you take as much of your water as possible and get it in their to boost the bacteria levels. When it starts the cycle the bacteria blooms and the water becomes milky (this is the bacteria floating in the water) when the water clears this generally means they have found their way to the filter (but be aware of the second cycle). Try adding one or 2 cheap fish (no more) and see what happens.

 

[witchy]

uummm thats weird as thats what the water board said to do when he rang them complaining lol

Probably because it's full of bacteria

 

[Mick]

Probably because it's full of bacteria

PMSL

its like that yakult advert or whatever it is lol... there is good bacteria and bad bacteria

 

[gasman]

Tank cycling it's a rite pain in the arse but fortunately you only need to do it the once
The good bacteria (yakults) eat the bad bacteria (shit) same scenario as a septic tank really.

Tips for Cycling Your New Aquarium - The First Tank Guide - Getting Your Fish Tank Up and Running with Minimal Headaches

 

[Mr Parsnip]

thanks for all the info guys i have spoke to the lad and he said hye going to let me set it up so i know i have done it correctly etc.

will let u know the sitch in a week or so after done the right tests



mr p

 

[Firemouth]

I would suggest nitrates, as have others. (gold fish thrive in ph from 6-8, even comets are cool to 7.5) take care with RO units though. apart from being vastly wasteful of water (you throw away 4 ltr for every1 ltr you can use) you need to re mineralise the water before it can be used. they also have the potential to be very dangerous. unless maintained well you can end up with a very poisonous mix as RO units do not do well with "organics". if there is any bug in the water, the filtered result will be "bacterial soup". even cutting it with tap does not, always, do the job. (ro water is un buffered and prone to wild swings, in all the water parameters). imo its a hammer to crack a nut, but as we like our gadgets, they get bought, whilst other, less wasteful and dangerous, systems can deal with problems.

nitrates can be dealt with via a "sulphur converter/reactor". this converts the nitrates to sulphuric acid, which in turn is converted, by an alkaloid, often oyster shells, to pure water. its a bit slower, but safer and less wasteful. there is also an "anaerobic" reactor (bacteria kept in an airless container, eat the nitrate) both cost, roughly, the same as a low end RO
as for minerals,? well peat, as mentioned is a good way, though messy. i have yet to find a, truly effective, shop bought, "hardness" solution. though a Britta filter will, very effectively, reduce the hardness of your water. it is unpopular amongst many fishkeepers, though no evedence to suggest it gives problems, has come forward. (fishkeepers seem to have problems with cheap solutions).

ultimately its best, unless you want to spend most of your time with fish, to choose fish that are happy in your "native" ph. one point to remember is, fish are nowhere near as sensitive to PH levels or swings as most think.
there are also some spectacular fish who love "concrete! (ph 8+). the African lake cichlids (three lakes to choose from) are amongst some of the most colourful fish in the world (frashwater). lol also amongst the most aggressive too!

 

[benny59]

i would tell your m8 to buy a ph testing kit 1st to see how hard the water supply realy is m8............the bad water taste may be excessive chlorine in the supply


chlorine kills fish, as does pure reverse Osmosis water {only use it to dilute the tapwater}....if the waters too acidic it will not only kill your fish but the bacteria aswell "a ph kit is a must m8

 

[Firemouth]

i would tell your m8 to buy a ph testing kit 1st to see how hard the water supply realy is m8............the bad water taste may be excessive chlorine in the supply


chlorine kills fish, as does pure reverse Osmosis water {only use it to dilute the tapwater}....if the waters too acidic it will not only kill your fish but the bacteria aswell "a ph kit is a must m8

yeh good point on RO ph. its not 7, as you would expect, but closer to 6. so its quite acid (the un buffered nature of RO, causes this problem). interesting point on acid and Bio bacteria. but as Wilde Discus, often require, below 5 ph, and seem to be as easy to cycle as any other tank. i assume its a different variant of bacteria that grows. or the loss is not as significant as it may seem. the ph swing from adding acid to alkaline water may well cause problems too.