Search results for query: "tap water"

Since Happi has raised some important questions here, I'll try to join the discussion exceptionally to explain a bit my reasons why I decided to use such low concentrations and also sodium (which apparently is not an essential nutrient). 1) I have quite a lot of experience with failure. You...

Hiya, in my experience they've been quite hardy little fish! They like very soft, very clean water, tannins, lots and lots of dense planting and really colour up with live food. Re water quality: For context I'm in Manchester so have extremely soft dechlorinated tap water (less than 2dGh) with...

I'll check this video out now, i dont recognise the thumbnail so ive probably not seen it, thank you - the only reason I was put off of a full Co2 set up was cost and space, so far I've forked out very little for the set up and was quite pleased about that, but maybe I will consider putting what...

Mother nature at her best...bladder snails are tough, should be fine, and a welcome addition. Pity you can't use yeast and sugar for gentle CO2, cheap, cheerful, easy and green. With hard water CO2 injection is real miracle worker, a small tank like your cube would work well with a citric...

Thanks so much for the advice Darrel, I really appreciate these detailed responses and links. I have ordered a TDS meter and will sus out how to get all that working in the cubes favour once it arrives!

Hi all, It will have done. Have a look at <"Correspondence with Dr Ryan Newton - School of Freshwater Sciences, University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee">. Compounds like <"pH Buffers"> aren't really very useful in aquariums, they just transfer your money to the vendor. Sensible. Hard water is...

Thank you. I've not got any RO but my tap water is pretty benign. I've tried a 50:50 mix and a 1 to 5 mix (tank to tap), but still nothing. Why is Nitrate testing problematic? Cheers L

Hi all, What @bazz says. Unless you have a really massive tank and follow EI etc. it is a viable option for anyone with access to a gutter down-pipe. The only limit to how much water you can store <"is the size of the container"> you can fit in the space. An average sized roof would collects...

Any half decent RO unit should get your GH and KH down to zero or undetectable amounts anyway, mine brings the TDS down from 300 to 10. You don't really need the DI module with fresh water, just sediment, activated carbon, carbon block prefilters and the membrane, you may need a small boost pump...

Hi, I bought a 50gpd RO unit from Finest Filters. Came with pump to boost speed (RO very slow without good water pressure). Great unit. Was £140 from memory. Reduces my hard tap water TDS by 95%. I don't bother with de ionisation for my low-tech tank, although the unit came with a de ionisation...

I setup a 70L version of this culture and I noticed a big color difference in the new culture moina. Pale moina Original pink moina The new culture does have a larger trickle filter and it had an airline, so I wonder if the oxygen content is what is causing this. I have heard the color is...

Chapter 2: Growing plants with lean fertilisation in the water column Introduction See Chapter 1 for an introduction and more general information about this experiment. More detailed information and further experiments can be found [if interested] on my website: golias.net/akvaristika/...

I have had this problem, my tap water in the summer can be equally high in Nitrate. I discovered this after an algae outbreak following a big water change. There are some commercial products that will reduce Nitrate by chemical absorption, you add a bag of resin to the filter, many also reduce...

Not sure quite what you are asking, but the substrate will suck up lots at the beginning to sucking up none, how do you intend to keep your hard water at 6 -8 dGH thereafter?

This has now been running for 4 weeks and diatoms have started developing, so still changing water up to 3 times per week to control those. Plants haven’t yet lost their emerse leaves or started to grow, so it’s slow going. What I have noticed is that despite these regular water changes ages...

I have another question about the water parameters. These are the parameters of my tap water Total hardness:287 µS / 8.96 dGH Carbonate hardness:2.7 dKH / 48 mg/litre CaCO3 Nitrate:22.1 mg/litre NO3 Phosphate:0.00 mg/litre PO4 Iron:0.00 mg/litre Fe Water reaction pH:6.93° Ammonia:0.0 mg/litre...

Hi all, Not really my field, but <"I'll have a go">. I think all substrates will probably develop anaerobic pockets if left undisturbed. If you have plants I think this is a good thing, the zones of fluctuating REDOX values <"Modification of sediment redox potential by three contrasting...

....and most probably a couple of teaspoons of Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom Salts), the IFC will give you an accurate target.

Hi all, I think a lot of people end up here. I look on <"slow growth as an asset">, mainly because it gives you some <"wriggle room"> when life intrudes - <"High tech with low maintenance- looking for inspiration">. I'd always recommend people start off with "Easy" plants <"plant details -...

Awesome. Thanks for the advice! Adding a bucket or two of tap water seems like a good idea 👍🏼

Hi all, OK, that makes sense. You can still do that, or add your own salts via the IFC spreadsheet. Have a look at @Roland 's <"Softwater tank">. cheers Darrel

Thanks! Is this needed for a tankless RO system though? Will the float valve on its own not stop the demand for water? Link to the system I’ve purchased https://www.finest-filters.co.uk/600gpd-tankless-reverse-osmosis-ro-unit-with-faucet/ The plan is for a T’d connection out of the RO...

1. Size of tank. - 37L (17.5 X 12 X 12) inches 2. Age of the system approximately. - 3 months 3. Tap water parameters. - Hard water with medium hardness and calcium 4. Filtration and Media. - Stock Filter that comes shipped with Eheim Classic 250 5. Lighting and duration. - 8 Hours 6. Substrate...

No tap water at all. I want to run an RO line from the kitchen to the back of the tank and use a float valve to top off/refill. The temperature of the RO feed is what’s got me onto the storage tank idea. Ideally I don’t want to run a mains water feed to the back of the tank and I’m trying to...

Hi all, They have done a really good job with it. I don't think you need to. Just add ~10 litres of tap occasionally. You can use a conductivity meter to give you a <"Goldilocks zone" conductivity datum>", or you can the <"snail-shell"> Index. This is the bit I don't quite get, are you using...

Thanks Darrel. Issue is, i hadn't really planned on running a tap water feed to the back of the tank. Another option i've been thinking about it T'ing the RO feed off and having one feed for auto top off, and another to feed a water tank in the void under the tank (filter/co2/other components...

Hi all, You can <"just use your tap water"> to add calcium (Ca) (dGH) and (bicarbonates) dKH, you are going to add magnesium (Mg) with your fertiliser addition. You don't need to remineralize your RO, the tap water is already doing it. cheers Darrel

The key I fear, CO2/high tech and messing about with the tap water...most of us start of simple with dechlorinated tap water, moderate light, occasional modest water changes, easy plants and the O2 needs of fish prioritised. And dare I say this, "real dirty filters", full of helpful bacteria...

Sorry to hear that all your fishes died. Refer to your latest post on your tank, it seems the water quality still have room for improvement. The water should be crystal clear instead of milky once the initial run-in cycle is completed. For CO2 and lighting, it seems too much lighting are being...

in my old tanks I keep small pieces of lava rock, for beneficial bacteria, and use those rock in newly planted tanks for fast cycling. In both my high tech tanks I used ADA SUPER POUR, which seems to be as good as its expensive counterpart APT quick start to speed up nitrogen cycle

That is good news. You have some experience and that you have access to filter bacteria. Your fancy goldfish look lovely and the tank looks lovely. Cardinal tetras actually do quite well in water with a modestly high level of alkalinity. If we want to breed cardinal tetras soft and acidic...

I was shocked to see the amount of chlorine in these readings, do I really need a de-chlorinater?

This is my sixth Aquascape, My first Aquascape is a 50 gallon low tech tank (picture 1) that I made way back in august. That time I knew nothing about aquascaping, I paid to a guy who is into fish business but had little knowledge of aquasdaping he made that aquascape for me. When I say he had...

From your picture of test results, which may not be accurate, your tap water once treated for chlorine is perfect. I, if I was you, would as I have said, try running a low tech tank first, for a year or so, before using CO2. And please, don't add fish until your filters are mature, ask in a...

My tap water reading before adding de-chlorinator. Carbonate level and Total hardness looks fine, PH is 7.5 and I believe once this tap water goes inside the tank, the Ph will drop because of CO2

You should NOT buy any livestock. Start this tank from scratch. Make a list of what is currently in the tank and then we'll see what we can do with it. And first of all: what are the parameters of your tap water? That will be the start. You need to learn how an aquarium works. You probably...

You are welcome :) To be fair it may be something that's changed over the years and is more commonplace now. If it's been working for you without any issue then it seems that your supplier doesn't currently use it, but if they decide to add chloramine I don't think they'll inform you. Sadly for...

Thank you, this is a big tank, so in this tank I am using tank water with few drops of de-chlorinator. Earlier I used to mix RO water and tap water with de-chlorinator. But after reading this thread. I have stopped using RO water. I don't know how the hardness was 0.

I think this is incorrect, at least in some parts of the UK: "Scottish Water has introduced chloramination in areas where untreated water is highly coloured due to peat-based water sources. It is also effective where drinking water has to travel long distances, as it removes the need to add...

Sorry to hear of this, your photo shows 0 total hardness. That alone, if accurate is a recipe for disaster. Did you partially remineralise your RO water? First kept fish seriously age 8, still keeping fish in my 60s. Here are my observations which you may find useful. I had books from the...

Hi all, Some snails as well? Similar tap water to me, basically with as much dissolved limestone (CaCO3) as you can get in solution. One advantage of floating plant is that they are really easy to thin, if they get too much. <"Sam is a good bloke">. I haven't been in for ages, but I will...

Hi, Sorry, for the late response. computer issues. I've adjusted up the CO2 and it is a healthy green now. For info, my KH is 15.8. High, but I live in the chalky Wiltshire countryside. I've had many a discussion with Darrel (@dw1305) on this. See Water chemistry/KH and GH of my tap water. Yes...

All good questions, and my answers may not be totally satisfactory. I personally don't like skimmers, I do ripple the surface with my filter output, sometimes with a lily pipe across part of the tank surface for adequate O2 exchange. Skimmers however, unlike the outflow of the filter block up...

Hi Darrel Many thanks for the reply. Yes, I have a couple of Otocinclus for many years now in this tank. Since I have been battling the algae issues and seen some improvements on the weekly maintenance ie the amount of glass cleaning I have to do I have been supplementing them with algae...

Hi all, I don't think so, the problem is that plant growth issues can have a multitude of causes, which is why there is rarely a <"black and white answer"> in a "shades of grey" scenario. The sellers of <"magic bullets"> will try and tell you that their product <"is the answer">, whatever the...

Hi All One of my problems in life is I don't ask for help often enough - I just try and get on with it without necessarily admitting my (numerous) failings. Well I'm struggling now and doubting my ability to read, understand and make decisions. I seem to have "over read" several topics and have...

Hi @Happi. Yes, I was using your mix and still grateful for your help with that. I can't fully recall how I ended up trying APT - I think it was from conversations with a well known aquascaping store. They use it and have amazing scapes - I changed a few things and was trying to gain some...

Thanks for reading my post Maverick. It is not really the case that we need soft water, if you haven't seen it, try and get a copy of Karen Randall's Sunken Gardens, it is not a technical read, I'm not a scientist and I think it is very well written, danios, barbs, goldfish, live bearers, and...

What are you adding? Do not use water that has been through a water softener. Because of the ion exchange, the water will be high in sodium which is not good for plants or fish. As @Teleos said, mix RO with straight tap water to partially remineralise it, and add your dechlorinator.

You need to know the water parameters of your tap water. Then you can mix your tap water with RO water. Approximately so that a kH of 2 to 4 is the result of your mixing.

Fertilizer, micro nutrients, macro nutrients, twice a week. I have dechlorinator if I use water softener with tap water, will it be better?

That may be an issue, RO water is just water without any 'salts', just aim for a sensible KH, sensible pH, sensible Nitrate and Phosphate level, adequate CO2 and good light and mother nature will work her magic. Good luck, many of us have lovely planted tanks with very little intervention, I...

Welcome to the Bread Basket, where you're never more than 20 minutes from the nearest corn/wheat/soy field or cattle ranch. I'm also in a red zone in regards to areas that don't use buffer zones for fertilized fields. The sodium is likely sourcing from the road salts that are put out in the...

Hi all, It is very different as tap water from what we get in the UK. I wonder if the pH reflects the <"evaporite minerals"> in the aquifer? There is a <"huge amount of sulphate (SO4--)"> at 240 mg / l, quite a lot of sodium (Na+) - 76 mg / l etc. This is the <"Cretaceous age sea covering the...

My thoughts are similar. If I'm going to have to start making chemical adjustments to make my tap water into a workable state, I might as well make chemical adjustments to RODI water. That way I'm at least getting complete control of my water for the effort I'm spending. My local fish shop did...

The alkalinity listed in the report is not high enough to drive the pH over 9. I suspect they have added NaOH to deliberately raise the pH of the water. @dw1305 I believe mentioned this is sometimes done to prevent pipe corrosion? If you're comfortable measuring alkalinity it is pretty...

I'm beginning to put together my first aquarium. Among the many variables I'm trying to make the most informed decision on (EG: substrate, filter, light volume/spectrum, etc), my tap water has stumped me the most. The API test kit for "high PH" caps out on my tap water. Looking at my location's...

Hi all, Useful to know, somebody told me that they did better in hard water. I'm still considering an unheated hard water tank, but just for Cherry Shrimps and <"fancy snails">. Panda Cory (Hoplisoma (Corydoras) panda) is the only "hobby bred" "Corydoras" that <"I ever see locally"> and it...

Have to admit, I've never seen a display tank use it, but a friend uses it to breed Celestial Danios and Panda catfish - in London tap water - and as the only plant in the tank, it actually looks really attractive. Small tanks, medium intensity warm coloured lighting and very gentle...

That was more or less the conclusion that I came too, as I have been using rain water for this tank and having a search around online seems that some others have had similar experiences

Hi all, I can't grow it either. It is fine in our tap water (about 18 dGH, 18 dKH), but just <"dwindles away in the tanks"> (rain-water). Some people are fine with it in soft water, so it maybe the combination of low nutrients (or just low calcium (Ca) levels) and soft water it doesn't like...

Hi all, I think that was partially why Diana Walstad liked to start with a lot of carbonate hardness in her substrate. Originally she didn't advocate any water changes <"Walstad revises">, so she needed a reserve of dKH to counter <"old-tank syndrome">. I have the same "issue", even our...

Thanks for the links, read and watched them. Appreciated. And I don't claim to understand the chemistry of KH/acid fixation capacity, I have to rely on others and I need to take care with measurement standards I sometimes get mixed up between dKH and ppm Directly relevantly to KH. it seems...

It blows my mind that in a hobby that's based around nature, companies are selling completely unnecessary and wasteful "cartridges" that need regularly replaced, when the alternate is free, less work, and less wasteful. Money talks I guess. Anyway, just to give you an example, both my filters...

That would be me not knowing what the hell I'm doing.😂 I've tried doing that: My target is EI Dosing Mid. Then I added the dry dosing weights from there to the DIY Calculator page, but I get this: Not sure what's gone wrong there but the results are a lot less than the EI Dosing Mid levels.

Hi all, Possibly it is. This would be a very soft water tank, with fish <"Joe's tank"> and what fish they are. Tricky, they really need very hard, alkaline and, ideally, slightly brackish water. I have a pond as well, rainwater filled, but full of "Bath stone" (Oolitic limestone) so fully...

Not sure why your using the DIY trace page - that's for making Micro ferts from scratch I would advise using the Target Calculator page Comparing the two Micro mix's they are not identical - however they have the same order of magnitude of nutrients. Plus if your planning on EI dosing you...

Good question, no fixed point I suppose. I'm basically a lean dose, not EI, so I only add macro nutrients when I think they are needed, sometimes I test the Nitrate and Phosphate levels. With CO2 and high light even on good rich aquatic compost I would think stem plants might exhaust the macro...

A very impressive tank. Is it a plant only tank? Thanks Darrel as always, and I for one, hope I keep a sensibly open mind, and my experiences, though extensive are of course only my experiences. As you know I do not claim to be a scientist and my tank contains black mollies and tetras...

Hi all, That one. I always use @Roland's - <"Soft water tank">. It is a shame, she is some-one I have <"a lot of respect for">, but I've read a few of her posts and my opinion is that she doesn't really <"understand buffering">. @Andy Pierce is the person <"you need"> for the chemistry -...

Good question. And my I don't want to overstate my understanding of science. My tap water tends to be around 14 KH sometimes higher, never lower. I have to mix it with collected rainwater (which is often in limited supply) to get water <10, it is an effort with evaporation and the natural...

Hi all, That is actually the reason they add phosphate (PO4---) <"to tap water">, to precipitate any heavy metal (and also iron (Fe++(+)) ions. In wastewater phosphate stripping a continual stream of ferric chloride (FeCl3) is added to the wastewater to generate insoluble iron phosphate...

I was meaning in the tank water, from decaying waste and food, etc.

Yes, but only from the Potassium Phosphate that I add. Did you mean the Phosphate from tap water? I use RO. If you are using tap I presume you have populated the 'Your Area Water Report' under the Core Settings tab? I can see you have been using the IFC, you can just change the dosing frequency...

Thanks man you made my day. It will not only save my $$, but the real problem is availability of those cartridges that can actually fit into these filters. I think I can somehow optimize my canister filters too using course sponge

Hi all, They should do, but a lot depends on stocking density, gas exchange surface area etc. - <"The Great Mechanical Filtration Experiment"> I usually give the prefilter a good regular clean, but just briefly rinse any media inside the filter, and I don't open the filters very often. I...

Hi all, That is really the bit that matters, healthy <"plant growth is the gift that keeps giving">, but ......... Very true. Personally I just use a bit of <"hard, alkaline tap water"> to supply calcium (Ca++) and carbonate hardness (dKH) and I'm going to add magnesium (Mg++) with <"my...

Hi all, Or calcium nitrate tetrahydrate etc. Cheers Darrel

I have no experience of using this product, the only option when I bought a lifetimes supply of Iron EDTA was sodium. Calcium is relatively strongly bonded to EDTA and may not be that readily available for plants, could be wrong. However I use rain water and moderately soft tap water for water...

Hi all, Growth was limited by one of the fourteen essential nutrients for plant growth missing, or in limiting amounts, in the 2 : 1 : 4 mix. It is likely that insoluble compounds had formed, possibly due to calcium (Ca) and / or bicarbonate ((HCO3) forming insoluble compounds with one of the...

Hi all just so that I can chime in on this one, I was using tap water and no potassium sorbate or white vinegar initially and only 2 1 4 I saw good growth with the solufeed, however I decided to do a proper mix including trace around early December. So now I see much more colour in the plants...

Sorry to bump an old thread, I hope its not breaking any forum rules. I downloaded the spreadsheet tool but I'm a mac user and it doesn't seem to work in Numbers. For the salt ratios it says 1 for everything, does that literally mean use the exact same serving of each one? For example, 5 grams...

It's a slow day at work, so I thought I'd register my current dosing regime. Mostly so that I don't forget it, as I'm changing it soon. Using KNO3, urea, KH2PO4 and MgSO4.7H2O. Urea is dosed 4 times a day with the dosing pump. N: 2.5 ppm (roughly 70% from urea) K: 2.5 ppm PO4: 1.0 ppm Mg: 7.0...

If you want to schedule the light to come off and on via WiFi you could potentially use a smart plug. This would save some money that can go into more plants. I do not have experience with this set so someone else can hopefully advise if it remembers the last brightness setting if on a smart...

Happy new Year all. Unrelated to my prior question but please bear with me. I'm about to move from an area with 6.5 tap water to an area with 7.5-7.8 (will find out when I visit the place on the weekend). My current 120L planted tank which has a leaning toward soft water species will travel...

References (translation) Paffrath, Kurt. Bestimmung und Pflege von Aquarienpflanzen. 2. Auflage. Landbuch Verlag GmbH, 1979. ISBN 3-7842-0220-9. (pp. 142-146) My translation: Identification and care of aquarium plants The behaviour of carbon dioxide in water Carbon dioxide is present in...

If you are really worried, you can add some crushed coral to the filter (in a bag) and it should increase (and buffer) the ph. Then, you will feel comfortable that the CO2-induced pH will not be of concern. I have never done this myself (I live with tap water with a pH of 7.5-8.0) so perhaps...

Morning everyone. I have been ineffectually faffing around with CO2 in my 400l tank just using a drop checker for the last couple of weeks. I've had one or two deaths and have gone back to basics. CO2 has been off for five days and I did my weekly 50% water change a couple of days ago. We have...

Sorry to hear that. I very much doubt you lost your fish due to a pH of 8. I have many fish thriving at those levels, and some are considered 'sensitive' to water conditions. I think we need more information for the community to help you. At a minimum: a full tank shot aquarium size in L...

Question about ph, my tap water is a ph of 7.5 but the aquarium tank water is ph 8 I have lost a few cherry barbs through the night. It’s a low tech tank with a substrate of gravel though I believe it’s has calcium parts in it. With water changes of a .5 difference have ill effect of the fish?

I had a small group of 10 or so, very hardy in my experience but I did buy ones that were well acclimated and feeding. Tds and ph I couldn't comment on, I use tap water and being in Copenhagen it's liquid rock, but with aquasoil so if anything like the other scapes I suspect it was around 6.8. I...

Hi Bazz, et al., This is my tank just before my weekly water change today. About 40% conditioned tap water change is usual. I've kept the pictures big so you can see detail. If these are too big then shout. My tank is barer than last time I posted. Have a problem with green algae that clogs up...

Just setting up a 20 gallon just for breeding Red Cockatoo Cichlids. Sandy substrate, Heavily planted with low light plants (Crypts, Anubias etc) Bogwood 50-50 rain water-tap water A few caves...small clay plant pots, slate etc My LFS has some beauties in store for £20/pair. Ive read that it...

Just jotting down plans for the near future and some present observations. I really want to plant the pennywort soon as I think that this will help with their growth. The substrate is just a very thin layer of sand and I don't fancy adding anymore to the bottom of the tank so I'm going to plant...

Hi Everyone from South East London. The Aquarium addiction happened last year when my girlfriend asked me to baby sit her 6 zebra danios. I was that person that did 100% water changes with untreated tap water until a friend educated me “you cannot use tap water, you have no filter, the tank is...

Hi all, It might be NO3 limitation as well, but nitrate as mobile within the plant, so deficiencies tend to show in older leaves. @Hufsa has a thread where she had manganese (Mn) deficiency, due to her incredibly pure tap water. Cheers Darrel

This is a mini-update since it has only been a few weeks but i wanted to point out the impact of lack of nutrients in the water; unfortunatley i just could not get my phone to focus on objects so most of the pictures i had to delete - basically about 2 1/2 weeks i added some targeted root tabs...

Hello everyone, I've been without a tank for a few years, I got rid of my last one when we moved 3 years ago with plans to start again, bigger and better, once we were sorted. We are now fully sorted in our new home and the itch is getting too much so I'm looking at setting up the new tank, on...

Thanks. I was thinking about a phosphate remover but as you suggested wanted to try an alternative test kit to eliminate problems with the API one. I've read that they have had problems with their reagents occasionally so could be false readings! I will look into ROWA as a remover. Does it need...

Those are very high readings, I would check with a different test, the Thames before it is tidal can have levels pushing towards 7 ppm but that is, I am led to believe rare. If your tap water is genuinely high in Phosphate fill a plastic bin with tap water and run a filter packed with Rowa for...