Newcomer with specific questions

[Scorchiolee666]

Hello

I am new to the Aquarium world and just getting started, I have a small 35 litre tank and just going through the cycling process, if anyone can give advice would be great, I live in Kent area which is very hard water area so been looking at forums, looks like I need to get RO Water, if anyone can recommend where I can get some from locally?

Also I have an ornament that i want to use in tank amongst the plants which is made of hydrostone, ( like cast plaster) it was painted but this is starting to peel so need recommendations on what I can use to make this waterproof ? either paint or sealant that is aquatic friendly?

Many thanks

Glenn

 

[Kevin Eades]

Hi Glenn and welcome. I have gone down the George Farmer concept of using tap water and not fighting to get a perfect water parameter. This means I just restrict the plants and livestock choices to suitable ones. Saves money and stress using the tap. Others collect and use rain water. You can buy an RO unit for home. Local fish shops sell RO. Especially big chains like Maidenhead Aquatics. There is a company that sells RO water out of units in car parks called spotless water. Dont know if they have a location near you. If you use any method other than tap water you will need to add minerals and have a meter to gauge the parameters.

 

[Kevin Eades]

I have just done a bit of research on the ornament and I would suggest removing it until you can get it sealed. (Sorry I don't have experience on what will work) It appears it will slowly dissolve and this might leave nasties in the tank. I am normally over cautious with what I add.

 

[Scorchiolee666]

Hi Kevin

Thanks for advice, on the RO Water, I have found a place that sells RO water locally and its nearby, the initial setup will cost little more (paying for containers for first delivery) but after that its pretty cheap, the reason I have gone down this road is due to the water being so hard is this area and the fact that I wanted to eventually keep shrimp, plus as well as its a small tank I will not need large amounts of the RO water and have seen posts saying to mix this with the tap water to get that balance or just add the minerals if needed.

On the ornament front, I have already removed from the tank, as mentioned it was painted but noticed the paint coming off and dissolving in the water , so seeing the white plaster behind it all over the ornament plus I think the water was soaking into the hydrostone itself, so won't put it back in until I find a solution that will seal it and keep it waterproof but also be aquarium safe, on American forums its been mentioned enamel paint or acrylic paint to use in tanks but not too sure how waterproof acrylic paint is plus some of the brands they mention you can use , just cant buy over here! Will just need to do more research as the ornament with the plants was part of the overall idea/plan for the scape.

 

[X3NiTH]

You want resin based acrylic so when it’s dry/cured it’s insoluble.

If this ornament has to be in the tank because it forms part of your vision for it then you could get creative and make a mold of it and recast it in a more suitable material like hydraulic cement (Vicat Prompt (French cement of Grenoble) is best for use in water), soak the dry piece in a bucket of RO for a few weeks to let it leach out and become inert. Lots of ways to make a mold depending on the shape of the object to be copied. I don’t know how complex the geometry of the object is so you could always post a pic to see if this is feasible or not.

 

[ceg4048]

I am new to the Aquarium world and just getting started, I have a small 35 litre tank and just going through the cycling process, if anyone can give advice would be great, I live in Kent area which is very hard water area so been looking at forums, looks like I need to get RO Water, if anyone can recommend where I can get some from locally?

Hello,
The only time RO water is "needed" is if you intend to breed soft water fish or if you municipal water report shows high concentrations of herbicides or other toxic components. As mentioned above, it is a far easier task to simply use the water from your tap. There are only a handful of plants that do better in soft water. Most of the fish at the LFS such as tetras and so forth do originate in soft water habitats but they do just fine in hard water.

Cheers,