Newbie in Michigan

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DaleV87

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Jan 26, 2015
Messages
787
Location
Michigan
Just curious how many users are local to me at the base of the thumb? I would like to get with someone that really knows their stuff and teach me what I am doing right or wrong.
There is so much information available that it can be confusing at times and I just want to make sure I'm doing right.
My wife and I really enjoy the fish and the setup of the tank and I would like to take it to the next level but I don't feel I really know enough about where I am yet to be honest.
I noticed that my ammonia level is climbing and in the past I have always vaccumed out and replenished with new RO water that I would buy. This is due to me being on a well and very hard water. But I had someone tell me to use the well water and put drops in the tank to neutralize the PH. I am not really familair with these drops though. Can someone elaborate on this for me and is this accurate for my situation?
Thanks in advance.
 
I'm in central michigan, not quite close enough.

In short, the drops are crap as are most ph additives. Whats the ph from your tap water after it sits out for 24 hours?
 
I would say invest in a decent ro unit and keep mixing. I had always added a little more ro to the mix every water change until I had things where I wanted them.

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Not from Michigan but I feel the ammonia being present in a cycled tank could be an issue in itself?? What's up there?

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ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1422373934.182726.jpgthis was my last readings taken. I guess the ammonia isn't as bad as I originally thought but the PH is so hard to get down. I have changed and bought over 100 gallons of water doing periodic changes of up to 50% and it still seems high to me. How do I get it lower without changing 100% water and why would it be so high after all the water changes?


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Looks fine to me. My amm. Test never hits true yellow either.

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The pH look like it's 8.0? If that's the pH of the tap water then it's perfectly fine. Almost all the fish we keep will adapt very well to that pH level. It's far more important to offer a stable pH than a perfect pH and using any method of changing your pH can be a nightmare, especially those drops.

The drops are especially problematic because they only last for a day or two and then the pH will spike again causing you to use it again. This will create a yoyo effect on the pH and stress out your fish big time.
 
I'm in central michigan, not quite close enough.

In short, the drops are crap as are most ph additives. Whats the ph from your tap water after it sits out for 24 hours?

I am not sure but I will test it and get back to you on that one.
Thanks.
 
That test was from the aquarium water. I will set some water out today and test it tomorrow to see what the tap water actually is. Thanks for the help by the way. The owner of the fish store had told me once she wouldn't sell me anything other than a $2 fish if my PH wasn't at least in the mild brown range to insure a safe environment for the fish as well as to save my money.
I just want to make sure I have a good system for my fish to be as healthy and beautiful as possible. :fish1:
 
What does the lfs keep their fish in? If they're at 6.5 I could see why they'd be apprehensive. You can drip acclimate fish for a couple hours to a varied ph and they should be ok.

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Your lfs is probably on city water which should be roughly in the area of 7.4-7.6, a difference of .6-.4 isn't bad. I just wouldn't plan on any of the more parameter demanding species.

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Gillie, they have a RO system and sell the water by the gallon for other enthusiasts.
Maybe a selling point?? Not sure, but I did appreciate them being forward for the sake of the fish and my wallet.
 
Ok. Here is the test of my tap water after 24 hours of sitting as requested. I was not sure which PH test to do being as I don't know the difference between the PH and the High Range Ph so I did both. ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1422467361.042928.jpg
Thanks for any input.


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Gillie, they have a RO system and sell the water by the gallon for other enthusiasts.
Maybe a selling point?? Not sure, but I did appreciate them being forward for the sake of the fish and my wallet.

I believe that it is used mostly by marine keepers at least that's the majority of people that I see buy it.

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Ok. Here is the test of my tap water after 24 hours of sitting as requested. I was not sure which PH test to do being as I don't know the difference between the PH and the High Range Ph so I did both. View attachment 262560
Thanks for any input.


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Wow that is quite hard. The difference in high and low range is high is for harder water and the othe for softer. I did notice that API fudged a little and the 7.6 reading is on the low range and 7.4 is on the high.

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Wow that is quite hard. The difference in high and low range is high is for harder water and the othe for softer. I did notice that API fudged a little and the 7.6 reading is on the low range and 7.4 is on the high.

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I have soft water, tests high on low end and low on high end..
Op- can you check gh/kh?

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I am not familiar with either. Can you elaborate?


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Carbonate hardness and general hardness. It reflects your waters ability to buffer ph, I'd guess your gh to be on the higher side but I'm curious about kh. You can get api liquid test kits, the cheap strips will give you a rough idea.

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Just saying hi to a fellow Michigan person. I'm in Lansing so not close to you at all. Hope your tank adventure goes well!
 
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