Need advice on soft/hard water

[leikela]

Where I live, our water is really hard - which is great for my shrimpies but not so much for the ones I would really like

My ideal tank:
I have a 20G tank that's waiting to be cycled (although I have a filter seeding in my other tank so hopefully shouldn't take long) and I'd really like to stock it with nano fish like ember tetras, chili rasbora, neon yellow-green microrasbora and/or otocinclus.

How can I make the water soft for those type of guys to thrive?

 

[Fishguy2727]

High quality food and water will allow them to thrive. We had galaxy rasboras breeding in the sales tank at the LFS I was running, in very hard tap water.

If all is going well but they just aren't breeding you can dilute your tap water with either RO or distilled water.

 

[Shadowraven]

If your water is really hard and you don't use a water softener, about the only inexpensive way to deal with it is as fishguy suggests. That is:

Dilute your tap water with distilled water. The amount of distilled water you use will depend on how soft you want the water to be. You may need to go as much as 50/50 or higher depending on your requirements and how hard your water is.

Use filtered or RO water. RO water will need to be mixed with some regular tap water as it it too pure and doesn't contain enough dissolved minerals for the fish.

The addition of peat moss to the filter can also help to soften the water in your tank by sequestering calcium ions. Adding driftwood or some plants can do the same to a lesser extent.

Softening "pillows" are also available, but the aren't cheap.

 

[leikela]

So it's not necessarily essential for the tank to have 100% RO water? I have to admit to not knowing very much about it at all :-/

 

[Shadowraven]

So it's not necessarily essential for the tank to have 100% RO water? I have to admit to not knowing very much about it at all :-/

No, in fact I advise against it. RO water is too pure to use by itself in a freshwater environment. Water is the universal solvent and it will remove minerals from anything it can. This includes your fish. If your water is pure, that means it has plenty of space available for it to absorb solids from the environment

Since your fish absorb at least some of the minerals they require from the water, the water can do the same to them and leach those minerals back from their body. That is why it is suggested to mix at least some hard water into RO before you use it in a freshwater tank. You can use RO water unmixed to top off the tank occasionally, so long as it is not used exclusively. Remember that while there are dissolved minerals in the water now, the organisms living there will be using them, gradually depleting them over time.

RO is great to use in saltwater tanks since it won't add additional unwanted minerals to the water. Saltwater tanks already have dissolved minerals in them that are closely monitored. The same can't be said for freshwater tanks in general.

 

[Deep Seven]

Considering your experience* level, you don't want to use 100% RO water. It will have no buffer, and may cause problems with pH swings as well as missing stuff your fish and plants need.

Your best bet is a mix of RO and tap water. Find the ratio that works for you, then use that ratio everytime you mix up water for a change.

Not sure if you have one but if not get a good master freshwater test kit. It will really help you to understand whats going on with your tank.

 

[Fishguy2727]

Try it without altering at all first, then if needed worry about softening the water.

 

[jetajockey]

Agreed with above. I've bred galaxy rasbora aka celestial pearl danios multiple times in mid 7's , nothing special done to the water at all.

 

[Shadowraven]

I agree with the above. Soft water is more important with many tetras than it is with the fish that you are keeping. I was just providing instructions to you if you needed to make the water softer than it is now.

 

[leikela]

Thanks for all the advice Should I start testing the gh/kh of my tap water before embarking on softer water fish? Are there acceptable limits on hardness? And how would I acclimate those guys to hard(er) water if they're currently used to living in softwater conditions in the LFS? Will they be ok?

Sorry... Lots of questions!

 

[jetajockey]

I wouldn't focus on it too much, it's not that big of a deal.

 

[Deep Seven]

And how would I acclimate those guys to hard(er) water if they're currently used to living in softwater conditions in the LFS? Will they be ok?

Sorry... Lots of questions!

Drip acclimation, slow and patient.

 

[leikela]

Thanks, that's all really reassuring

 

[Shadowraven]

Thanks for all the advice Should I start testing the gh/kh of my tap water before embarking on softer water fish? Are there acceptable limits on hardness? And how would I acclimate those guys to hard(er) water if they're currently used to living in softwater conditions in the LFS? Will they be ok?

Sorry... Lots of questions!

Yes, but they are good ones to ask and we don't mind answering them for you.

Testing your tap water to find the gH/kH is actually not a bad idea, regardless of what you are keeping. That way you have a staring point to work from.

Most tetras comes from soft waters in their native habitats, so that is generally what they prefer. Many of them are still able to exist in a wider range of pH or gH/kH. There are a few exceptions that are more sensitive such as Neon Tetras. It is best to research the fish you plan to keep so you can get to know their requirements.

If the water at your LFS is radically different from the water in your tap, then drip acclimation is the way to go. It is the way I would suggest to acclimate your new fish regardless.

Here is a good article that explains the process:
How to do Drip Acclimation for your New Fish - The Fish Tank Place

As for limits on water hardness, the hardest it should ever get is between 11-22 dH/kH and that only for African Lake Cichlids and some BW species. All other fish would prefer a hardness below 11.

 

[leikela]

Ok, my GH/KH test arrived today and I'm a tad confused about how to read the results.

Tank water results:
Kh - 7 drops
Gh - 16 drops

Tap water results:
Kh - 10 drops
Gh - 18 drops

Filtered tap water results:
Kh - 2 drops
Gh - 6 drops

Does it matter what the pH is? If so, the tank is 7.4, tap is 7.0 and filtered water is 6.0

Don't think I needed to do all those tests, but I was curious to see how each test could be so vastly different!

So what does it all mean? I'm all confused...