Need some help with Tap Water

[jsoong]

Originally Posted by greyboysix

I'll definitely add Dechlorinator to my water. I found my township's water quality report on-line, and they add chloramines. I was talking to my dad, and he said when he had his tanks, he would just leave the bucket of water out for two days before putting it in the tank. He said the additives would just evaporate. Anyone ever hear of that working?

In the OLD days, they use chlorine only as disinfectant. Chlorine will outgass ("evaporates") after a couple days, so it is possible to skip dechlor by using aged water.

Because chlorine is gone in a couple of days, it is not too effective as a disinfectant for your water supply, so just about everyone had switched to chloramines. Chloramines last at least 1 week under bright lights (longer in the dark), so you would need a dechlor to neutualize that for your tanks.

[greyboysix]

Again, thanks guys, for the invaluable advice. One last horrifyingly stupid question. I just want to make sure I've crossed all my ts and dotted all my eyes. FishbOne said that the dechlorinator only is active for 24 hours, and JSoong said that the chloramines are active for one week. Just to be sure, I only need to add the dechlorinator to the water that I add, when I add it, and NOT every day. Correct?

[fijiwigi]

That is correct. Just when you prep the water add the dechlorinator not every day. Its as simple as that(conversation is overanalyzed). What you should worry about is your cycle. Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate you should see spikes in all 3 and then at the end of the cycle(when the Nitrates drop) your tank is cycled and safe to add 1fish.

[fishb0ne]

greyboysix that is correct, because Prime neutralizes all chlorine/chloramine/metals in a matter of minutes. For this reason it is a good idea to mix it with your water in a bucket and let it do it's work for 10 minutes. Can't remember if it was this forum or another where someone actually lost a bunch of shrimp because he let the water sit for only 5 minutes and PRIME didn't get a chance to do it's work fully. It stays active for 24 hours and continues to work on the ammonia and nitrite

[greyboysix]

Like I said, thanks again, and that's the last stupid question. For a while, at least. I started (fishless) cycling of my tank today. When I get a chance this weekend, I'll post what all my readings are. I'd appreciate it if y'all would look at it and give me an idea if it's going normally. I'll be patient. I promise. haha.

[vfc]

greyboysix,
I also live in a northern suburb of Philly. My water comes primarily from the Schuylkill river and presents quite a challenge for fish keepers. If you use Google Earth you can see there are 12 waste treatment plants and a nuclear power station up river. My tap water has 10-30PPMs of nitrates (nitrates highest in mid-summer). To make matters worse, six months out of the year, they pump highly acidic and heavy metal laden water from an abandoned coal mine to supplement the water flow needed for the Limerick nuclear power plant. So if you don't like what you see in your test kit today, don't bother checking it in the summer.

Having said that, your best bet is to keep African Cichlids. They seem to thrive in this water. There is a good section at World Wide Aquarium in Upper Darby or Pets Plus on route 309 in Quarkertown.

[vfc]

greyboysix,
Once you get your tank established and ready for weekly water changes; you will need to premix a double dose of Prime in a bucket of water before using it. I have two 35G trash cans hooked together and let the water circulate with large airstones for a few hours before pumping the water into the tanks. Adding the water & Prime together while filling up the tank will kill off some of the weaker fish. The water is just too bad to dump in without pre-conditioning it first.

[greyboysix]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the advice. I live in Horsham, so yeah, our water comes from the schuylkill rive too, but I don't know which plant. I'll check out world wide aquariums too. Saw on their site that they'll test the water for free, so after I think I'm done cycling, I'll let the pros have at it. In your experience, do the people there give good advice?

[vfc]

Check to make sure Jim Hall is working the day you visit the Upper Darby store. He is one of the leading cichlid experts in the US. He has traveled to Africa and Central America a number of times to observe and purchase fish.

The Upper Darby store has over 50 tanks of African cichlids alone, so you will have quite a selection. Allow time for Jim to tell you his life story. The first time I meet him, we talked three hours!

[greyboysix]

Originally Posted by vfc

Check to make sure Jim Hall is working the day you visit the Upper Darby store. He is one of the leading cichlid experts in the US. He has traveled to Africa and Central America a number of times to observe and purchase fish.

The Upper Darby store has over 50 tanks of African cichlids alone, so you will have quite a selection. Allow time for Jim to tell you his life story. The first time I meet him, we talked three hours!

Again, thanks. I will definitely check that place out, and I'll call before going to make sure Jim is there.