Water Type Question

[t3hRobG]

I went to the lfs and was told that the general conditions of my water were fine, however, being the generally untrusting person that I am, I bought a couple of different test kits to find out for myself how things were doing. Much to my dismay, after I had been sold 4 scissor tail rasboras to get the tank started on its initial cycle, I discovered my pH, gH, and alkalinity (as read by the test strip) were all at or off the top of the spectrum. It is a live planted tank with mainly cabomba which I had read was more comfortable in soft water and low/neutral pH. I certainly don't have these conditions, as I found out, but the plants seem to be doing fairly well.

I decided, despite what the lfs told me about my water being fine, I didn't like it being so far off from what I had hoped it would be, so I have started doing water changes cycling in RO water for the treated tapwater currently in the tank. So far I have exchanged about 10 gal (in a 30 gal aquarium) and haven't even dented the figures.

Since my tapwater is out of the picture as a viable source of water, I am left with what can be purchased in jugs. What is a good source of good water? I have tested a couple of different types of offbrand water and found spring water to be nearly identical to my tap water in hardness/alkalinity/pH. RO water seems to be the best, but I am concerned about the nutrient quality for my plants to use such sterile water. I know I can't use DI water as this would cause (if I understand correctly, the equivalent to osmotic shock for my fish). I don't know a lot about aquariums as this is my first setup, but I had enough chemistry in college to at least know the basics in water chemistry.

What can I do short of buying a secondary tank to hold the fish while I drain and refill my 30gal. Is cycling in RO in 15% water changes going to work in the long-run? What exactly am I fighting against in this water and what would be the best type of water to bring in to replace my tap water?

Thanks in advance for your input on this : )

 

[JDogg]

steady conditions are more important then "perfect" conditions

 

[DepotFish]

As long as your ph is within the 5.5-8.5 range and is stable it is fine for most fish. Don't mess with it.

 

[JRagg]

I'm just going to parrot what the above two posters have said. Stable is more important than ideal. Your fish will be perfectly fine in the conditions you're providing for them and your plants should also do fine (as it appears they are). Only in very rare circumstances are tap conditions not acceptable for fish and plants (heavy metals for the fish and very high phosphates for the plants).

You only really need to worry about "perfect" conditions if you are trying to breed fish that are difficult to breed. Some fish still won't care if it's perfect or not, they'll breed no matter what.

Welcome to AA!

Also, test strips are notoriously inaccurate. They usually do moderately well at first, but after being exposed to air they start to degrade pretty quickly. I would invest in the AP FW master test kit. If you don't already know about Petsmart's price match, that is very helpful for getting stuff at a reasonable price. Print out the price page from their website for the item you want and take it into the store. They'll match their online prices.