Brita tap filter

[Zaphia1]

So I have pretty poor tap water. No nitrates or ammonia. But the ph is 8.2-3. Also I'm pretty sure the alkalinity is high, but I have no way to test it.

I ask cause I am having tank issues. I can't seem to keep the tank healthy for more than a few days. I have had every problem in the book currently battling fin rot. My water chemistry is good. 0's all around. Ph is high, 8.

Anyway, RO water seems to be a good idea. Can you get good water from a Brita tap attachment?

 

[flitabout]

It's not really going to help much. You would be better off with investing in a small RO unit. What are the levels in your tank? Ammo Nitrite nitrate pH GH and KH?

 

[Zaphia1]

It's not really going to help much. You would be better off with investing in a small RO unit. What are the levels in your tank? Ammo Nitrite nitrate pH GH and KH?

Ammonia 0 trite 0 trate <5. Ph 8.1 I don't have a test kit for gh or kh. In fact I'm not sure what they do....

The tank is cycled heavily planted 10g with guppies, shrimp, and assorted snails...

I have had so many problems. It doesn't help that 50% of my stock (added at various times) came sick...so they would pass it on to the others...

Anyway, thanks for the info!

 

[Coyne]

A high pH means your water is alkaline. Since your profile says you live in Chicago, Im going to guess your water is Hard as well... thats just how the water is in the area. I live in a suburb about 45 mins to the west and my water is the same way (pH 8.4 and GH 12).

This good news is that this is not the source of your aquariums health problems.
Plenty of people in the Chicagoland area are raising and breeding happy, healthy fish with the same water source.
The bad news is that now you have to figure out what actually IS causing your issues.

 

[Zaphia1]

A high pH means your water is alkaline. Since your profile says you live in Chicago, Im going to guess your water is Hard as well... thats just how the water is in the area. I live in a suburb about 45 mins to the west and my water is the same way (pH 8.4 and GH 12). This good news is that this is not the source of your aquariums health problems. Plenty of people in the Chicagoland area are raising and breeding happy, healthy fish with the same water source. The bad news is that now you have to figure out what actually IS causing your issues.

Yeah. I didn't think that water quality was my problem.

Is it possible that the fish were sick when I got them? The symptoms are slowly spreading. But I did notice at the LFS they are having an outbreak of fin rot. Which is my most recent problem, after I bought a fish a month ago...

It seems I get a new symptom every time I add something to the tank, be it fish or plant. I guess this is a consequence of inexperience...but my tank is very well maintained!!

 

[Coyne]

If youre able to, I would recommend setting up a Quarantine Tank for new arrivals. That way, you can observe them for health issues before introducing them to the rest of your fish and, if they are sick, you can treat them without exposing healthy fish to the medication. I typically leave new fish in my QT for 4-6 weeks.

Plants are a different story. I think most people recommend some sort of diluted bleach dip to kill off any unwanted micro-organisms. Im not sure what the water to bleach ratio is off the top of my head though.

For what its worth, Ive only been involved in this hobby for 9 months. I credit the help Ive received at this site for any of my positive results. Patience was the first and probably the most important thing I had to learn. Rushing to set up and stock my first tank led to a lot of my beginning problems.

Stay with it and dont be afraid to ask questions in the forums here. Lots of experienced folks who are willing to help.