I'm a total newbie when it comes to aquariums. I've spent hours online with google trying to come up with a solution for my aquarium but I'm not having much luck..
Here is the situation. I have a 10 gallon tank, 4 danios and 1 male betta and a few live plants. Ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, most everything I've tested is just fine but the ph isn't so great.. It's at about 8.2 - and the kh is downright terrible, it's about 25 dkh!
I've been using well water that I treat with ph 7.0 Seachem Neutral Regulator but the ph doesn't change (it's soft water). The well water starts out with a ph of about 8.2 and a kh of about 16 dkh.
First question, how on earth did the kh jump from 16 to 25. Is it because of the Seachem? I don't understand why the ph isn't coming down with the use of that stuff unless the kh is causing the problem.
So after doing some research I've decided to give reverse osmosis water a try. I got the water from one of those machines at a local grocery store. The kh on the RO water is 5 dkh, but the ph is off the charts!! And the water is hard.
Right now I have two gallons of it sitting on the kitchen counter, with a bit of the Seachem Neutral Regulator added to it, and it's aerating with just a hose connected to an air pump. At last check the ph was about 7.4 and kh at about 10 dkh.
So my next question - is this ok to use to do a 20% water change on the tank? Is there something I should be adding to it to make it better for the fish? If I do for example, a 10% water change every week with half well water and half RO water, is that good or is there still more I should be adding to the water?
Next question - is the RO water safe to use immediately or does it need to sit for awhile?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Here is the situation. I have a 10 gallon tank, 4 danios and 1 male betta and a few live plants. Ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, most everything I've tested is just fine but the ph isn't so great.. It's at about 8.2 - and the kh is downright terrible, it's about 25 dkh!
I've been using well water that I treat with ph 7.0 Seachem Neutral Regulator but the ph doesn't change (it's soft water). The well water starts out with a ph of about 8.2 and a kh of about 16 dkh.
First question, how on earth did the kh jump from 16 to 25. Is it because of the Seachem? I don't understand why the ph isn't coming down with the use of that stuff unless the kh is causing the problem.
So after doing some research I've decided to give reverse osmosis water a try. I got the water from one of those machines at a local grocery store. The kh on the RO water is 5 dkh, but the ph is off the charts!! And the water is hard.
Right now I have two gallons of it sitting on the kitchen counter, with a bit of the Seachem Neutral Regulator added to it, and it's aerating with just a hose connected to an air pump. At last check the ph was about 7.4 and kh at about 10 dkh.
So my next question - is this ok to use to do a 20% water change on the tank? Is there something I should be adding to it to make it better for the fish? If I do for example, a 10% water change every week with half well water and half RO water, is that good or is there still more I should be adding to the water?
Next question - is the RO water safe to use immediately or does it need to sit for awhile?
Thanks in advance for your help.