Rocket2001
Aquarium Advice Freak
On another thread I asked for assistance on handling high pH and with the assistance of Treedae and Menagerie..we've figured out that the real problem is hardness and Alkalinity. Now it seems logical that my tap water is the culprit since that is my water source. After testing, hardness for my tap water is 120 and Alk. is 80. (is this bad?) Would it be better to use Bottled Spring Water...i belive I can get six gallons of Poland Springs water for about $4.50 at my local warehouse store. On my 30 gal tank 6 gallons would be about a 20% water change. I could do this monthly. it just seems to me each time I do a water change with tap water i would erase any progress on reducing Alk and Hardness.
My current tank water parameters are:
Ammo- 0
Nitrites- 0
Nitrates-20ppm
pH- 7.6 (sometimes 7.8 )
Hard- 120
Alk. 210
(numbers are based on Mardel 5 in1 test strip)
The tank is just over 6 weeks old...I guess the final question is am i just obsessing to get "perfect" numbers and are things just going to regulate on their own or do I need "take action"? And if so what is the proper action...peat in the filter was the last suggestion. In my head I know "leave it alone" is right but I just want to make sure.
My current tank water parameters are:
Ammo- 0
Nitrites- 0
Nitrates-20ppm
pH- 7.6 (sometimes 7.8 )
Hard- 120
Alk. 210
(numbers are based on Mardel 5 in1 test strip)
The tank is just over 6 weeks old...I guess the final question is am i just obsessing to get "perfect" numbers and are things just going to regulate on their own or do I need "take action"? And if so what is the proper action...peat in the filter was the last suggestion. In my head I know "leave it alone" is right but I just want to make sure.