Hard water

[9ujy]

Is 1000ppm high for gouramis and olatys

 

[9ujy]

Platys

 

[Phranque]

1000ppm of what??

 

[9ujy]

That hard my water is..it just said that on the test srtrip

 

[eco23]

Do you mean 100ppm?

The only way your water would be 1000ppm would be if a diamond and a piece of granite made a baby.

If its 100ppm, it'll be perfectly fine for Platys.

 

[9ujy]

The chart goes up to 1000 and that's where mine is at.I need to lower it.my fish aren't doing so hot

 

[KatieJ]

The fact that you're using a test strip in itself means whatever result you got was probably way inaccurate... buy the API master liquid test kit.

 

[9ujy]

Is 1000 literally un livable

 

[9ujy]

???????????????

 

[eco23]

Is 1000 literally un livable

I'm just surprised its still in liquid form.
http://www.fcwa.org/water/hardness.htm

 

[MrPillow]

While 1000ppm is relatively high, it would still be very much liquid =P It's only the equivalent of 1 gram of solids per liter of water.

 

[eco23]

Well, humor may be lost on some...but if the level truly is 1000ppm that may be one of the rare occurrences where GH is a cause for concern. Even certain Cichlids which thrive in hard water have a high end "ideal" range of ~320ppm. In the US there's only several streams in the western part of the country with a GH higher than 1000ppm. So it's a little more than "relatively" hard.

In 99.999% of cases I advise against altering water chemistry...however using a R/O system cut with a degree of tap water may be a consideration (pure R/O or distilled is not usable in aquaria without a method of reconstituting minerals).

My first instinct would tell me it's an errant test (strips are notoriously inaccurate). I would seek out a liquid test kit to confirm.

Even though it may technically be in liquid form...I'm willing to bet your showers and appliances feel like they're getting beat up every time the water is turned on. The exact impact of 1000+ppm on fish is something I've never looked into, but may have concerns about.

 

[9ujy]

I filled the tank with arrowhead water..could that be the cause??and it says my alkalinity and ph are high

 

[eco23]

I filled the tank with arrowhead water..could that be the cause??and it says my alkalinity and ph are high

What is Arrowhead water? Bottled water? If so, why aren't you using your tap water?

Assuming the 1000+ppm measurement isn't correct...finding other causes for your fish not doing so hot is the focus. How long ago was the tank set up? Do you know your ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte levels? How high is high on the pH?

*Heading off for the night...I'm sure someone will chime in, or I'll check in tomorrow. GN