Water Question? Tap - Spring - Distilled

[Chilly Willy]

Since I'm a rookie on the proper wat to do things I figured I'd pose this question to you pros.

I use tap water that I treat for harsh chemicals. But I was wondering if it was possible and safer to use spring water or distilled water?

I've done spring water before but do not remember if it was sucessful as it was probably 8 years ago I did it.

Any thoughts or facts on this topic would help my future tank setups.

Also I recently setup a new 55 gal tank I have 23 fish who survived "New Tank" was I suppose to add some sort of salt to this setup? I've read some things where people talk about salt in FW tanks but I do not really grasp when and when not to do that.

 

[BASSNMAN]

23 is a lot of fish to cycle with, but if you didn't lose any , you did good. Salt will not hurt most fish and some, like mollies and guppies like it. Salt is a good treatment for many fish illnesses, so some feel that if you use it all the time, it won't be as effective when you need to treat the fish. Salt and heat works for ich, no chemicls involved. What types of fish do you have? As far as what water to use, I try to use my tap water as long as the fish species gets along in hard water. I try not to use additives and juggling water chemistry is not fun. I currently buy RO water for my discus but I am slowly switching them over to hard water.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Spring water will work, but Tap is just as good, as long as it measures out ok. If you have a municipal supply, you will need to get some dechlorinator. Hardness and such can be important but it depends on the fish you are keeping.

Salt is beneficial for all livebearers, but not neccesary at all.

 

[Jchillin]

When I started my current tank, LFS sold me salt...told me to follow directions (1tlbsp per 5gal). Didn't mention that I didn't have to use it for the inhabitants that I purchased later on (same employee btw). UGH!

 

[PK Tester]

Depending on your fish, stay away from disttiled or RO as they have no nutrients in them which fish require.