High Hardness and pH

[Holy Diver]

I'm setting up my 1st aquarium ever and looking to stock Amazon fish that need soft and slightly acidic water. My tap water is hard (KH ~350ppm, GH ~100ppm) and pretty basic (~8.3 using high pH test). The guy at Petsmart (he seemed very knowledgeable) told me I'd be fine putting the Amazon fish in there, they would adapt. From what I've read on here, consistency of parameters is more important than the parameters themselves, right?

But what if I want to get the correct hardness and pH? Would water changes using distilled water help me out?

I need to correct hardness before I can correct pH, right?

What ratio of distilled to tap would be necessary to maintain levels in the future?

Would it be cheaper in the long run to just invest in a ~$100 RO system?

I don't have any fish yet, I haven't even started to officially cycle my water.

Thank you!

 

[fishybuisness]

I'm also a believe that the fish will adapt. I believe that unless they are caught wild, which there not. No fish supplier goes out of there way to mimic the proper water properties therefore they have adapted to just regular old water.

 

[Delapool]

It's an interesting question I've wondered. I've read fish used to soft water will adapt better to hard water than fish used to hard water but in soft. Also that consistency is more important unless looking to breed and the fish are mostly grown in regular old tap water as mentioned.

However I'm still a little skeptical over the long term if water specs aren't somewhat close to natural requirements or natural range of temp, ph, hardness, etc.

 

[tnfinfan]

When I had water like yours, I selected African cichlids because those are ideal conditions for them. Why fight it? But it's also true that the tanks at you local fish store are likely filled with that same water so perhaps the fish alive after a few days of exposure are hardy enough to live in it long term. I keep reading how much more important it is that the water be consistent than ideal.

 

[fishybuisness]

When I had water like yours, I selected African cichlids because those are ideal conditions for them. Why fight it? But it's also true that the tanks at you local fish store are likely filled with that same water so perhaps the fish alive after a few days of exposure are hardy enough to live in it long term. I keep reading how much more important it is that the water be consistent than ideal.

Exactly..consistent is what I believe..I mean obviously you shouldn't keep cichlids in water with a 6.0 pH. But these fish we get today are so industrialized by the fish business I dont think they've ever know anything else..(I'm saying for FW only BTW)

 

[flitabout]

I have kept all sorts of amazon tropicals in water with a pH of 8.8 with no issues. Like you yourself have seen as long as your parameters are stable then you can keep almost anything you like short of discus.

 

[fishybuisness]

I have kept all sorts of amazon tropicals in water with a pH of 8.8 with no issues. Like you yourself have seen as long as your parameters are stable then you can keep almost anything you like short of discus.

Yes discus are a whole other ball game..lol

 

[Caliban07]

For practicality you should get fish to match your water rather than the other way round. Im not suggesting you're not bright enough but I wouldnt recommend altering water if this is your first tank. I can understand that you would like to mimic the fishes natural environment but fish really do adapt and you're right, they much prefer stable water chemistry. As long as they are acclimatised correctly to the new water they will be fine. As stated already. Most fish (not all) are farm bred with water that matches the farms local water source.

If you are not consistent or maintain the pH correctly, a large pH swing will be worse for your fish so there is little room for error. You will have to weigh up if the extra effort and cost of an r/o unit is worth it. If you decide yes then experiment in a bucket with half r/o water and half your tap and test gh and ph after 24 hrs.

Personally, unless your fish requires different water chemistry as opposed to prefers I wouldnt bother.

Good luck

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[Fishfur]

To answer one of the questions, yes, you can use DI or RO water to get exact water parameters if you want to do that. Many shrimp keepers who keep crystal or bee shrimp can only give them the parameters they need by using special substrates that alter pH to very acidic and soft, but they use products such as Salty Shrimp to remineralize RO or DI water to the right parameters.

You may be able to mix tap and DI or RO to get what you want, but you might have to go all RO or DI and remineralize it to what you need.

But if you choose this route, it's a fair amount of work to keep up. Every batch of water for changes has to be mixed up ahead of time, which is really no different than it is for salt water keepers, but most fresh water keepers don't have to deal with this, so it's something to consider, do you want to spend that time and effort, and expense, as well. The remineralizing products are not free, nor is RO or DI water. Many install RO filters, to reduce the expense and effort of simply getting the water to start with.

I would check some shrimp sites to see how they do it, since you want to achieve much the same results. You just would not use shrimp substrate, as it would lower your pH far too much.. to 4.5 or so. You don't need it anywhere that low for SA cichlids.