New Aquarium water quality

[Carner]

I have been having problems with my local city tap water. On their website they claim they add chlorine and phosphates. I suspect it is actually Chlorimine. The phosphates have also made the water cloudy.

I broke down and spent $25 to fill my 29 gal tank with Poland Spring water. Ph is a little low (6.4), not a big deal. What I'm not sure about is the other water qualities (hard or soft). Here is an analysis from www.bottledwaterweb.com of Poland Spring:

Spring Water Analysis (parts per million)
Bicarbonate 20.
Chloride 6.1
Fluoride ND
Sulfate 5.0
Calcium 8.3
Magnesium 0.8
Potassium 0.5
Sodium 2.9
TDS 37.
pH 6.4

Is there a way to tell hardness of water from this info? Is there any chlorine added? How should I go about cycling the tank?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Menagerie]

[center:934664b20d] Welcome to AA, Mike! [/center:934664b20d]

On their website they claim they add chlorine and phosphates. I suspect it is actually Chlorimine. The phosphates have also made the water cloudy.

A good dechlorinator will remove both chlorine and chloramine and will say so on the bottle. I would not use expensive drinking water for a tank. The tap water will work out fine with the dechlor. When I do PWC on my tanks, they are cloudy for a few moments and then they clear up. What is the pH of the tap water (allow a glass of tap water to sit out over night to take an accurate reading)?

Fishless cycling is explained here: http://malawicichlids.com/mw01017.htm You must use straight ammonia with no additives. There is also an article in our Articles section discussing the humane way to cycle your tank.

 

[Carner]

Thanks for the reply, and the welcome!

I will read article on Fishless cycling. When I tested the Ph a couple weeks after putting it in the tank it was at 7.6. The tank ran for about three weeks. For two weeks the ammonia level was about 2 ppm, and there wasn't any Nitrite. So I suspect chlorine/chlorimine was preventing the biofilter from forming. From what I have read on the web, some dechlor solutions will break down chlorimine into its two parts chlorine and ammonia. It will then remove the chlorine, but not the ammonia. I probably could have given it more time, but I was unhappy with the cloudy water anyway.

 

[Menagerie]

Are you currently running the filter? Did you add a dechlor? The ammonia will be broken down by the bacteria, which is then broken down into nitrite, which is then broken down into nitrate (plant fertilizer). I am currently using AquaPlus as my dechlor and I have not had any problems. A pH of 7.6 is good for most fish.

When you cycle the tank, you need the tank to be as though fish are in it. The filter must be running, the heater on (helps with the bacterial growth) and the dechlor must be added.

 

[IndyReef]

i would say either break down and buy a ro/di unit or just go to the grocery store and fillup a few 5 gallon buckets (available at your local home center) for about 40 cents a gallon. i used to take 6 of them in at a time. people will wonder and a few might even ask what its for.

 

[Carner]

I did add a dechlor when I started the tank. I have also had the filter and heater running. I used an old bottle of Declor from the last time I had a tank set up (about 4 years ago). I should have bought a new one.

So spring water shouldn't have any chlorine in it right? I should be able to move forward with the cycling process? What about water hardness?

 

[Menagerie]

So spring water shouldn't have any chlorine in it right?

I don't know.

I should be able to move forward with the cycling process?

yes

What about water hardness?

I can't tell. The best thing would be to get the test kit for gh/kh.