Help with water conditions!

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ErinF90

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
May 9, 2012
Messages
52
Location
Erin, Ontario Canada
I have a 90g planted tank that has been running for 5 weeks. When I set it up I knew nothing, after doing some research I have more questions. My pH is a bit higher then I want it - 7.8 (i have already been an angel fish murderer, which i feel awful about) Also I have fairly hard water out of the tap, my kH is 180 ppm and my GH is also 180 ppm. I recently purchased a tap water filter that makes deionized water. As I understand it I can not lower my pH without lowering my kH. Is it too much/ too little to add 50% tap water and 50% deionized water when I do my weekly 10% water change? Will this help? Any advice would be great! :thanks:
 
When you say "planted" tank do you mean fully planted, or with some plants? The pH is not important, and did not cause the death of any angels you may have had. How many fish in the tank? I think you are going to find that the deionizer is going to become expensive to use over time. The amount of water that needs to be changed on any tank is dependent on the bioload in the tank, and isn't an arbitrary number, such as 10%. It could be 10% or it could be 50% or more. The normal way to determine the minimum amount hat needs to be changed is by measuring the amount of nitrate present. The generally accepted max is 40ppm, 20ppm would be a better target, and less than 10ppm would be better still. Changing more than the minimum is to be recommended, as it gives you a buffer and rids the tank of toxins that aren't shown by commonly used test kits, and pathogens.
Unless you really want to play water chemist, use the water you have to keep it simple. Stable water conditions are better than "ideal" ones. Fish (for the most part) are very adaptable. Do you think your local fish store has different water for the different fish in each tank? Not likely.
 
Your Water Condtions

I have a 90g planted tank that has been running for 5 weeks. When I set it up I knew nothing, after doing some research I have more questions. My pH is a bit higher then I want it - 7.8 (i have already been an angel fish murderer, which i feel awful about) Also I have fairly hard water out of the tap, my kH is 180 ppm and my GH is also 180 ppm. I recently purchased a tap water filter that makes deionized water. As I understand it I can not lower my pH without lowering my kH. Is it too much/ too little to add 50% tap water and 50% deionized water when I do my weekly 10% water change? Will this help? Any advice would be great! :thanks:

Hello E...

Your post sounds like a high school chemistry lesson. I keep large, planted tanks and from my experience, unless you keep and breed rare fish species you don't need to worry about pH, hardness or any of that. Most tropical fish will adapt to most public water supplies. Just use a water treatment to remove ammonia, chlorine and the chloramines.

A pH of 7.8 is fine. Tropical fish prefer water that's on the alkaline, hard, basic side. Unless you have a degree in chemistry, trying to change and maintain tap water properties is an exercise in frustration.

Is it possible we're making things a little to difficult?

B
 
Thanks guys, I guess you just read "ideal" conditions and over think everything. My nitrates and nitrites don't read anything on my test strip. More and more I hear about water quality being more important then certain peramiters. I think I'll take the water tap filter back ( still in the box). I'll post a pic so you can see the tank.
 
ErinF90 said:
Here is my tank, remember only 5 weeks old. should i be planting more or wait for these ones to fill out?

Great tank! It's amazing what can be done with a planted tank in only a few weeks.
 
You can keep adding plants at whatever pace you want. Just remember that by increasing the number of plants..ferts and CO2 etc..increase as well. Remember don't over think it! I tried to be a chemist at the beginning and ended up just spending too much money! Haha nice looking tank btw.
 
Your Tank

Here is my tank, remember only 5 weeks old. should i be planting more or wait for these ones to fill out?

View attachment 93764

Hello E...

Either you have extra large plants or your tank is 90 liters (around 25 or a little less than 25 gallons). The pic looks like a much smaller tank than 90 gallons. I do like it. Anyway, aquarium plants generally need to be planted a minimum of three inches apart to allow for growth. Since the tank hasn't been running long, I'd let everything run for another few weeks, so the water properties have time to settle and the plants get used to your tank conditions.

I prefer to put my plants in pots, so I can move them around if necessary or even stack them to take full advantage of the light. Attached is a pic of one of my "potted" tanks.

Above everything else, have fun!

B
 
Hi B...

I do have a 90 gallon tank, here are some pics that show the whole thing. You are right it does look like a smaller tank in that pic! Anyway... thanks for the advice(y) about planting. Pots are a good idea, it must be easier to clean also, I find when using my gravel vaccum it hard to get around all the plants without up rooting them, I guess it will be better once they are more secure.DSC_0712.jpg
 
Vacuuming Planted Tanks

Hello again E...

I've never vacuumed my tanks. I guess you could if the plants were potted. Anyway, I've found it best to just syphon out half the tank water every week or so. That way, I don't risk damaging my plants and by vacuuming, you remove a good portion of the nutrients. The plants need those to remain healthy.

Just a couple of thoughts.

B
 
I agree. When I first started lots of plants were needlessly harmed by my overzealous gravel cleaning! Once I quit everything did much better. If you stick to BB's advice you'll have a healthier tank. Take out dead or weak leaves, but try to leave your substrate pretty much alone. If you have a pile of mulm you can siphon it out if you want, but there could be some fine plant roots just under the top of the gravel that the hose can beat up very easily.

You may think the gravel is dirty. The key word in that is dirt. Plants like dirt! ^_^
 
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