Plants look sick

[Jmrwiggly]

Hi all,
I have a 75g freshwater that is well planted (about 30). 9 various tetras, 4 corys, 2 netrite snails and 1 fiddler crab. My problem is the plants seem to be dieing and I lost 3 fish in the last 2 wks. Ammonia is 0 ppm, nitrite 0 ppm, nitrate 40 ppm. ph is 7.4. I live in the country and my well water is high in ph and nitrate. So now I've been using ro water from a local grocery store for about 6 months now, I was tired of using chemicals. I also use prime at weekly water change.

John

 

[Toad]

Adding just straight ro water is not that good either, are you remineralizing it?

 

[Jmrwiggly]

Ok, now I'm lost and how do I do that?

 

[Toad]

I wish I could tell you, but I've only read about people using ro, never delved into it myself. Unless you have a lot of issues or certain types of fish, most fish do fine with regular tap water (treated for safely of course).

I myself have a ph of around 8.4, but never have a problem with my fish, and I keep guppies. Most store bought fish adapt pretty well, it's sudden changes in ph that can cause problems.

I've heard keeping pothos (the houseplant) with it's roots in the tank but the rest sticking out is really helpful for nitrates (something I am going to have to do for my tank as well).