Tap Water v Bottled Water

[NatalieFinniss]

Hi, I don't know if anyone can help me but my tap water shows high Nitrate and pH levels but when I tested bottled water, these were the results. Would it be best to start using bottled water for my water changes or could the sudden change cause more harm than good? The other option could be, if bottled water is ok to use, to add a percentage of bottled water to the tap water so the decrease in pH and Nitrate levels drops slowly, adding more and more bottled water each change until it's all bottled water? Sort of thinking aloud here and would be most grateful for any comments. Thanks very much, Natalie

 

[Potluck]

The thing is with bottled water is everything is stripped out of it but some company's add salt so you drink more cause it doesn't quench your thirst (ripping you off desani just got busted for it) you would choose distilled over bottled

If my memory is correct if you go r/o, distilled you have to add stuff to the water the fish need to live like calcium etc etc there's a post on it I'll find it for you, many other people on here are way way more knowledgeable than I.

Don't worry about the Nitrate it's not that high from the picture looks like 20-30 which is in the paramiters the fda allows they allow up to 40ppm in drinking water in my area even though mine is

 

[nirbhao]

Bottled water is tap water from someone else's tap, except it's less regulated than your tap water. Do you have any plants?

 

[Potluck]

Bottled water is tap water from someone else's tap, except it's less regulated than your tap water. Do you have any plants?

Bottle water is not man, distilled can still have ammonia so you still need to treat it, but it's stripped of all the minerals and stuff that fish need to live, I only drink Fiji water.

She wouldn't use bottled she would use distilled, plants have nothing to do with ph, they do lower nitrates but only certain ones and if she doesnt have the correct lighting she would only be able to grow selective ones.

Most people that use distilled cut it with tap water so you don't have to re add the minerals and stuff fish need.

 

[nirbhao]

The original poster said bottled water. She did not say distilled.

It's funny that you mention Fiji bottled water. I won't get into it here, derailing the thread. Read this: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/20/AR2006072000322.html

I actually wasn't thinking about pH. The drastic change in pH is, if I understand correctly, what she's concerned about. I was wondering about nitrates, because plants do utilize them.

How big is your tank, Natalie. How often and how big are your water changes?

 

[Potluck]

No I said she wouldn't use bottled water she would use distilled

 

[TMaier]

I use RO/DI water in one of my tanks. I add Seachem Equalibrium to it. A little bit of crushed coral in my canister. Stable for months.

I only shifted to RO/DI because the city water was bad due to the California drought. Brown, grey, yellow, it changed from week to week. My Khuli's were not happy even with conditioning the water. And I don't drink it either. I only have a 29g and I change 9g a week so about $5 a week to keep the tank maintained and healthy. My hubbie is looking at installing a system since in the long run it would be cheaper.


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[NatalieFinniss]

Good morning all, it's nearly 7 am in the UK. Thanks for all your replies overnight, i'll try and answer your questions:

I've a 30 litre which I think converts to an 8 gallon tank. It doesn't have any real plants in it, just plastic things. It's a Biorb tank with biorb decorations in it. It's not overly stocked, 4 adult Platys and 2 fry. I do a partial water change every two weeks but because of the high Nitrate I'd started doing them weekly, hence the reason I tested my tap water as the tank looked clean etc. I vacuum the gravel and clean up all the bits of any algae as necessary but probably every two weeks. The tank has a biorb heater in it which keeps the tank at 25/26 degrees Celsius. Thanks everyone, your comments are very much appreciated xx

 

[NatalieFinniss]

Oh I do a 30% water change when I change the water.

 

[Caliban07]

Hi Natalie,

The problem is not with your ph or your nitrates. The problem is what you have been led to believe about both.

Have you noticed any concerning behaviour from your fish?

Nitrate toxicity has not been studied nearly enough on the tropical fish species we keep in our aquariums to give a definitive answer on what we should deem as 'toxic' so going out and buying products and contraptions for lowering nitrates is an unnecessary expense in my opinion.

You should focus more on tank maintenance, good food and good oxygen levels. Live plants will naturally take in nitrate nitrogen and provide a more natural setting for your fish as well as increase oxygen levels.

If you up your water changes to 50% weekly your nitrate level will stabilise at a level that is very unlikely to ever cause any harm even in the long run.

 

[NatalieFinniss]

Hi Natalie,

The problem is not with your ph or your nitrates. The problem is what you have been led to believe about both.

Have you noticed any concerning behaviour from your fish?

Nitrate toxicity has not been studied nearly enough on the tropical fish species we keep in our aquariums to give a definitive answer on what we should deem as 'toxic' so going out and buying products and contraptions for lowering nitrates is an unnecessary expense in my opinion.

You should focus more on tank maintenance, good food and good oxygen levels. Live plants will naturally take in nitrate nitrogen and provide a more natural setting for your fish as well as increase oxygen levels.

If you up your water changes to 50% weekly your nitrate level will stabilise at a level that is very unlikely to ever cause any harm even in the long run.

Thank you for your reply. I think that's the problem exactly, I get told conflicting things and then I Google and then I panic but in all honesty, my fish seem to be very healthy and happy so I probably need to relax a little. I used to keep fish many years ago, before the internet and all I had was a book to guide me and they were absolutely fine, and I didn't do or add half of what I do now. Sometimes you can have too much information!!

 

[Potluck]

Thank you for your reply. I think that's the problem exactly, I get told conflicting things and then I Google and then I panic but in all honesty, my fish seem to be very healthy and happy so I probably need to relax a little. I used to keep fish many years ago, before the internet and all I had was a book to guide me and they were absolutely fine, and I didn't do or add half of what I do now. Sometimes you can have too much information!!

Caliban07 is definitely one to listen to, I too once had worries about nitrates and I can't lie I still do when they get to high, but I then just sit back and try to relax remembering what he told me and what my lfs told me is "don't worry about nitrates unless they are ungodly high (that one is from the lfs) " but everything I post about someone brings up nitrates like my plant fertilizer thread, "what's your nitrates" which makes me worry again ( doesn't help I have an extreme panic disorder). But like Caliban07 said just do your weekly maintenence maybe up it to 50% and just enjoy the fishies.

 

[Caliban07]

Thanks Potluck but I think it's only fair for me to clarify my trail of thought here.

I'm not telling anyone not to test their water or to take nitrates less seriously. They obviously can and do kill at a certain level BUT the evidence to suggest an upper limit for the type of fish we keep is severely lacking.

By rights you could argue that it stands to reason we should keep them as low as possible but when it gets to the stage when we are thinking about using RODI (for nitrates alone), nitrate absorbing media, deep sand beds, or liquid detoxifiers we need to be realistic and observe for ourselves.

We even take the liquid test vials as gospel without ever questioning their accuracy. I'm just trying to propose a little more open mindedness when it comes to nitrates and what is the right pH for our fish. If they are healthy and breeding even in this case? What is there to worry about? If the test kit was not available to us we wouldn't even be having this conversation because their would be no issue. [emoji846]

 

[NatalieFinniss]

Thank you to you both. My pH and nitrates are consistent and the fish do seem to be healthy so I will just up my water changes and hopefully they will continue to thrive. I've a couple of fry and they seem to be surviving, getting bigger by the day so they must be quite happy. Thank you again for all your comments and help, it's very much appreciated x