Which water is best?

[blueeyes]

Hi! I just set up my new tank a few weeks ago (7 gallon) and put my male betta in about a week and a half ago. Previously, when I had betta's, I just used spring (bottled) water. Then I heard that I could use tap water. Well, I have well water (with a water softener) and I was told that should be OK for a betta, since they can usually tolerate the hardness of the water. So, when I set up the tank, I used the water from my tap (well water) with tetra aqua safe. When I added my fish, I added bio spira and everything seemed to be great.
Except- as I floated myfish in his bag for awhile (as I introduced him to the tank), I noticed a white, dusty film on the bag when I took it out. Now, I am starting to notice white spots and streaks on the inside of the glass. I am assuming that it is due to the well water, since this never happened when I used spring water. I just had some questions: Is well water ok to use or should I switch back to bottled spring water? I also am learning about RO water. I am just trying to find out my options that I have. Also, whats the best way to clean the inside of the glass now?

 

[sweetsuvvyb]

Hmm....have you tested the hardness of your water? It seems like if you are already using a water softener, things shouldn't be too too bad in there (i still think the film might've been from the bio-spira)! Hard water isn't actually all that bad for fish, unless it's excessively hard. Sometimes I think it's more trouble than its worth to start fussing with RO (esp in a small tank)....because if you start using RO, you've gotta add another product back in (like "RO right"), and then you may have a big drop in pH which can stress your fish (and then people usually tend to start using yet another product to adjust pH)..and so on, and so on...

I know at the big chain pet stores they say to put your betta in spring water...but that seems like it could get a little expensive, not to mention, you have no way of guaranteeing consistent water quality (and spring water has the potential to be just as hard as well water...it's coming from the same place, after all, just with a fancy label!).

As for cleaning the glass...you could try using a little (little!) salt paste on a paper towel....but remember everything you use is going to end up in the water, and is going to affect your fish...


Good Luck!

 

[blueeyes]

No, I haven't tested the hardness of the water. I will plan on doing that this weekend and take it from there. Thanks!

 

[blueeyes]

whats a good brand you could suggest (accurate) for checking the hardness of water?

 

[LondonGman]

I am not an expert on water conditions, nor have I heard of the symptoms you have but since only sweetsuvvyb has responded, I will try my best to answer using my basic school chemistry education and educated guesswork.

I would first suggest you do not use RO water until you have resolved the white spots and streaks on the glass and in the tank.

RO water is extremely pure water to the best of my understanding. While RO water can be used in saltwater tanks as the salt mix they add provides all the essential minerals and salts needed by the fishes, straight RO water lacks essential minerals and salts needed in freshwater tanks. You will need to be experienced in water chemistry to use RO water for freshwater tanks.

As for the white spots or streaks; I would be more worried about them if they were on the fishes. As it is on objects and the glass, I would tend to believe it is due to contamination like oil reacting with something else in the tank or on the surface of the bag. I think water softeners work by adding a bit of salt to reduce the hardness. The salt (or what ever chemical that is added to your water to soften it) comes into play here too.

I suggest using untreated well water as fishes are probably better off in it than water treated by water softener. Bottled spring water is similar to well water unless your well is beside a refuse dump which can contaminate the water.

Change water regularly and avoid chemicals of any type (you will not need de chlorinator with well water) and if the white spots do not clear up, you have a problem with your well water.

 

[sweetsuvvyb]

Water softeners work through ion exhange, swapping out calcium and magnesium for sodium or potassium. Generally this means your carbonate hardness drops. Here's a blurb from wholly-water.com about the amount of sodium a water softener adds.

How much sodium (or potassium) does a softener add to the water? On 10 grains per gallon of water, 78 mg/l of sodium is added. At 15 grains, it is 119 mg/l. At 20 grains, it is 158 mg/l. The FDA definition for sodium in drinking water is: Sodium Free - up to 28 mg/l, Very Low Sodium - up to 197 mg/l, and Low Sodium - up to 789 mg/l.