Ok sure thing. I test my water about once a week, and don't need to make huge adjustments. I regulary top up the tank once a week as the water evaporates fast, then maybe once or twice a month I do water changes with a siphon. I never pick much up with it, the sand stops stuff sinking into it and I have a great internal filter. I prefer to top up the tank than to adjust the ph, because the amount needing to be adjusted is small this normally suffices. Normally the PH is down (acidic) of about 6.6-6.8. Other weeks it will only be down at 6.8. The water I do the changes/top ups with is pure rain water from my boyfriends farm, I try to avoid using water with chlorine in it. I dont have a quarentine tank I'll admit, I dont have the room or money to set one up. These bristlenoses came from a private breeder, she has 100 percent positive feedback, the fish are dieing with the same unforseen circumstances (looks like nothing is wrong with them) as every other bristlenose Ive had which makes me think its something im doing rather then the fish themselves.
thanks
Water changes in a filtered ,cycled,heated tank should be on the order of 25 to 50 percent once each week depending on size of tank and numbers of fish.Fishes swim in their own poop until we perform water changes to dilute/remove it.
Water you use for changes must be close to same temp as the tank and pH of water used for changes should be close to pH of water in the tank.
Bristlenose Plecos enjoy oxygen rich clean water, with moderate current which a proper sized filter should be able to provide along with WEEKLY water changes.
They also need a tank of at least 20 gallons, driftwood to help with digestive process,and vegetable matter such as algae wafers,romain lettuce,spinach leaves,zuchinni, cucumber,spirulina pellets or flakes, along with occasional meaty foods such as brine shrimp, and or blood worms.
Rainwater you use should be fine, but much depends on what the rainwater runs off of, and what the water is exposed to before being collected for use in your aquarium.
There is also nothing wrong with using tapwater with chlorine if you purchase a dechlorinator such as PRIME,or AMQUEL+ which detoxifies Chlorine,Chloramines,and ammonia and use the dechlorinator for new water added to the tank during weekly water change. These dechlorinators/conditioners, also provide protection from any heavy metals that may be present . I know PRIME does,not sure about AMQUEL+.
Should you decide to switch to tapwater ,I would as mentioned use one of the two products mentioned and I would make the switch gradually, by performin small twice weekly water changes until the volume of water the tank holds has been changed. I would not suddenly switch to different water by performing a large water change all at once.
I might also google "acclimation of fishes to the aquarium" and see if this might be helpful when purchasing new fish. Hope some of this helps.
