Softening Hard / High Ph Water

[mj32]

Hi all,

We are new to the whole tropical fish scene and are setting up our 1st ever tank

Where we live (Ashford, Kent) is a hard water area - surprisingly hard in fact compared to Devon where we originaly lived!

Just wondering on any possible ways of bringing down the Hardness and pH level from the tap water by planting? or peat in the filter etc
The current initial reading show pH around 8.4 and GH around 16

The tank has only been cycling for 1 day from new - is this too early to be concerened - i.e. will it lower down at all?

Current set-up:
Fluval Duo Deep 1000
1000 x 400 x 450
mixed gravel / silica sand substrate ()
4xpieces of rainbow rock
2xbog wood
1xmopaii wood

I've not posted a picture of the tank atm as it seems to be practising the ancient art of "Murky Tanky"

Any advice would be appreciated

Mike,Judy and Sophie

 

[Bloo]

I'm afraid that's quite typical for this sort of area - and most of London / Greater London (including me!) sit with the same horrid water. The good news is that the pH will slightly drop over time (with added bogwood) but the gH won't I'm afraid. My main tank pH (similar sized to yours) have dropped from the 8.4 tap down to about 7.6 over time. But you might find that your tap water actually fluctuates, so keep that in mind.

I would suggest to steer clear of fish that quite obviously favour soft acidic water such as neons / cardinals / rams etc. but with most other fish you'll probably be absolutely fine if bought locally

If I'm correct, that tank's around 47.5 US gallons, so large enough for a group of Rainbow fish (Red Rainbows or Boesmani’s) and some other smaller community fish. The majority of plecos will be fine too Or do you have anything in particular in mind ?

 

[bobf]

Why not go the other way - take the wood out, stick a few rocks in and go 'Malawi'

Looks like your water would be much nearer what malawi's want - it's a shame really cos I'm doing just the opposite in the NW trying to make my soft water (6 - 6.5) harder

 

[mj32]

Many thanks for the replys!

Afters speaking to a local fish shop - they use the same tap water (de-chlorinated) but no other chemical adjustments apart from bogwood in the tank. Seemed to think all fish there would be fine in the tank due to them being raised in that water anyway.

Good news on the pleco's They are what realy sparked my interest in having a tank with some other higher swimming community friends

I do like the black ghost knife fish (though done no research into them yet) but will look into the rainbow fish idea.

Any other suggestions about pleco + friends contents would be great!

 

[Bloo]

Black knife Ghosts (BKG) are great, but you're tank would be too small (eventually). So not really fair unless you plan on upgrading within the next couple of years and start off with a really small BKG.

Whatever you do do, do you research on adult sizes and compatibility

And I think one thing I've learnt over the years is that fewer "types" of fish (but in larger numbers) look far better (and happier) than a hodge podge of fish thrown together.

 

[catxx]

you could definately go for a nice malawi type tank with that
i suffer hard water too, london fun!
i just load up my tanks with bogwood and IAL and hope it helps!

 

[dwarfgourami]

Most livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails etc) like hard water. Danios and corydoras don't seem to mind.

 

[mj32]

thanks for all the usefull advice!

I just saw a picture in another section of the forum showing how big a black ghost knife fish gets
Somewhat bigger than the ones in the local shop and i dont think the wife or house could take talk of an uprade already

The wife likes guppies and some of the other suggestions - so looks like we may go down the route of a hardy pleco or 2 (smaller varieties) plus one or 2 small shoals of guppies or the other suggestions!

Once its less murky i may post a picy of the empty tank up to see what people think!

many thanks again,

 

[nmonks]

If you rush out now and buy this month's Practical Fishkeeping, you'll see an article I wrote on why hard water can be good.

On the flip side, soft water does allow you to keep sensitive killifish, many tetras, and more. The easy way is collect rain water. Yes, there is a risk of pollution but it is very small, and compared with the nitrates in tap water, it is far "cleaner". A 100 litre water butt costs about 20 quid.

Reverse osmosis is the other way to go, but it is expensive and ecologically very unsound (wastes 10 litres of tap water per one litre soft water produced).

Cheers,

Neale

 

[mj32]

Cheers Neale!

Will buy a copy of that in the morning then and have a good read of it!

I think for now we will try and work with what we have got for water and see how it goes - hopefully combining hardier fish with some local shop knowledge will avoid any (or many, anyway )disasters!

 

[mark.w.jones]

Cheers Neale!

Will buy a copy of that in the morning then and have a good read of it!

I think for now we will try and work with what we have got for water and see how it goes - hopefully combining hardier fish with some local shop knowledge will avoid any (or many, anyway )disasters!

If you go for guppies be prepared to be overrun with fry if you get males and females. Some people like this but I think its a nitemare as you end up having to kull loads to stop your tank being overstocked. This may be what you want. Id personally go for a school of all males. Make sure you local fish store is careful when picking them out for you.