Tap Water Stats

[scottca]

Hi everyone,

Tank is just finishing its fishless cycle - been checking the stats etc and all is looking good, only prob is.. my Tapwater has quite a high PH (7.6 - 7.8). Also my tapwater seems to have approx 10 - 20 ppm of Nitrate, What problems would this cause, will I just need to do more regular water changes to stop the nitrates building up (do those nitrate removal sponges work?). I have a planted 180 litre tank.

Will the PH be a problem? have quite a few bits of bogwood however it doesnt seem to be bringing down the PH (Although they are old bits that were stored away from my last tank which was a couple of years ago - they have been boiled / soaked etc before I put them in though - Not sure if over time their PH changing abilities are lost?)

Thanks,

Craig

 

[scottca]

After a bit more reading on the forum I now have found that its the tanins in the bogwood that lowers the PH and so its pretty much not going to lower my PH anymore...

I am planning on adding a Nutrafin Co2 system (Biological) - I know Co2 lowers the PH but now sure how affective the Biological ones are since the Co2 is a bit hit and miss and wont be constant.

Craig

 

[Ilya]

I use a water conditioner on mine. But then again, I don't really have to use it. I run on well water.

 

[rdd1952]

The nitrate in your tap water isn't an issue. Lots of people in the UK have up to 40ppm in their tap water. Weekly water changes will keep it close to 20ppm which is fine. As for the pH, 7.6 to 7.8 isn't and issue. And yes the bogwood will lower it some. The CO2 system you are planning to use won't have much effect on the pH unless you use lots of yeast and recharge it every couple days. I ran one for a while on my 29 gallon but never could tell it did ny good for my plants so I took it off. As you said, it is hit or miss. It takes about 4 or 5 hours before the bubbles start to flow and then after about 2 days they really slow down. The more yeast you use, the more bubbles you get but the less time it lasts.

 

[scottca]

The nitrate in your tap water isn't an issue. Lots of people in the UK have up to 40ppm in their tap water. Weekly water changes will keep it close to 20ppm which is fine. As for the pH, 7.6 to 7.8 isn't and issue. And yes the bogwood will lower it some. The CO2 system you are planning to use won't have much effect on the pH unless you use lots of yeast and recharge it every couple days. I ran one for a while on my 29 gallon but never could tell it did ny good for my plants so I took it off. As you said, it is hit or miss. It takes about 4 or 5 hours before the bubbles start to flow and then after about 2 days they really slow down. The more yeast you use, the more bubbles you get but the less time it lasts.

Cheers rdd - I just took a reading from my tank and its PH 8.0 so slightly higher than the tapwater (Could this be due to the cycling?). All thats in there is the sand substrate (Argos playsand), Bogwood and Plants. does the Biological Co2 not help that much in your opinion? I would love to go full compressed co2 however its a bit £££ at the min for me so wanted something just to help my plants along a little, didnt want to use it and take up room if it wasnt too effective tho

Is that PH 8.0 going to be a problem, im not sure how much fish can adapt to the PH in the tank (different species are different etc but in general, can they adapt well?)

 

[rdd1952]

The pH usually doesn't rise once the water is in the tank. Normall, it will drop a little unless your KH is very high. Even 8.0 isn't a real problem. Most fish can adapt to any stable pH even if it is out of their optimal range. What fish do you plan to keep?

The CO2 system may work well. I know there are others on here that use them. I guess it's just a matter of keeping up with recharging it on a regular basis which I always seemed to forget. I don't think once a week at water changes is enough. Also, if you don't already know, the packets that come with it are nothing more than baking soda and yeast. It's a lot cheaper to buy them at the grocery store than buying their little packs. When I was using it, I used a teaspoon of baking soda (same as the packet) and 1/4 teaspoon of yeast (double the packet contents). You get a lot of bubbles that way but it doesn't last as long. You would probably have to recharge twicw a week.

 

[Liam]

Tap water ph usually goes up mine goes up almost a point after its exposed to the air for 24 hours. Dissolved Co2 in tap water and I have read chlorine/chloramines reduce the ph. London tap water can have 40/50ppm nitrate a planted tank will eat it up once the plants are growing, though those levels are fine for fish. Yeast Co2 will bring down the ph but for many soft water species its dealing with the hardness of the water that counts. Most fish will be fine with a ph of 8, german rams and other very soft water fish wont do so well though.

 

[Musho3210]

btw, i wish i had nitrates in my tap, then i wouldnt have to keep dosing it.... If its a medium-heavily planted tank, dont worry about nitrates.