Water Hardness :)

[lauraabeth]

So these are the rates of my water.
http/www.yorkshirewater.com/extra-services/in-your-area.aspx?loc=s654el
To view it you have to click on the water quality tab next to overview. It says I have moderately hard water with an average of 72.8mg/l calcium so does anyone know what tropical fish I could keep with this water? Thanks.

 

[KittyKat]

Sounds like it's perfect for many Livebearers! Otherwise, I would try African Rift Lake cichlids.

p.s. you might want to double check it yourself: get some water from the tap, let it sit for 24 hours, then test.

 

[anon02]

If you are buying your fish locally find out if they are tank bred in local water, often a few fry from each batch will survive and be more mineral tolerant

 

[jdprice1988]

Sorry to hijack the thread but is there any specific reason why you should leave the water for 24 hours before testing? Is this with all tests straight from tap water? Only asking because my water is very soft and I'm a bit worried about the stability of my PH

Thanks

JD

 

[waterdrop]

I think KK probably said that because CO2 is a slight acid and could make you think your water is more acid than it really is if you don't allow about 24 hours for the excess CO2 to gas off. Why is there excess CO2? Its because piped water is stored at elevations (such as in water towers) so that it can be delivered to our houses under pressure without the use of pumps. The elevated pressure allows a larger component of CO2 to be present, but the excess will gas off once the tap water leaves the pipe and returns to atmospheric pressure.

Having very soft water makes it likely, but not a sure thing, that either or both your general hardness and/or your carbonate hardness may be low. The only sure way to know this is by obtaining and using a GH/KH kit. Tetratest, API and others make liquid kit pairs of these. I've used both. Carbonate hardness (also commonly called Temporary Hardness) which is measured in degrees KH is the value that will most closely inform you of the stability your pH will have (as KH falls below 4 german degrees (a degree is 17.9ppm or mg/l) it will be unstable to an increasing degree. Water above 4 degrees KH is more stable and grows increasingly stable as the KH value gets higher. When KH is down in the unstable region, it means the "buffering" against a pH drop may run out and cause a sudden plunge in the acid direction. So, if something acid, such as nitrate, is increasing in the water, the KH will move downward slowly and steadily, whereas pH will just sit there but suddenly drop.

~~waterdrop~~