FishProfiles.com Message Forums

How do i reduce the Hardness & Alkaline of the water?.

Thanks alot in advance.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

Hi,
The easiest, and simplest, is to dilute it with distilled,
or RO water. Experiment with your tap water. Fill a gallon
container 1/2 full with tap water, and the other half with
distilled or RO water. Wait 24 hours for the tap water to
degass and then test the container for hardness and pH.
(Be sure the water is well mixed, an airstone perhaps.)

If the result is too soft, try a 3/4:1/4 mix and continue
with the process till you find the desired mix. Once you
have found what you want, graduate up to larger containers
and keep the same ratio and use that water for your
tank(s).

If you have fish in the tank now, be sure to make these
changes over a long period of time. I, being conservative,
would shift the tank water to the new mix over at least a
month.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

So A/C water & Dehumidifier water are good to mix with tap water?.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

I would STRONGLY caution against that move Jason ... and indeed would caution you against getting up close and personal with water from an air conditioner for one very good reason ...

Legionnaires' Disease.

The species of Legionella bacteria that are implicated in outbreaks of Legionnaires' Disease sometimes colonise the water in air conditioning units. I would very strongly advise that water from such a source be treated with great suspicion. You might want to take a look at this publication]http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/iacl27.pdf#search=%22legionnaires'%20disease%22[/link] from the Health & Safety Executive here in the UK (it's a PDF document). [link=This page is also worth a look.



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Hi,
No, The output from a dehumidifier or air conditioner are
NOT a good idea. The problems are many fold and include
the disease mentioned in the earlier post, and the facts
that frequently the water is contaminated by cooking
greases and smoke, cigarette smoke with nicotine and all
it contains, atmospheric contaminates such as industrial
pollutants, and contaminants from the metal of the fins
themselves as well as the solder used to hold the assembly
together. Then add to that the fact that the trays in
these devices frequently have places that are slow to drain
and e to the production of mold spores due to the
warm dark places inherent in their construction.

What seems like a good idea, generally is not.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Thanks alot for both reply's. I taught that the A/C & Dehumidifier water was good to mix with normal tap water. I will try to reduce the water with some Driftwood & see how it will go.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

Hi,
I'm sorry to have taken so long to add an additional
response. I've been out of town with no phone/internet
service.

The addition of driftwood "could" help lower your pH - a
little. How much it lowers it depends upon how "seasoned"
it is, and the type of wood that it is. As the tannins
leech out into the tank they will color the water a yellow
to brown, tea like color. Additionally, as the wood soaks
up the tank water, the tannins migrate out into the tank,
leaving an area of depletion between the areas of less
tannin and lots of tannin. This layer eventually forms
a boundary that slows the leeching process down,
and eventually will stop it for all practical purposes.

You might see the pH drop a few points, and it will not
be permanent. The next water change will begin to raise
the pH and GH right back to where it was.

The safest way is to mix RO or Distilled water with the tap
water as described earlier.
This begs the question - how far do you need to shift the
water values, and why. Keep in mind that very nearly any
fish offered in today's LFS is tank reared and not wild
caught. That means that they will be comfortable and
breed in just about any water we provide.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Thanks alot Frank, for the detailed information you gave me.

Thanks once again.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com