water quality

peanutbowl · 02-12-2009, 03:20 AM

hello all,
in my travels i have collected and tested three different sources of water. one from my municipal source in Milton, De; one municipal source from work in Lewes, DE; and another from a well in Lincoln, DE. here is a break down of these sources from the tap...
Milton
No3 10ppm
GH 50ppm
KH 180ppm
pH 7.4

Lewes
No3 0ppm
GH <25ppm
KH 40ppm
pH 6.8

Lincoln
No3 40ppm
GH 75-100ppm
KH <40ppm
pH 6.4

i only included lincoln water as an extra reference. i just moved four of my tiger barbs to a friend's 55 gallon there. his trates are high, but those fish seem to have held up well during the cycling process, so i think they can adapt. all ammonia and nitrite levels are zero and all three towns are within about 15 miles of each other. i have only used Milton water in my 29 gallon tank. one thing that i would like to do is lower the nitrate level. i have been changing water when the trates reach 20ppm, but would like to have it so that this level never goes above about 10ppm. it's no big deal for me to bring home water from work in sufficient quantities. this is my question. would it be appropriate to alternate water from Lewes and milton, say, every other time i do a water change? or would it be best to store lewes water and make a 50/50 mix with my local source every time? i feel like i could enjoy the higher kh buffer of my water while effectively lowering nitrates and ph a litte using the lewes water. or am i completely wrong in my assumptions? soon, i will get a r/o filter in preparation for a reef tank, but until then, i'm trying to make do with what i have. thank you all in advance on this one.

Jay · 02-12-2009, 08:16 AM

Hey Peanutbowl...

A few questions before answering

What test kit/source did the numbers come from?

Are the Milton tests for GH and KH OK as presented, or reversed?

Jay

peanutbowl · 02-12-2009, 04:26 PM

i have been using the quick dip 5 in 1 strips. i'm collecting the liquid api tests one by one but have only gotten the ammonia and nitrite tests so far.
i just checked it again and the numbers are accurate as presented.
thanks for looking into this for me.

Jay · 02-13-2009, 07:35 AM

Well we can throw out the Lincoln water. Nitrates that high are not good. Fish will adapt yes, but you are setting yourself up for trouble when you put them back into 10 ppm (osmotic shock)

Is that tap water in Lincoln? The EPA standard for drinking water is 10 ppm nitrate, that is one of the reasons I questioned the test result numbers.

I think you are over complicating your life with the mix and match approach to water quality. Nitrate levels are usually controlled by water changes or the use of chemical resins to reduce the amount. Keep in mind though as nitrates rise so do unmeasurable pollutants, so tagging a water change to a nitrate amount is a good practice. You can also use plants (cheap weeds) like Anachris, Cabomba, etc. that are heavy nutrient users. I dose my show tank at about 30 ppm nitrate because my plants use it up quickly.

If you are going to be demanding about water quality...the real problem with both Lewes and Milton is the GH. Lewis being really low. GH in our hobby is the amount of Calcium and Magnesium dissolved in the water plus other trace minerals and salts. Hobby test kits do not measure these two elements, and provide only a range of hardness.

The Milton water 50 ppm GH is very soft (contains only a tiny amount of Ca and Mg) IMO this is where the water needs tweaking. Ca and Mg along with other trace minerals and salts (electrolytes) are essential for cell function in critters and plants. Without them the patient dies.

This is an aspect of water quality, in fish keeping, that most newcomers overlook, and wonder why they have unexplained deaths in the tank or fish that are in bad health and prone to disease.

There are lots of products designed to boost GH. My preference is Seachem's Equilibrium, used at every water change.

Jay

peanutbowl · 02-13-2009, 12:58 PM

wow! Thank you very much, jay.
i have always considered hardness as a bad thing. again thank you for opening my eyes in that respect.

my friend's lincoln water comes from a well. and his development is surrounded by farmland. two things we certainly have a lot of around here are chicken farming and corn fields. so i figure that is were the nitrates are coming from. he had a couple of angle fish in his tank for several years, but his last one died about a week ago. i offered my barbs to free up space in my tank and to help keep his tank cycled. maybe he could use a little plant "action" in his tank too.

it's my understanding that in order to recieve the full benefit of plants in the tank, there should be moderate to heavy planting. also the use of specialty substrates is recommended. in my case, i have medium to large natural substrate. is there a chance that i could use the existing substrate in an attemp to avoid a total break down of the tank? or perhaps add some of the specialty substrate to just a portion of the tank that i would like to plant in? and what would be the minimum amount of plants to use? in the meantime i will keep an eye out for the "equilibrium". are there any other additives i should consider as well? using real plants is a bridge i have yet to cross, so i will definately be doing research in that department.

thanks again, jay. you are the man.

peanutbowl · 02-13-2009, 05:11 PM

actually, stracth those last couple of questions. i'll do some more research on freshwater plants and get back with you in another sub-forum.