Water Source Question!

[jojo22]

You could also just put an airline to the powerhead, and it will do both jobs for you, and save electric.

[MizTanks]

It's not a power head per say (my bad) it's actually a pump~hence adding air stone~This a.m. my tank is looking freaking awesome!!~maybe it's wishful seeing but the HA seems to have actually receded~I'm not kidding~on one part of the LR it's completely gone~so either somethings eating it at night or my hardy picking yesterday did more damage then was first visible~we'll see~sorry for all the panic guys~in the last six months it's been drilled into my head that in my small tank things can go wrong very fast~I can't afford the $$$$ for this to happen~for me some things just aren't replaceable.

[jojo22]

While that is true, it is easier to solve these things if you slow down, as Jim said the other day, changing too many things too quickly can do more damage, and you will never know what the problem really was.

For instance, if you are going to give a go at using the tap water, make sure you do everything else exactly the same as you did before the switch for AT LEAST two weeks. That way if there are any changes, good or bad, you know that they are the result of changing to tap water.

[jimsflies]

Running the pump/airstone will also lower pH. The city of Marquette tap water is going to be around 8.3-8.4, but as it is aerated (i.e., pumped), CO2 will dissolve into the water which will cause the pH to be lower. (CO2+water = cabonic acid = lower pH)

My guess is your tank water is around 8.0 anyway. It also tough to accurately measure pH without a calibrated probe. If you're concerned you can dose a small amount of A&B after doing the water change to help bring the pH back up.

Maintaining a 8.3-8.4 in a tank is fairly tough to do. Look at my signature and you will see what mine is right now.

[MizTanks]

WOW Jim your totally physic!! I just did my WC and picking and was wondering if I dosed already this a.m. should I dose again after the WC~Although I did test the new mix first and the readings are cal-420~ph-8.4~sg 1.025 this after aerating all night~I'll test tank before bed and see what I get. I'm also gonna look for a ph probe~would make thing a little less wet


Update: hahahah~now I know what a ph probe is~guess I'll just look for the meter type.

[MizTanks]

I found this artical by: Kordon. It is of course about types of water sources for ponds and aquariums. http://www.novalek.com/kordon/articl...l#requirements

My questions to all those here using an RO/DI unit or just RO water~what if any supplements do you add to this water to replace all trace elements that are beneficial to fish and inverts? Are these found in our Salt mixes?

[jojo22]

Most of those are found in the salt mix. The others are dosed according to your needs, you will find that it differs from tank to tank. My personal opinion is that each RO/DI system does a different quality of job at filtering the water, Dependant on upkeep, type, quality of resin and membranes. But most of what you need is in the salt.

[MizTanks]

This has opened up a whole new world for me~when this happens I'm apt to run the subject into the ground until I'm satisfied that I fully understand the reasoning behind the answers I get~sometimes I do this very slowly~understand that is. However your answers and explanations are speeding this up. I would also like to know in all honesty~how many people here are actually using an RO/DI unit~RO unit~or bottled water purchased~such as spring water?

[jojo22]

I always bought distilled water, but I only had a 20G water volume, any more than that and I would have bought an RO/DI unit. It was just convenient to buy the water instead of making it. And with a small water volume it was not too costly.

[tazzy695]

I run a ro unit just a 3 stage without di. And don't add anything but salt for water changes