water ?'s

puff(er) daddy

puff(er) daddy

Member
My water is never stable. It's been up and running for 4 to 5 months. At first the ammonia,nitrate,and ph was good, but the nitrites were just high for 4 months. Now, the nitrites are low(.25) the nitrates are at 140, the ammonia is just above 0,and the ph is stable. I believe that it's because I use tap water. What's the problem? If not the tap water then what?
Tonight I set-up a reserve water station. It's 15gals. I added Aqua Safe to the water it suppose to make the tap water safe for the fish.
What else should I do to my reserve water? Should I add cycle,salt and sand?
 
andymi

andymi

Member
The bigger questions are these.
1. What size tank is it?
2. What fish do you have in it?
3. What filtration do you have?
4. What type of cleanup crew are you using?
You may have your tank overstocked or under-filtered. Post the answer to these questions and we will try to help.
-_Andy
 
flydan

flydan

Active Member
Hey,
Way to many problems with tap water, no matter what chemicals you add. Your water utility company doesn't even deliver the same water conditions to your house week to week or month to month so you really have no idea what's in it. Not to mention the addition of copper leaching into the system from the pipes.
Go with RO water if at all possible.
HTH,
Dan'l :D
 
oceanblue

oceanblue

Member
PufferD,
I heard the answer to a similar question of mine when I started out in marine, and it sounded like a broken record...it's the tap water. Well, I solved many problems without changing my water source. I got along for almost two years using tap water, keeping a close eye on it, but all the sudden I had a raging algae problem, and I didn't have any fluctuation in my normal water parameters, so I went ahead and got a D/I unit, and just from the first 10% change, algae halted it's spread accross my substrate! I found out later that my water company had started flouride treatment...nice for the teeth, bad for the fish! So, the tap water could easily be the issue, but your nitrates aren't going to help any either. I'm curious what kind of filtration you have as well?? ;)
 
puff(er) daddy

puff(er) daddy

Member
I have a 125gal tank. I have a 7inch mapp puffer in there he has been with me for 3 months now. I use a Amiracle wet/dry filter,a Rio 3100 pump(I know it's too much but I made a lot of mistakes and it pumps my water through at a great rate, my waters clear again in no time), and a Zoo Med powerhead(214).
I've waited long enough: WHAT DOES R/O STAND FOR? I thought if I read enough post someone would spell it out. I know it's pure water but don't know it's full name. Where can I get this infamus "R/O"?
 
dugan

dugan

Member
RO = reverse osmosis
You can usually get RO water at your LFS. Mine charges 50 cents a gallon for it and it's the best investment I've ever made in my tank.
With a tank your size though you may want to consider buying a RO filter to make your own water.
:)
Katie
 
puff(er) daddy

puff(er) daddy

Member
OH, CAN ANYONE ANSWER THE SECOND PART OF MY QUESTION. I WANT TO KNOW IF I SHOULD ADD LR AND CYCLE TO MY RESERVE WATER STATION I JUST SET-UP? I'LL USE THIS WATER FOR WATER CHANGES ETC.
 
flydan

flydan

Active Member
Hey,
Not sure what you mean by reserve water station. For water changes I keep a 30gal plastic garbage can about 2/3 full of saltwater. (Add RO water, mix in salt per directions to same salinity as my tank.) When I need to do a water change I make sure it is the same temp as my tank, aerate it and add it slowly. That's it. I only keep it mixed in advance in case of emergencies.
For top-offs I just use straight RO water. I pour it back and forth between a couple of buckets to aerate it and then add it to the tank. (I learned that trick from one of the sharks.)
HTH,
Dan'l :D
 
dugan

dugan

Member
Hmmm... Dan'l can you explain why you aerate the RO water before adding it to top off?
I've always just added it straight to the tank from the bottle I keep it in. I toss a PH into my saltwater but I've never aerated my top off water.
Thanks!!
Katie
 
puff(er) daddy

puff(er) daddy

Member
A RESERVE WATER STATION IS THE SAME AS YOUR TRASH CAN. I WANTED TO KNOW SHOULD I HAVE ADDED CYCLE TO IT. I PUT SOMETHING IN IT THAT WILL MAKE TAP WATER SAFE FOR MARINE FISH. I WAS GOING TO ADD CYCLE BUT I WANTED TO GET U GUYS AND GALS ADVICE FIRST.
 
dugan

dugan

Member
If I understand your question correctly, the answer is no, you don't need to cycle your replacement water before doing a water change.
You just need to make sure it is at the correct SG and temperature and that the salt has mixed well (by using a PH for 24 hours or so).
Katie
 
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