From: mattk@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (matthew.kaufman)
Subject: Re: Water Quality and City Water
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 13:59:18 GMT
Keywords: ph, water

In article <1992Aug17.122411.15888@walter.bellcore.com> fvr@broom.bae.bellcore.com (Frank Ricciardi) writes:
>In article <1992Aug17.013144.2689@babbage.ece.uc.edu>, montjoy@thor.ece.uc.edu (Robert Montjoy) writes:
>|> 
>|> 
>|> 1) What to do with a Hard alkaline City Water?

Keep fish that LIKE hard, alkaline water. There're plenty of beautiful
fish that like this kind of water - african rift lake cichlids, most
livebearers, lampeye killifish (some people like them, like Oleg :-). There're
fish everywhere there's water and food and sufficient temperature to support
life (Lake Baikal in Siberia, which may be the deepest rift lake in the world,
don't remember the Geographic article, I think is barely 40F at the warmest
time of year and has a thriving fish population. Desert Hole and other
pupfish live in water that's alkaline and very warm (sometimes 100F). Fish
are tough.) You know the old saying - "if they hand out lemons, make lemonade."
I keep plenty of fish in my hard, alkaline tapwater, I just don't deal
with the fish that demand soft water without providing it.
>|> 
>|>    PH 7.5(out of the tap). 
>|>    Don't know the exact hardness but the water does leave
>|>    the dreaded white crusts everywhere it evaporates. 
Calcium. Get a hardness kit. The tetra one is good and cheap.
>|> 
>|>    The water is drawn from "deep artesian wells" , if that makes a
>|>    difference.
Water's water. It probably comes from an area heavy in limestone.
>|> 
>|>    I am trying to setup a community tank. Soft water slightly acidic
>|>    to neutral.
>|> 
Platies, swordtails, plecos, white cloud mountain minnows, lots and
lots of choices.
>
>	Most freshwater fish do not tolerate hard water. Especially Angels and 
>Discus. Also water that is hard is almost always alkaline. Even if you add
>soduim biphosphate to lower the Ph, it'll come right back up unless you soften 
>the water.

The part oabout the pH is true. The generalization about hard water and
fish is bullpucky.
>
>	You can purchase water softening pillows from your local aquarium shop.
>You put them in the filter basket for a day, then take them out and soak them 
>in saline solution for a day to recharge them. I hear that if they are properly
>cared for, they can be reused for quite some time.

Why bother.
>
>	Once you get all the hardness out, the Ph will become manageable.

If dropping rapidly due to overabundance of wastes in the water is
'manageable,' yeah. Fish need *some* hardness in the water. All of them.
No exceptions.
>
>
>
>|> 
>|> 2) Should I use a mixture of distilled water and City water? The distilled
>|>    water I have tested has a PH around 6 - 6.2. 

Distilled water has pH 7. Anything else is due
to the presences of atmospheric grunk in the water causing it to drop.
>
>	In addition to my salt tank, I keep assorted exotic goldfish in a 
>20 gal. I have been giving them nothing but distilled water for over 2 years 
>now, and I haven't had a death yet. (Knock Knock) Be careful with this approach,

Goldfish. Feh. Fancy carp. Live in swill and enjoy it. Not a good comparison
and I disagree emphatically with the recommendation. Make your life easy,
use your tapwater and find fish that like it.
>because the distilled water tends to be quite acidic. (Around 6.6) or so.

Distilled water is pH 7, etc. etc.
>
>|> 
>|> 4) Finally, I have a sick Danio(has been for 3-Weeks). It is constantly
>|>    laying on the bottom. It scratches itself(head mostly). Also, it
>|>    swims with its body arched. Also, it appears that it is not eating. 
>|>    We have treated the tank with Coppersafe and Maracyn II, but it did 
>|>    not work.

That's probably becuase you are having ammonia problems and the fish may
be old. Ever test it? Danios are tough fish that don't mind hard water.
I suspect you have other problems with your tank. Dumping in garbage voodoo
patent medicines is rarely the right thing to do - for one thing, remove
the damn fish from the tank and treat it in a hospital tank, rather than
jeopardize the rest of your fish.
>
>	I assume you removed carbon and any other chemical agent removers from 
>the filter while you medicated... Could be because of the water being hard, 
>are any other fish displaying the same behaviour?  

Probably not the water, but the ammonia/nitrate/nitrite or a bad fish to
begin with. Danios should live a couple years in captivitiy withi ease in
almost any water.
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