Your Fish Tank - Hard Water Or Soft Water?
Do you have any idea how many dissolved minerals there are in your water? Neither did I when I got started with my first fish tank. Luckily I lived in an area where the tap water was pretty good for my fish, but learning more about the chemistry of hard and soft water has sure helped me over the years.
First thing to know is, most tap water is “hard water”, which has lots of calcium and magnesium dissolved into it. This is good for your tank and your fish!
Hardness is measured in “parts per million” of calcium carbonate, and the “general hardness” of the calcium (gH). “Soft water” has under 135 ppm and 4 to 8 gH, while “hard water” has more than 200 ppm and 12 to 20 gH. You’ll want to find a test that helps you measure the ppm in your tank: a “general hardness kit” measures gH, although you can often get a good answer with a phone call to your water utility, whose job it is to keep track of hardness.
There’s a separate “carbonate hardness kit” that will measure the amount of calcium carbonate (kH) in the water. This usually involves a process called “titration”. You just add drops of a chemical to a water sample, and the number of drops required to change the color of the water-plus-chemical mixture tells you the kH level. There are also some kits with pre-treated paper strips you can just dip in the water, but these only tell you a general range.
The only time you really need to worry is if you’re water’s very soft, because there’s less of that calcium carbonate to buffer the normal ups and downs in your tank’s pH balance. Without that buffer, your pH can fall very far, very fast, which will at least make your fish and creatures sick, if it doesn’t kill them outright, and if it happens when you’re not at home or not paying attention, the effects can be devastating.
So what do you do if your water’s too hard? There’s several ways to it a little softer. Boiling the water is the simplest, but most time consuming. A peat moss filter or a reverse osmosis system are probably the most popular techniques. You can also find “ion exchange resins” that will help.
And if the water’s too soft? That’s even simpler – just try filtering it through crushed coral or dolomite. The minerals will start to leach into the water, so just keep filtering and testing and you’ll find you have properly “crunchy” water in no time.
September 24th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
How do I make hard water soft in my fish tank?
I 'acquired' a goldfish in a very small tank before Christmas. He now has a bigger tank. When I set the new tank up I put the water from the old tank in the new tank and topped it up with water from the tap which had been treated for chlorine etc. I have been monitoring the water in the tank and everything appears to be OK or is heading that way except for the hardness of the water which hasn't changed. The water testing kit I have does not really tell me how to make hard water soft. Is there a product available that can help me out? (I am a beginner to fishkeeping and am on a very steep learning curve so be gentle!). Thanks for your help.
September 24th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
let it defrost!! then it will be soft
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September 24th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
You can buy an additive at the pet store to soften the water.
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September 24th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
every time i had fish they died so i would say go and ask at your local pet shop
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September 24th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
There are tabs that you can buy at any walmart. It will remind you of alkaseltzer when you drop them in!
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September 24th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Do yourself and the fish a favour and leave the water be.
Water is hard for a reason - it contains a higher level of minerals and other elements that end up resulting in this harder water. If you go and buy an additive from the store, it will add more elements that will try and fight with the existing elements, but won't actually remove them. The end result is unstable water, and this is much less healthy for the fish then just having water a bit to hard.
These fis hare more adapatable and hardier then sometimes given credit for. Keep it simple, add nothing to the water except conditioner, and your fish will do well.
If you really really want to get the water softer, then you should do it the proper way and actually remove those elements. R.O filtration is the best way to do this, and you can mix R.O. with tap water to achieve a middle ground. But still, in my experience playing chemist is just not necessary.
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September 24th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
1}
keep tap water in a clean bucket over night,
before adding to your tank ( this will evaporate the chlorine in the water )
2 ] water conditioner tablets are available in all pet stores and aquatic specialists . They will help to get the PH right ,
Keeping fish is an acquired art and a great hobby ,
learn as much as you can from books and aquatic magazines , and experts .
Think about joining a local aquatic club, for first hand tips .
Keeping ,an attractive, healthy fish tank is a joy and a great achievement .
Nobody knows it all ,
just pick up as much as you can, from those who have achieved success.
Please , remember to pass on your own good tips to others
Good luck with your wonderful new venture
>^,,^<
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in my experiance
September 24th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Carp or Goldfish don't really need soft water and are fairly tolerant to chlorine as long as the water is added gradually.
You have two easy options for soft water,1, do you know anyone with a domestic water softener who you can cadge some water from, or, 2, collect rain water in a plastic container, allow it to settle and use this ( also no chlorine problem).
You don't actually say what the hardness level in the tank is - anything below about 200 ppm is quite safe, in the south of England (notoriously hard water) the range is between 300 - 350 ppm depending on recent rainfall.
Are you using any filtration? if not you need to change about 10% of the water every so often to prevent the buildup of nitrates/nitrites.
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September 24th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
I have a 2.5 gallon tank with a betta fish inside. I use spring water I get from work - LOL! That way I don't have to deal with hard water at all.
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September 24th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
I would leave it alone, I have been down that road and turned my tank into a chemical soup trying to change the water chemistry
As another poster mentioned you can add part tap water and part RO (reverse osmosis) water which you can purchase from pet shops.
I live in a very hardwater area (North London) and my goldfish (Mr Chunky) does fine in this environment. The only thing I would say is your filter in your new tank may not have had time to grow the benficial bacteria if you need more help PM me
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September 24th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
Your goldfish will be fine in the water that is coming out of your tap as long as you remove the chlorine. There are drops that are sold to add to the water as you put it into the tank. DeChlor is what I use when I do my weekly water changes on my 25 tanks.
Just add the required number of drops as you add the fresh water to your tank. Remember, goldfish are dirty little guys and you should change 40-50% of his water every 4-5 days. Do not change 100% of the water because there are beneficial bacteria that live in the water that are needed to keep the water stable and healthy. Good luck!
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26 years of keeping and spawning many different species of tropical fish and cichlids. 25 tanks up and running at present. Mostly cichlids and scavengers right now. I have worked in both the retail and wholesale tropical fish business.
The Greatest Enemy of Truth is not the deliberate lie; Rather it is all those things we know to be true…that are not.
September 24th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
You don't.
Seriously, it is very, very hard to change the hardness/pH of a tank and keep it stable.
Your fish will do fine in the water you have, and you are much better off keeping them in water that isn't "ideal", than trying to get the ideal water and having the chemistry fluctuate.
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September 25th, 2008 at 12:00 am
PH NEEDS TO BE AROUND 7 (NEUTRAL) YOU CAN BUY PH+, PH- OR PH BALANCE FROM ANY GOOD AQUATIC STORE AND MOST LARGE PET STORES.
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September 25th, 2008 at 12:02 am
DO NOT USE HOME WATER SOFTENER WATER IN YOUR FRESHWATER FISH TANK. if you have to use something softer than what you have, use reverse osmosis (ro) water. water softeners in homes use SALT to soften the water. ie: salt plus freshwater fish=dead fish. just be safe and go with the ro water. (this is from experience)
i have 300+ on my test strips for hardness, and my fish don't care. they've never been sick either. if you fish is already doing okay in the hard water, then just leave him. if you switch it now, it could make him sick or stress him out.
good luck!! hth!
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