Mario
April 12th 05, 03:58 PM
I have a 20 gal tank with 5 danios, 2 platies (plus a newly-discovered
baby that has grown large enough to not be eaten by the other fish), 2
small panda cories, and fake plants. The tank is cycled and has been
running problem free since mid-February. Currently, all NH3 and NO2
levels are at 0, and pH 7.
I may add two more (small) fish, but I pretty happy with the stocking
levels right now.
I do regular water changes - about 5 gallons every week. Initially I
was treating my tap water (with AmQuel) for makeup water. (I live in
northern Virginia where they treat the public water supply with
chloramines.)
However, I always had to "overdose" the tap water to get the NH4 levels
down to near-zero levels -- I could never get it to zero, even if I
left the water to stand for a couple days. I just assumed this was an
artifact of the test kit I was using (American Pharmaceuticals
Freshwater Master Test Kit), which is supposed work with AmQuel.
Moreover, the extra dosing appears to lower the pH levels to around 6.6
or so. The fish seemed to do okay after the water change, and the key
parameters stayed at zero, but the water was always a bit cloudy, and
the pH would fluctuate between 6.5-6.7.
A couple weeks ago, I left my treated water to stand an extra couple
days and it developed a reddish film on the surface, which I assumed to
be algae. Not wanting to introduce this into my tank, I used distilled
water from the grocery store for my water change. Almost immediately,
the water cleared up and the pH levels stabilized to about 7. After a
couple weeks of using distilled water from the grocery store for water
changes, the tank is crystal clear, and the pH levels do not fluctuate.
My question is: Is there a more cost effective way than buying
distilled water from the grocery store for my water changes? What do
other folks in the Northern Virginia are do? Based on my experience, I
want to avoid adding any chemicals to the tank.
Mario
Northern Virginia
baby that has grown large enough to not be eaten by the other fish), 2
small panda cories, and fake plants. The tank is cycled and has been
running problem free since mid-February. Currently, all NH3 and NO2
levels are at 0, and pH 7.
I may add two more (small) fish, but I pretty happy with the stocking
levels right now.
I do regular water changes - about 5 gallons every week. Initially I
was treating my tap water (with AmQuel) for makeup water. (I live in
northern Virginia where they treat the public water supply with
chloramines.)
However, I always had to "overdose" the tap water to get the NH4 levels
down to near-zero levels -- I could never get it to zero, even if I
left the water to stand for a couple days. I just assumed this was an
artifact of the test kit I was using (American Pharmaceuticals
Freshwater Master Test Kit), which is supposed work with AmQuel.
Moreover, the extra dosing appears to lower the pH levels to around 6.6
or so. The fish seemed to do okay after the water change, and the key
parameters stayed at zero, but the water was always a bit cloudy, and
the pH would fluctuate between 6.5-6.7.
A couple weeks ago, I left my treated water to stand an extra couple
days and it developed a reddish film on the surface, which I assumed to
be algae. Not wanting to introduce this into my tank, I used distilled
water from the grocery store for my water change. Almost immediately,
the water cleared up and the pH levels stabilized to about 7. After a
couple weeks of using distilled water from the grocery store for water
changes, the tank is crystal clear, and the pH levels do not fluctuate.
My question is: Is there a more cost effective way than buying
distilled water from the grocery store for my water changes? What do
other folks in the Northern Virginia are do? Based on my experience, I
want to avoid adding any chemicals to the tank.
Mario
Northern Virginia