steveh28 wrote:
my dad's wife is a first grade teacher and has an aquarium in her
classroom (29 gal.) and has about 6 just tropical fish in it. the
main problem is that the school is in a town that still does not have
city water, all the water for the whole town comes out of a well. she
has had problems keeping new fish alive, i assume from the well
water?? i know it probably has a case of old tank syndrome, but i am
in the process of teaching her how to care for the tank better with
water changes and all. once she gets the hang of it, i am going to
try to convince her that cichlids are the way to go. so are there any
suggestions on how to make the well water more suitable for any fish,
and more specifically cichlids if she goes that route?

I think in order for anyone to make anything more than general
recommendations, we need to know more about the well water. Can you test
it for pH, GH, KH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? With those values, much
better advice can be given. Now for my general comment. Well water is not
necessarily bad, it can be used just fine for tanks, but it all depends on
those parameters.