Hi Folks, sorry if I break any rules or guidelines, I'm just getting established here and with my new aquarium...
Setup: Fluval 230 litre ~ 70 gallon tank
Fluval 406 external canister filter
No fish... yet, waiting to get things as "perfect as possible" before the new "guests" arrive
So here where I'm struggling, my pH is higher than I'd like at 8, I'm using well water that has come though a water softener, GH is pretty much zero but my KH is off the scale (21 drops with my API test kit)! The tank has a couple of live plants in it (hoping to get a cycle under my belt before adding fish).
My question is, is it better to attempt to lower my pH or just live with it in exchange for a stable pH? I understand that KH is buffering my pH and that can/will cause the pH bounce around and from what I'm reading stable is far better than lower bouncy pH!!! Will the cycle change my pH, am I worrying about nothing... ahh!
I''m dying to add fish, but not sure where to go from here...
Thanks!
Hey MCKITCH,
I have the same water parameters as you, including the softener. For about 6 years, I ran a 29 g heavily planted. As for water, I didn't do anything. Nearly every plant I tried thrived and most fish did as well. IMHO, stability and slowly acclimating new fish is more important than the water parameters.
Now I have a 180 g (about 6 months in) and I am not using the softened water (where I was before). Things still seem stable.
Feel free to ask me any questions about my experience with our hard water.
drukus
Hey Drukus, why did you switch to "non-conditioned" water?
Frankly, I didn't notice any major issues with the softened water (it has high sodium), but there were a few fish that did fine at first but they faded away and died after that.
This time around I was able to plumb a new line that was from before the softener. I haven't had this setup running long enough to tell if it made a difference or not.
Welcome mckitch!
I find that stability can outweigh exact perimeters, most fish can acclimatize well to slight differences overall.
Jody
How is the tank settling in? Have you added any fish yet. Or noticed any changes to the PH once the tank has cycled?