Myparrotfishcrew

I don’t think anyone truly knows what the parentage is on the Parrot fish, Yaun Bao & golden tigers. I’ve read a lot of speculation. My fish guy Dae said he’s reasonably sure about the Midas Ciclid being part of the mix. I just try to research the Midas for my guys needs. Who knows if I’m way off? It’s actually kinda frustrating.

Ok... I have a a fix! And a question at the bottom. 3/1 mix. 3 parts soft water to 1 part hard water gives me the perfect hardness for my Parrot Fish tanks. This has been a hectic day. I’ve had the city flush all my water lines. Plus send me a water report. Plumber is coming to clean my hot water heater Friday. (Rebuilding it as a side note just because might as well since it hasn’t been done in who knows when.) I have a water softener specialist coming Tuesday to clean and maintenance my water softener. I have been on the phone with the whirlpool company and received some excellent information I’m going to share here about water softeners and the salt used. Excellent people and company very helpful! WHIRLPOOL RESPONSE “The bonding agents for Pellets are a food grade Sodium Sultrate and Anion Surfactans. The Marketing people will tell you they both aid in cleaning the resin. The fact is they just hold it into the Pellet form. And two down falls of these two compounds is they don't handle temperature change well. Which is why if people down south call me complaining about a salty slur in the bottom of the salt tank which is located outside. I tell them because of the Hot days and cold nights there pellets are breaking down and if they switch to crystals they wont have that problem. in this case both those compounds even in a slight residual form are hard on fish health over an extended period of time.” Linda, that is what was stated to me after asking why they advised for the use of ‘Chrystals’ versus ‘Pellets’, when it comes down to owning Tropical Fish in the home. “The hardness setting doesn't affect the level of hardness in the water coming out of the machine. it affects the frequency of the recharges. bumping the hardness setting down will only make the recharges happen less frequently. this will mean the softener will produce fully softened water for awhile and then when it runs out of softening capacity it will not soften water at all until the next recharge happens.” Linda, this is the response I received for asking if you are able to lower the hardness level to produce more hardness in the water. All in all, there is no way to put hardness back into the water. Other than using something that is called a “Bleeder.” Whirlpool does not manufacturer ‘Bleeders’ and they also have no information on them. I’m sorry about that. But if you are looking to put hardness back into the water that is the only way to do it. Lowering the hardness level would do nothing to put hardness back into the water or to make your water harder. I hope this information makes sense. If not, please give us another call. Thank you for contacting Whirlpool!” Please let me know how tolerant fish are to this change from the soft water to converting to the hard water recommended ways to acclimate. thank you everyone!!!

My house was built in 2005 so it would surprise me at all if the water softener was 2007 installed. I’m going to call a plumber today. See what it will cost to flush my hot water heater and service my water softener. thank you so much Ben! To bad you aren’t located here in gorgeous Southeast Georgia!! 😁👍🏼

What about the sulfur smell? Is or should it be a concern?

BEN!!! Ohhhhh I just clicked on this option. If I could access the valves and not need to worry about the hose option that would be fantastic! You are fantastic! Now I’ll check and see what’s out there. 🥵 I’ll have to climb over my husband’s Jeep part collection. straight From my supply source stinks like sulfur. Is sulfur a problem in aquariums? also shows ammonia.

I’ve also had a hard time finding answers to these questions. thus far my concerns are more geared towards the hard water And minerals from that that my Parrot fish require. Finding a good happy medium for everyone is a challenge and the logistics in how to get the good end results is my experiment. Thank heavens for the posting people here who have guided me to get to this point. If you follow the threads here you’ll se ether suggestions and what I’ve done so far. I’ll keep posting as I find the solutions. my concerns are not the small particles of salt left as a residual in the water. That will come later if my research finds it could be come a problem.

thank you so much for your help and advice. I’m so grateful for your suggestions and advice. My reasoning(s) for not running a hose to bypass is location- my water softener is located in the garage. Our house set up is substantially large. Plus the locations of 7 tanks within our house. The amount of water hoses and lengths would be a huge undertaking. Plus the odds of the fittings leaking water is pretty high. The size of my tanks plus carrying that many water buckets is not Going to work with my back issues. I do water changes weekly.

Ok... for anyone interested here’s what I’ve figured out. (I’m trying to condense this the best I can for a quick read. The API test Hard water testing kit wasn’t showing any orange when testing. (thought I had a bad testing kit) I finally figured out I could get a sample of my unfiltered water via the sprinkler system. (comical to watch me trying to fill a cup just FYI) tested that sample (posting pictures of the results below) found the manual for my water softener and realized I can adjust the amount of filtering. (clueless to the functionality of this water softener) ive adjusted the softener to a medium hardness setting. To hopefully keep it safe enough for my appliances, pipes etc. Yet optimal for my fish perimeters. (As much as possible anyhow) now I wait... till the already filtered water cycles through the system. my plan is to retest adjust retest adjust till I find the best options here. My concern is now..... I have had my fish i this filtered water for a couple months. It’s definitely not a desirable range for them at all. THIS IS MY QUESTION how should I go about changing this environment for them? Obviously the gradual process would be optimal. But considering then logistics of changing the filtered water etc it’s not really the best. small water changes daily be safe?? Maybe 25% daily??? please advise with wisdom!

No I’m talking fresh water Blood parrots and Yuan Bao, Golden Tiger Testing with API KIT PH 8.2 50-100 KH (carbonate hardness) 8 drops 0-50 GH ( general hardness ) 2 drops Im not sure if this answers my questions yet. Because I still don’t know if my water softener is removing the nutrients my Parrot fish need. can I assume that this is ok. Or should I be adding some kind of nutrients?

Testing with API KIT PH 8.2 50-100 KH (carbonate hardness) 8 drops 0-50 GH ( general hardness ) 2 drops Im not sure if this answers my questions yet. Because I still don’t know if my water softener is removing the nutrients my Parrot fish need. can I assume that this is ok. Or should I be adding some kind of nutrients?

Does anyone know anything about home water softeners. Mine uses salt in a tank placed in the garage. All our water comes through it. My PH stays a consistent 8.0. Do I need to add anything to my water for happy healthy parrots and fish?