Water Quality issue.

[YIACrazy]

@Cory I have been fighting my water since I started the hobby. 7? Years? Not by trying to keep fish that don't match my water, but by keeping fish at all. My water has always been "wacky". Before I found the Co-op, I tried seachem's line of buffers and they didn't work. Support said that a buffer in my tap was fighting their buffers. CC fixed my problems in general for most fish, (shrimp just die) however due to chemistry I don't understand, to get the slight increase in kH in my water, the gH jumps from 75 to well over 300. I'm not sure exactly how high...it's too high to read. I need the kH...my pH has crashed too many times. Two weeks ago I lost a fish or 2 from every tank that got a water change. (Luckily I was lazy) I happened to be doing an experiment and caught 5g of my tap water. It was perfect for about a week. My theory is that the change in tap water however briefly.... With a larger water change was too much for the fish to adapt to. I'm guessing smaller water changes or leaving water out overnight and test before. However what I really want is to understand. I've just lost too many fish. It's heartbreaking and frustrating. I can't find these fish anywhere now... They are not replaceable. (Although I know Cory knows someone 😉) The fact that a similar cycle of deaths happens every 6-8 months is making sense. Can anyone relate? Anyone with something similar? Or is this just me? (It's usually just me)

P.s. I live in this sweet spot (nasty spot) where we buy water from 3 different treatment plants. One is Old City with horrible pipes, the second is rural with fertilizer runoff, the third is awesome, but small. 

Thanks

[KBOzzie59]

Is this in the USA?  What city/plants are you getting water from?  I'd like to look at their annual reports.

Do you have parameters, including chlorine/chloramine (from the tap)?

[Mmiller2001]

Personally, I would buy an RO/DI system. How much money have you lost in fish up to this point? You can grab a 3 stage RO system for 150 bucks. This will eliminate any unknowns in your water. Seachem buffers work really well, but in the presence of zero TDS water. Using buffers in tap water can be a nightmare. 

I bought Mg and Ca and potassium Carbonate 9 months ago. Total cost, 25 bucks. That's everything you need to mineralize water. I will easily get another 9 months from what remains.

I've learned the best way to figure out what I'm doing wrong was to eliminate what I'm doing right. And switching to RO/DI water was a game changer.

[YIACrazy]

Yes. As for Tap parameters...I'd want to take them again. I can't actually trust that they are consistent. Usually, out of the tap.... And even after the dissolved gases dissipate, the biggest problem is a complete lack of kH.  Whatever is wrong with the water uses up all the buffering capacity.... Ultimately leading to the pH crashing. I'm in New Jersey. I'm getting water from New Brunswick, Raritan, and a 3rd plant that is escaping me right now. Of course because of Covid, I'm working off of a 2019 report, but I've been fighting this issue for a while. They use 4.0 chlorine and on occasion they have used chloramine....just not in 2019. As for harmful metals....we are in the 90th percentile. Don't have the numbers in front of me, but it's the lead and copper that are excessive coming from the city plant. I can't drink my tap water....its taste makes me ill. What I don't see on the report is what they add... Or what is causing the buffering that works against other buffering agents. Not because I want to start mixing chemicals, but because I'm frustrated and want to understand. Other people in neighboring areas with different water treatment plants don't have the same water issues.... Although they do pull it out of different parts of the river don't they...

Candi told me to buy an RODI unit. I might need to....

Thanks