Question about water parameters

[Connor Elliott]

I have a betta and platys I know bettas like softer more acidic waters and platys like harder more alkaline water what would be a good equilibrium in water parameters for both of them to be happy? I also have 2 golden wonder killifish.

[Fish Folk]

11 minutes ago, Connor Elliott said:

I have a betta and platys I know bettas like softer more acidic waters and platys like harder more alkaline water what would be a good equilibrium in water parameters for both of them to be happy? I also have 2 golden wonder killifish.

I think that there is some misnomer in the idea that in order to be successful with certain fish, water needs to meet a recommended standard. We have soft water, but our platys (and guppies and mollys) have been quite successful. If you have a sufficient sized tank and plant it up with lots of plants, things can work out. Watch the Killifish to ensure that there is no drama with the Betta. If your water's KH is really low then add crushed coral (you can hide bags somewhere or mix in with your substrate). If your water's GH is really high, you could add wood to release some tannins as well as oak leaf litter along the bottom. But in the final analysis, unless your water is unbelievably extreme, fish will do fine.

[laritheloud]

Whatever the water is that you have access to. I don't have any RO systems, and I don't buy anything other than driftwood, tons of plants, and catappa leaves to decorate my tank and mildly soften my water. I keep some hardier soft-ish-water fish in my tank right now, and all of them are doing fine. GH 10, KH 10, PH 8.0. 

As long as the fish are acclimated properly it's usually fine.

[Connor Elliott]

15 minutes ago, Fish Folk said:

I think that there is some misnomer in the idea that in order to be successful with certain fish, water needs to meet a recommended standard. We have soft water, but our platys (and guppies and mollys) have been quite successful. If you have a sufficient sized tank and plant it up with lots of plants, things can work out. Watch the Killifish to ensure that there is no drama with the Betta. If your water's KH is really low then add crushed coral (you can hide bags somewhere or mix in with your substrate). If your water's GH is really high, you could add wood to release some tannins as well as oak leaf litter along the bottom. But in the final analysis, unless your water is unbelievably extreme, fish will do fine.

If I want to raise kh could I also use Seachem alkaline buffer?

[Connor Elliott]

1 minute ago, laritheloud said:

Whatever the water is that you have access to. I don't have any RO systems, and I don't buy anything other than driftwood, tons of plants, and catappa leaves to decorate my tank and mildly soften my water. I keep some hardier soft-ish-water fish in my tank right now, and all of them are doing fine. GH 10, KH 10, PH 8.0. 

As long as the fish are acclimated properly it's usually fine.

Thank you 

[Fish Folk]

8 minutes ago, Connor Elliott said:

If I want to raise kh could I also use Seachem alkaline buffer?

Personally, I avoid chasing parameters with chems. Yes, you can go that route . . . but unless you're very disciplined,  things happen. To raise KH, I'd just recommend adding crushed coral. It's pretty cheap. Here's some photos of it the substrate of a few of our tanks . . .

 

Edited April 25, 2021 by Fish Folk

[Connor Elliott]

5 minutes ago, Fish Folk said:

Personally, I avoid chasing parameters with chems. Yes, you can go that route . . . but unless you're very disciplined,  things happen. To raise KH, I'd just recommend adding crushed coral. It's pretty cheap. Here's some photos of it the substrate of a few of our tanks . . .

 

Doesn’t crushed coral raise ph and gh?

[Fish Folk]

7 minutes ago, Connor Elliott said:

Doesn’t crushed coral raise ph and gh?

It will raise both GH and KH slowly over time. It's gradual. pH will stabilize, not skyrocket. It's adding buffer to keep pH from crashing.

Do you know your current parameters? You might not really need any at all.

[Connor Elliott]

6 minutes ago, Fish Folk said:

It will raise both GH and KH slowly over time. It's gradual. pH will stabilize, not skyrocket. It's adding buffer to keep pH from crashing.

Do you know your current parameters? You might not really need any at all.

I probably don’t ph=7.4-7.6 gh=10.08 kh=2.24 I log my parameters on a piece of paper.

[Fish Folk]

9 minutes ago, Connor Elliott said:

I probably don’t ph=7.4-7.6 gh=10.08 kh=2.24 I log my parameters on a piece of paper.

You could add wood to help balance things out. Do you have all these fish in separate tanks now? 

[Connor Elliott]

2 minutes ago, Fish Folk said:

You could add wood to help balance things out. Do you have all these fish in separate tanks now? 

 

2 minutes ago, Fish Folk said:

You could add wood to help balance things out. Do you have all these fish in separate tanks now? 

No they are all in the same tank there is 1 betta 2 platys 2 golden wonder killifish and 1 nerite snail in a 20 gallon. And I already have a decent amount of wood in there but I have 2 more wood caves that I am going to put in because I’m planning on getting a bushy nose pleco.