Should I change the way I treat my tap water?

[Perry]

I'm looking for some friendly input on water treatment options.

I keep low maintenance plants (anubias and windelov java fern) and animals (neon tetras, chili rasboras, cherry shrimp and an unidentified pleco) in a couple of small tanks (10g and 29g). Both tanks are well seasoned (5+ years). I use inert substrate but I am a big fan of tannins so use Malaysian driftwood, catappa leaves and alder cones to achieve a subtle tint.

My well water comes out of the tap very soft (gh: < 25, kh: < 40, ph: < 6.4 and tds: 29). These measurements are based on the co-op multi-test strips and a standard tds meter. I get slightly different results using the API liquid kits but for the sake of simplicity I'll stick to the test strip results.

Historically I have treated my tap water with SaltyShrimp GH/KH+ to achieve roughly these parameters (gh: 150-300, kh: 40, ph: 6.4 - 6.6 and tds: 180ish). I'm not really aiming for those parameters that's just what I get when I add slightly less than the recommended amount of the salts (since my water isn't quite RO). 

I generally do small water changes once a week (6% - 10%). My tank parameters remain quite stable and the plants and animals have always done well. 

On the one hand there is a strong argument for continuing to do what I've always done as it seems to be working just fine and really isn't hard; I just mix my tap water with the salts in a couple of 2 gallon buckets and let them sit until needed. On the other hand I'm intrigued by the simplicity of adding a handful of crushed coral to the HOB and just using water straight from the tap.

I'd be happy to hear some opinions as to whether, in my shoes, you would make the shift or not and, if you would, how you would do it. I'm thinking, if I were to try it, that I'd just add a small handful of the crushed coral to the HOB and stick to my usual small water changes but with plain tap water. 

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

 

Edited May 25, 2021 by Perry

[Fish Folk]

27 minutes ago, Perry said:

I'm looking for some friendly input on water treatment options.

I keep low maintenance plants (anubias and windelov java fern) and animals (neon tetras, chili rasboras, cherry shrimp and an unidentified pleco) in a couple of small tanks (10g and 29g). Both tanks are well seasoned (5+ years). I use inert substrate but I am a big fan of tannins so use Malaysian driftwood, catappa leaves and alder cones to achieve a subtle tint.

My well water comes out of the tap very soft (gh: < 25, kh: < 40, ph: < 6.4 and tds: 29). These measurements are based on the co-op multi-test strips and a standard tds meter. I get slightly different results using the API liquid kits but for the sake of simplicity I'll stick to the test strip results.

Historically I have treated my tap water with SaltyShrimp GH/KH+ to achieve roughly these parameters (gh: 150-300, kh: 40, ph: 6.4 - 6.6 and tds: 180ish). I'm not really aiming for those parameters that's just what I get when I add slightly less than the recommended amount of the salts (since my water isn't quite RO). 

I generally do small water changes once a week (6% - 10%). My tank parameters remain quite stable and the plants and animals have always done well. 

On the one hand there is a strong argument for continuing to do what I've always done as it seems to be working just fine and really isn't hard; I just mix my tap water with the salts in a couple of 2 gallon buckets and let them sit until needed. On the other hand I'm intrigued by the simplicity of adding a handful of crushed coral to the HOB and just using water straight from the tap.

I'd be happy to hear some opinions as to whether, in my shoes, you would make the shift or not and, if you would, how you would do it. I'm thinking, if I were to try it, that I'd just add a small handful of the crushed coral to the HOB and stick to my usual small water changes but with plain tap water. 

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

 

Great question! Kudos on sharing all these details. I'm eager to learn what others have to share. My initial thoughts are split . . . on one hand, there is value to all of the life in your tank to continue maintaining it like you have been. The fish and plants are used to it. Changing your maintenance routine will change the way they experience life in a glass box. Personally, I dislike using any chems to alter GH, KH, pH, TDS, etc. I'd rather use my water straight from the tap, and then make stocking decisions and adjustments based on what's needed from there. We do use crushed coral. It is a very slow process to build up buffer. Like you, our GH is low. Our pH, however, is pretty high from the tap. I am curious: what are your measurements from _in tanks_ ?? Decomposing Catappa leaf litter and Alder Cones will likely lower your pH even more as humid acid builds up. Wood and leaves really soften water and pull back pH. Just a matter of curiosity. If you like tannins, but want less acid, you might try floating a few 100% Rooibos Tea bags in your tank. (Unless I misunderstand) that should really "tint" the tank without as much acid decay in the long haul. We use Rooibos Tea as an anti-fungal in Killifish Hatching Jugs.

[Perry]

Thanks for the reply @Fish Folk; I appreciate your thoughts. The water parameters in my tanks are quite close to the parameters of my treated water ... at least I'm not able to distinguish between the two on the test strips. In both the bucket and tank the GH is pretty close to the purple of the 300 marker and the pH looks to fall somewhere between 6.4 and 6.8. With the API liquid test kits I can see a more obvious variation between the pH colors. With those tests the pH of the tank water appears to be about .2 lower than the bucket water.

The API tests show my tank pH as being 7.2 (the treated water shows 7.4). I have to admit that I was much happier when I thought my pH was 7.2. When I got the test strips and they showed such a low pH I wanted to believe they were wrong but I've seen Cory's tests and it certainly looks like the strips are accurate. Anyway, while I know better than to chase pH or any other parameters I figured that since I'm already altering my tap water it might be worth trying to transition slowly to the crushed coral and dropping the salts from my routine with the side benefit that I could end up with a more neutral pH and a better buffer ... all the tests show a low KH.

The fish and shrimp seem to enjoy the ever changing landscape provided by the leaf litter, always a new obstacle to chase one another around or through, but I like the idea of the rooibos tea to enhance the tint without affecting the water parameters; thanks for the recommendation.