TXFishLover Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 Hello!! We have decided to upsize our tank. Upon doing some research on different stocking options, I noticed that some people mention the GH and KH in the water parameters. Some say it's super important, others less so. And I've found conflicting info on what those levels should be for the different species. I want to make sure all the fish we choose will be happy in the same water parameters. If anyone has more knowledge and experience I'd appreciate it!! list of the possible fish: Harlequin rasbora honey gourami bristle nose pleco angelfish(just 1!!) cherry barbs pristella tetras Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 First question is what are those values coming out of your tap water. It’s fine if you don’t know exactly. It’s really best practice to stay relatively close to what you have. If you’re going to change those values, it’s highly doable. But it requires an extra layer of work and consistency. it also depends on what you want to do with your fish. If you want to breed, a lot of fish fry are sensitive to water hardness. And some species require softer water. Discus, German rams, apistogramma. They all really require soft water. Things like live bearers and snails require harder water. But in general most fish can live in most water. As long as it’s consistent for what you want to keep, they all do very well from soft water all the way to liquid rock 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 If you’re wondering what you have. In general, east Texas has soft water. North and west have hard water Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 (edited) I’ve had 14 tanks for 4 years and I’ve intentionally tested gh and kh like, twice. If I use a test strip, I’ll take a glance and go “yup, the same as it has been for the past 4 years”. I’m not going out of my way to test it, or to alter my water to chase mostly arbitrary numbers. I made the choice early on in my hobby to work with fish that do well in my water. My water is on the softer side (gh), with a little lower ph, and just a little bit of buffer (kh). I don’t want to “make” water or have to do a bunch of things. I just wanna get the temperature right, take water from the tap, dechlorinate it, and enjoy the tank. So, no African Cichlids or things that require higher ph and hard water for me. Like others have said, most fish have a wide range of parameters they do well in, and the fish can adapt. Consistency is key, and chasing parameters will drive you crazy! Edited August 22 by AllFishNoBrakes 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepere Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 (edited) On 8/21/2024 at 11:01 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said: Consistency is key, and chasing parameters will drive you crazy! For an opposing point of view… I have very soft water. My tap water comes in with just barely 2 degrees of GH and KH. I raise the GH to 4 degrees, but it is mostly for the plants that I do it to ensure they have enough calcium and magnesium… I really do not find it the least bit difficult to do so and to keep it very stable. I do a weekly measured water change . When I do so I mix a measured amount of Calcium sulphate and magnesium sulfate in to a quart of water and stir well, and add that water to the tank slowly as I refill the tank with tap water…. It is the same measured amount every week that was calculated based on the amount of water I am changing and the amount I am trying to raise GH. other than that, I choose not to keep fish that do better in high gh water… I have consistency of gh and kh and it doesnt drive me crazy in any way whatsoever… Now having said this, I will admit it is far easier and cheaper to raise GH and KH with soft tap water than it is to lower it if you have hard water…. But the task is not insurmountable to convert very hard water to much lower parameters and remain consistent… Edited August 22 by Pepere 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
face Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 I think there’s confusion about how important it is because it depends on the fish soft water fish normally do fine in harder water hard water fish do terrible in soft water your fish selection will probably do just fine in whatever water you have as long as it’s clean 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 On 8/22/2024 at 6:06 AM, face said: think there’s confusion about how important it is because it depends on the fish soft water fish normally do fine in harder water hard water fish do terrible in soft water Huh, never thought of it that way. Most people are trying to keep soft water fish in harder water. Which is doable. But if you’re trying to keep rift lake fish in soft water… I’m guessing that’s a serious issue. Well, I suppose live bearers and snails as well. For that matter Chasing water also depends upon the number of tanks. With 300 gallons of water in boxes, it can take all week to remineralize enough ro 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 On 8/22/2024 at 6:31 AM, Tony s said: Chasing water also depends upon the number of tanks. With 300 gallons of water in boxes, it can take all week to remineralize enough ro Truth! I use my tap water to remineralize my RO. 😝 I have such hard water and I’m not as interested in the hard water species, so I mix roughly half and half for the bulk of my tanks. Very easy since I’ve always premixed water with dechlorinator anyway. I just roll my mixing barrel to the elevated RO unit, let it gravity fill half way on the rolling barrel, roll it to the kitchen sink, finish filling as I add the dechlor (plus the RO is cool enough I’m not overheating the fish with 87’F summertime Texas tap but still sometimes have to add some ice), let mix and aerate for at least 15 minutes, then roll it to the tank(s) that need filling. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXFishLover Posted August 22 Author Share Posted August 22 OMG!! Y'all are awesome with so many responses!! Thanks!! And we actually get RO water from our LFS really cheaply. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woowala Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 On 8/22/2024 at 4:26 AM, Pepere said: For an opposing point of view… I have very soft water. My tap water comes in with just barely 2 degrees of GH and KH. I raise the GH to 4 degrees, but it is mostly for the plants that I do it to ensure they have enough calcium and magnesium… I really do not find it the least bit difficult to do so and to keep it very stable. I do a weekly measured water change . When I do so I mix a measured amount of Calcium sulphate and magnesium sulfate in to a quart of water and stir well, and add that water to the tank slowly as I refill the tank with tap water…. It is the same measured amount every week that was calculated based on the amount of water I am changing and the amount I am trying to raise GH. other than that, I choose not to keep fish that do better in high gh water… I have consistency of gh and kh and it doesnt drive me crazy in any way whatsoever… Now having said this, I will admit it is far easier and cheaper to raise GH and KH with soft tap water than it is to lower it if you have hard water…. But the task is not insurmountable to convert very hard water to much lower parameters and remain consistent… My tap is the same and I raise it to the same levels. All my tanks get the same water as it's pumped from a central reservoir, so everything has to live with it. I think 4kh and 4gh is a pretty good compromise for everything- cpds, blue eyes, neos, plants, snails, and most things I might get in the future. Maybe not great for the endlers but they're tough and breeding like... well, endlers. I fill the reservoir, add rift lake salt for cal and mag and let it mix, and a day later add baking soda for kh. Lasts a couple weeks, depending on use. Point is, op, there's a lot of ways to do things. Everyone here does it slightly differently. So you don't need to trouble yourself too much right now, but it's not gonna hurt to have a better understanding of water chemistry. Grab a bucket of a known amount of water, add a known amount of stuff, see how it changes and write it down. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 (edited) @Woowala are you telling me Blue Oyster Cult’s Buck Dharma’s lyrics, “Seasons don't fear the Reaper, nor do the wind or the sun or the rain. We could be like they are.” Is stolen from an ancient Roman philosopher? Apologies to @TXFishLover for the thread hijack. Edited August 23 by Odd Duck 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woowala Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 Haha, it's just so exactly like something he'd say. I have had that song in my head for like a week now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 On 8/22/2024 at 9:58 PM, Woowala said: Haha, it's just so exactly like something he'd say. I have had that song in my head for like a week now. And I just had to listen to it again (because I haven’t listened to it a million times over the years) plus then run through some other songs too, to make sure it didn’t get fully stuck in my head. 😆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woowala Posted August 23 Share Posted August 23 It's a catchy tune, and solid advice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now