Hard water

[Iryna]

Hello everybody. I need your help, the hardness of the water in the aquarium is more than 301, what and how can I soften the water?

[Tony s]

The first question is do you actually need to. Depends on what you’re keeping. Take a test from your tap to see what kind of water you actually have. Btw, most people have hard water. Only about 15% of people have soft water. 
 

if it’s way off from the tap, only ro or distilled will work to soften it 

[Iryna]

in the new aquarium, I plan to keep tetras, danio rerio and a couple of catfish species. I read that hard water is not useful for tetras ((is it possible to use boiled water so that the water is softer as a result? I'm sorry if I'm not writing correctly in English, I moved from Ukraine to America only five months ago, I can be wrong))

[Tony s]

On 9/6/2024 at 10:40 PM, Iryna said:

is it possible to use boiled water so that the water is softer as a result

Most tetras and corys will do just fine in harder water. I have hard water and have no issues. 4 types of corys, bristlenose, 6 types of tetras. Rainbow fish, 4 types of rasboras. Angelfish. My hardness is around 240 or slightly higher. Right where yours is. That being said, they live just fine, but have a harder time breeding. Well, some do, not all. There are a few species of tetras that have a harder time in hard water, but most common species will be fine.

what I can’t raise are German rams, but Bolivian rams do fine. There was a member in Iowa, used to raise his discus in hard water as well

hardness is caused by the amount of calcium and magnesium in your water. If you boil it, it will actually concentrate it because it doesn’t evaporate. So, ro is really the only solution. 

On 9/6/2024 at 10:40 PM, Iryna said:

I'm sorry if I'm not writing correctly in English, I moved from Ukraine to America only five months ago, I can be wrong))

You are doing really well. So sorry for all that you and your country have been going through. 😭  

[lefty o]

agree with above, boiling water will not work.

[Iryna]

Tony, thank you so much for your consultation, the only thing I didn’t understand - what is ro?

On 9/6/2024 at 10:51 PM, Tony s said:

You are doing really well. So sorry for all that you and your country have been going through. 

Thank you for your support, for me it’s very important.

Edited September 7 by Iryna

[Tony s]

On 9/7/2024 at 12:53 AM, Iryna said:

what is ro

Ro is reverse osmosis. It takes your regular water and runs it through a membrane. What comes out the other side is basically pure water. Very little to no mineral content. If you are paying the city for water, it usually uses 2-3 gallons or litres to make 1gallon or litre. So it costs a bit more than regular water. But, no minerals of any sort and a neutral ph. You can’t really use it in this form. So you mix it with your tap water. If you do a 50/50 mix your hardness becomes halved. You can usually get a system from Amazon or your local fish store. If you have one. Our is an hour away 

If you have a pet smart or petco near you, the fish they have in there will adapt very easily to hard water. Just to give you an idea. But be careful when buying a few of these. From them, neon tetras, guppies, danio rerio, most bettas can be hard to keep alive. Just bad genetics. 

[Garavar]

Any good 3-4 inch centerpiece fish that thrive in very hard ward? 300+ ppm

[Iryna]

On 9/7/2024 at 1:17 AM, Tony s said:

If you have a pet smart or petco near you, the fish they have in there will adapt very easily to hard water. Just to give you an idea. But be careful when buying a few of these. From them, neon tetras, guppies, danio rerio, most bettas can be hard to keep alive. Just bad genetics. 

Yes, I have a pet smart and petco near me, but I’m thinking about buying fish at Dan’s Fish, what do you think about this online store?

So, in result I don’t need to be worried about my hard water, right? It can be safe for some kind of tropical fish, correctly?

[Tlindsey]

On 9/7/2024 at 12:15 PM, Iryna said:

Yes, I have a pet smart and petco near me, but I’m thinking about buying fish at Dan’s Fish, what do you think about this online store?

So, in result I don’t need to be worried about my hard water, right? It can be safe for some kind of tropical fish, correctly?

There are a few species that will thrive in your water. 

It's a reputable vendor. 

[Tony s]

On 9/7/2024 at 12:15 PM, Iryna said:

I’m thinking about buying fish at Dan’s Fish

Dans fish is very good. And all of dans fish are kept in hard water.  It’s what Wyoming has. (Where dans fish is)

It’s usually safe for most species of tropical fish. They live in it just fine. But they won’t breed in it. Only some fish show a serious reaction to hard water. Try the fish profiles from prime time aquatics on YouTube. Jason only keeps fish in hard water. It’s what his customers have. He’s in Chicago. So his reasoning is why adjust fish to what won’t work for the regular customer. 

On 9/7/2024 at 12:15 PM, Iryna said:

Yes, I have a pet smart and petco near me

I only mention them to give you an idea of what for sure will work. 

[johnnyxxl]

On 9/6/2024 at 10:51 PM, Tony s said:

Most tetras and corys will do just fine in harder water. I have hard water and have no issues. 4 types of corys, bristlenose, 6 types of tetras. Rainbow fish, 4 types of rasboras. Angelfish. My hardness is around 240 or slightly higher. Right where yours is. That being said, they live just fine, but have a harder time breeding. Well, some do, not all. There are a few species of tetras that have a harder time in hard water, but most common species will be fine.

what I can’t raise are German rams, but Bolivian rams do fine. There was a member in Iowa, used to raise his discus in hard water as well

hardness is caused by the amount of calcium and magnesium in your water. If you boil it, it will actually concentrate it because it doesn’t evaporate. So, ro is really the only solution. 

You are doing really well. So sorry for all that you and your country have been going through. 😭  

Very accurate.  Most of our fish are captive bred and raised depending on the store.  The fish then are likely raised in hard water.  

 

[Iryna]

On 9/7/2024 at 1:58 PM, Tony s said:

Dans fish is very good. And all of dans fish are kept in hard water.  It’s what Wyoming has. (Where dans fish is)

I’m glad to hear your nice words about Dans fish! You really helped me, now I know that I am doing everything right for my new tank. I am going to wait a few weeks before buying fish, I would like to get good results of tests for water and now I don’t worry about hard water))

[Tony s]

The thing I would watch when ordering is if the fish is wild caught or not. Some of the wild fish may not react positively to hard water. But most will. I have gold tetras and they are just fine 

[Iryna]

On 9/7/2024 at 10:29 PM, Tony s said:

The thing I would watch when ordering is if the fish is wild caught or not. Some of the wild fish may not react positively to hard water. But most will. I have gold tetras and they are just fine 

you mean it's better to order fish grown in an aquarium, right?

[Tony s]

On 9/7/2024 at 3:56 PM, Iryna said:

you mean it's better to order fish grown in an aquarium, right?

Right. Aquarium raised fish have a better chance of being raised in our kind of water. Wild caught fish are the ones that most care guidelines refer to. For example they tell you what the hardness level should be and give you a ph range of the water that the fish comes from. Tank raised fish usually don’t follow those rules. The transition from super soft water to hard water in a few day time can be quite a shock to wild fish 

Edited September 7 by Tony s

[Tony s]

On 9/7/2024 at 11:46 AM, Garavar said:

Any good 3-4 inch centerpiece fish that thrive in very hard ward? 300+ ppm

Angels will. Mine even breed, but the fry don’t last. Bolivian rams do fine. I have a bucklehopf sp? (Laetacara araguaia) in hard water. Most apistos will not work. Pandora, macmasteri, and maybe cacatoides should. German rams might work, mine haven’t. Checkerboards should work. Gourami do fine. Rainbow fish do fine. Rasbora do fine. Slightly bigger are electric blue Acara, blood parrots, small geophagus like tapejos. 
honey gourami trios make excellent centerpieces. 
 

then there are west Africans that work. Kribensis, jewel cichlids ( be careful of tank mates) or small Tanganyika like shell dwellers. 

[Garavar]

On 9/7/2024 at 5:59 PM, Tony s said:

Angels will. Mine even breed, but the fry don’t last. Bolivian rams do fine. I have a bucklehopf sp? (Laetacara araguaia) in hard water. Most apistos will not work. Pandora, macmasteri, and maybe cacatoides should. German rams might work, mine haven’t. Checkerboards should work. Gourami do fine. Rainbow fish do fine. Rasbora do fine. Slightly bigger are electric blue Acara, blood parrots, small geophagus like tapejos. 
honey gourami trios make excellent centerpieces. 
 

then there are west Africans that work. Kribensis, jewel cichlids ( be careful of tank mates) or small Tanganyika like shell dwellers. 

Any input on Hongsloi over Macmasteri? Similar as far as hardiness or Macmasteri is better?

[Tony s]

Betta splendens will work. But for long term survival you need a high end betta from a good genetic line. There is a girl that runs a good betta shop in dekalb Illinois. Google it per forum rules 

On 9/7/2024 at 6:06 PM, Garavar said:

Similar as far as hardiness or Macmasteri is better?

That info comes secondhand. But macmaster and panduro seem to work best. 

The rest of the apistos seem to fade over time. 

[Tony s]

You can try. That’s about all anyone can do. It might be no problem. You should also have some luck with mendezi or borelli. 

But make sure they’re tank raised, which shouldn’t be a problem with apistos.