Extremely Hard Water

[QuDodger]

So I live in an area that has extremely hard tap water. But being a broke college student and living in California I can't afford a RO unit. Does anyone have any ideas I can try to reduce hardness? I have already tried peat Moss and my tank is loaded with driftwood. Any suggestions are appreciated!

 

[Aquanero]

You will be better off keeping fish that will do well in your water rather than trying to alter the chemistry. In addition to cichlids of the rift lakes there are many Central American species that come from hard alkaline water.

 

[duanes]

Agree with Tom, trying to change water chemistry would be a never ending and difficult chore.
But finding species that are comfortable in your water (and there are plenty), would be the most reasonable solution.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; I agree with getting fish to match the water. What fish do you wish to keep?

 

[Thekid]

It's possible to alter hardness and ph if you're diligent enough to pull it off. I keep discus in what world be best discribed as liquid limestone. I use seachem discus buffer to keep the water soft and ph acididic but there are plenty of ways to lower ph.

I would concur with the above posts about matching fish to water conditioners rather than water to fish.

 

[QuDodger]

I have been keeping polys in these conditions for years and haven't lost any yet. I am recently really getting into the various species of wolf fish however and just wanted to see what I could do if my fish started acting up.