Fish are dieing after water changes
- Thread starter timmycat
- Start date
I never had this problem before that's why I'm confused. We just moved in to a new house and our old house I never had anyproblems with the water.
Some times I do some times I don't. The last water change I just did I didn't mess with anything in the tank
When you move around a bunch of gravel and plants and decor your throwing around all the nitrates in your tank which can cause it to go a mini cycle again due to bacteria bloom. Please be aware of this as you do your water changes. Hope you keep the survivors healthy. Good luck.
In my opinion, RO is not good for most species, unless you buffer it with something like baking soda. The lack of buffering using straight RO can cause many problems.
The only species I would use RO with would be something like Uaru fernadenzeppizzi, wild discus, or other species that come from totally minerally deficient areas, and even then, i would add a little baking soda, or tap water that has been inundated with tannins from leaves, or some other tannin source.
I doubt that with the fish you (OP) are currently keeping, RO is a good thing, unless your tap water is somehow tainted.
I believe if you go to your city''s drinking water quality report there is a wealth of knowledge on it to help you determine the reality of your situation, and you may find your best option is simple using and dechlorinating your tap water.
If you do go to the sigte, link it here and someone here may be able to point out the way proceed.
The only species I would use RO with would be something like Uaru fernadenzeppizzi, wild discus, or other species that come from totally minerally deficient areas, and even then, i would add a little baking soda, or tap water that has been inundated with tannins from leaves, or some other tannin source.
I doubt that with the fish you (OP) are currently keeping, RO is a good thing, unless your tap water is somehow tainted.
I believe if you go to your city''s drinking water quality report there is a wealth of knowledge on it to help you determine the reality of your situation, and you may find your best option is simple using and dechlorinating your tap water.
If you do go to the sigte, link it here and someone here may be able to point out the way proceed.
As stated already, using straight RO is not the best idea.
Also, what temperature is the "warm" water going through your RO unit? This may be a factor, as heat affects the filtration process.
If you were having this problem before switching to RO, were you using dechlorinator?
Also, what temperature is the "warm" water going through your RO unit? This may be a factor, as heat affects the filtration process.
If you were having this problem before switching to RO, were you using dechlorinator?
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In fact, RO is not even good enough to drink....Your teeth will fall off eventually if the diet is also lacking...If my tap water is not good enough to drink, best bet is bottled water, not acidic RO water void of any minerals...
You're not giving all details. Did you use RO in your old house? Why RO unit in the first place?
This can't be emphasized enough. And it goes for anyone starting a tank. Before you start a new tank you need an API Master Test Kit or its equivalent. It's essential. How can you have a 220, 210, 125, (2) 40s and use RO water, without having an API liquid test kit and a KH & GH liquid test kit. The former is about 25 bucks and the latter is around 12 bucks on eBay both with free shipping.
You must test your water to know your KH (alkalinity) in order to know how much (bicarbonate) you need to add in order raise your alkalinity. Usually 4 - 6dKH is considered minimum. RO water has virtually 0dKH (no alkalinity) and your pH is almost definitely dropping into the low 5s after several days. The nitrifying bacteria need carbonate alkalinity (KH) to function and they go into a kind of hibernation at pH that low. It takes a while for them to wake back up when pH rises back to 7.0 after a nearly full water change (if that's what you're doing).
