I need water help

[duanes]

Water that is drinkable and water for fish, are two entirely different things.
DI water is not good for fish , and a GH/KH of 200ppm is not out of line for rift lake or Central American species. Neons, maybe not, but they generally don't live longer than a year or 2 anyway, especially in nature.
I admit I've never lived near a lumber mill, so there may be extenuating circumstances.
But one other thing, crystal clear is an aesthetic for human need, many fish come from cloudy, muddy water and thrive. Try to see more than an inch into the Mississippi, yet hundreds of species thrive there as long as the water can hold oxygen, and isn't filled with toxic substances.

 

[Queeny707]

Water that is drinkable and water for fish, are two entirely different things.
DI water is not good for fish , and a GH/KH of 200ppm is not out of line for rift lake or Central American species. Neons, maybe not, but they generally don't live longer than a year or 2 anyway, especially in nature.
I admit I've never lived near a lumber mill, so there may be extenuating circumstances.
But one other thing, crystal clear is an aesthetic for human need, many fish come from cloudy, muddy water and thrive. Try to see more than an inch into the Mississippi, yet hundreds of species thrive there as long as the water can hold oxygen, and isn't filled with toxic substances.

That's very true. I just panic that I'm not doing SOMETHING right... just tryna narrow it down ya know?

 

[Deadliestviper7]

I use the api freshwater kit I got it about 2 months ago. I read up on the directions, google, YouTube, the book that comes with it..etc...
My tap is over the 200GH/KH... not sure the exact #. I'll have to di that test the 2 different ways. I'm sorry I was so slow at responding- I didn't think anyone ever replied to me until today... I was wrong..
I bought distilled water and set up a 2nd 10g just to see what the water would b with 7g of dis. & 2.5g of tap and it came out to be an idea range with 6 maybe 7 drops rather than 15.
Tap directly out of spicket is 7.4. 0 everything else. My LFS is over an hour away so they have city water and I don't. I live right by a lumber mill so my water is probably contaminated by that.. I moved here in September of 2017... my last house was closer to the same lumber mill and I had colligan test and the guy said it would take 3 colligan tanks to make the water drinkable. The number on his chart ranged from 1 to 10 & I scaled a 25 he said he has never seen it so high. I look out my window abs I can still see my old house.. more I'm just a bit more farther from the mill... but I haven't got it tested personally.. the owners before me said they grew up on it... they drank it & arnt dying & they are 60yrs old.
So. With that in the back of my head- I thought it was my water in general... thought about a RO but hear that kills a lot of the needed minerals as does the distilled...
I know I have been doing water changes like crazy but i was wondering if I'm even doing them right to begin with?!
Tap water goes straight to the tank via hose.. I know of ppl who premade their water buckets and add the prime etc... I add mine in 1ml in the middle & the rest at the end of adding it. My 40g I have to do with buckets for as of now. I fill up my bucket and then add a splash of conditioner til it and then put it in the tank... I always vacuum the gravel.. and then I have an electric vacuum that has a bag on it that collects the poop & puts the water back into the tank... so I do it twice each water change... but after each its never crystal clear... takes a few days to clear up with minimal feeding.. esp in my 75g. Read up on that for bacteria and or algae bloom answers. Not sure 100%.
There are days I feel like I'm being defeated &the are days where the is a good 2weeks &I'm like finally, I got it!
I wash all decor and filter parts in the aquarium water... I have 4 filters sides... so I rotate in between them.. so the are never 4 clean new filters.. 2 are always used... both my filters on the 75 are hob... both are for a 60g.
My 150g has a big 4 tray sunsun canister on it & a hob for extra...
The 40g has a hob that's for a 60g
The two 10g have hob up to 30g..

The real question is how your fish are doing,that's what it all boils down to, some fish can live in water so hard it's dangerous for humans to drink.
If your fish are growing and living ok than it's probably ok.

 

[Deadliestviper7]

I use the api freshwater kit I got it about 2 months ago. I read up on the directions, google, YouTube, the book that comes with it..etc...
My tap is over the 200GH/KH... not sure the exact #. I'll have to di that test the 2 different ways. I'm sorry I was so slow at responding- I didn't think anyone ever replied to me until today... I was wrong..
I bought distilled water and set up a 2nd 10g just to see what the water would b with 7g of dis. & 2.5g of tap and it came out to be an idea range with 6 maybe 7 drops rather than 15.
Tap directly out of spicket is 7.4. 0 everything else. My LFS is over an hour away so they have city water and I don't. I live right by a lumber mill so my water is probably contaminated by that.. I moved here in September of 2017... my last house was closer to the same lumber mill and I had colligan test and the guy said it would take 3 colligan tanks to make the water drinkable. The number on his chart ranged from 1 to 10 & I scaled a 25 he said he has never seen it so high. I look out my window abs I can still see my old house.. more I'm just a bit more farther from the mill... but I haven't got it tested personally.. the owners before me said they grew up on it... they drank it & arnt dying & they are 60yrs old.
So. With that in the back of my head- I thought it was my water in general... thought about a RO but hear that kills a lot of the needed minerals as does the distilled...
I know I have been doing water changes like crazy but i was wondering if I'm even doing them right to begin with?!
Tap water goes straight to the tank via hose.. I know of ppl who premade their water buckets and add the prime etc... I add mine in 1ml in the middle & the rest at the end of adding it. My 40g I have to do with buckets for as of now. I fill up my bucket and then add a splash of conditioner til it and then put it in the tank... I always vacuum the gravel.. and then I have an electric vacuum that has a bag on it that collects the poop & puts the water back into the tank... so I do it twice each water change... but after each its never crystal clear... takes a few days to clear up with minimal feeding.. esp in my 75g. Read up on that for bacteria and or algae bloom answers. Not sure 100%.
There are days I feel like I'm being defeated &the are days where the is a good 2weeks &I'm like finally, I got it!
I wash all decor and filter parts in the aquarium water... I have 4 filters sides... so I rotate in between them.. so the are never 4 clean new filters.. 2 are always used... both my filters on the 75 are hob... both are for a 60g.
My 150g has a big 4 tray sunsun canister on it & a hob for extra...
The 40g has a hob that's for a 60g
The two 10g have hob up to 30g..

The real question is how your fish are doing,that's what it all boils down to, some fish can live in water so hard it's dangerous for humans to drink.
If your fish are growing and living ok than it's probably ok.

 

[deeda]

Alicia, I assume by colligan you meant Culligan water guy the company that installs water treatment equipment, correct? If so, he should have given you a written breakdown of your water parameters most likely related to water hardness, iron content/type, etc.

Are you renting or do you own this house? You may have or should have gotten a water or well test report from your local health department though that might vary depending on your location. We had to get one done for our well prior to buying our house through the health department though it usually only pertains to bacteria levels though ours also included hardness, iron and pesticides in the report. Of course these numbers can change during and over the years depending on the environment.

 

[Queeny707]

I bought it, my old house was a renter and he did write all that down but back then I didn't have fish and didn't care- just knew not to drink it lol