question about pH

[Helangkawi]

hi there,

just a simple question about pH as the information in sticky thread doesn't answer it precisely, i hope my question will give a benefit to others as well


for arowana, the suitable pH level is at 6.5 to 7.2, however an arowana can adapt to a new level of pH slowly, but not to the max like pH 8


the question is, i had a tap water resource from my garage, the pH reading that i checked showing the same color as my aged water condition (taken from my arowana tank)..it was on 6.8

i've tested this direct tap water with my clown knife fish, suitable pH level for a clown knife fish is from 5.5 to 7.2, and he doing it very well with the tap water.

So, can i use the direct water that has been tested to a clown knife fish for water change process? let say for a 30% water change once a week? because i already transferred my arowana to the new tank, and the nearest water resource is from my garage which is a tap water..is it going to be a hazard to my lovely yellow tail arowana?


My current setup:

41/2 foot x 2 foot tank
1 yellow tail arowana 9 inch
2 tinfoil 5 inch each
1 clown knife fish 5 inch
RS-95 Canister filter

My plan:
water change 30% once in a week
canister filter cleaning process once in 2 weeks
going to add 7 inch silver arowana (as my yellow tail don't give a damn about his territory)

 

[Chaitika]

Are you saying the new source has a much higher ph than the water the arowana is currently in?

 

[Helangkawi]

Are you saying the new source has a much higher ph than the water the arowana is currently in?

no bro, what i am trying to say is, the tap water contained the same pH level as the aged water

but the different is, the water source, 1 is a tap water and another is aged water (tested with a water from current tank, by right the water already has been aging for 5 days)

i am confirmed the pH level is the same, but as some say, do not use tap water and i am a bit curious to use this tap water for water change (even for 30% once a week)

so what kind of hazard does the tap water will bring even the pH level is the same as aged water?

 

[Chaitika]

Tap water may contain chlorine and/or chloramine, two disinfectants that require you to use a dechorinator. I'd recommend prime, especially if your tap water contains chloramine. Both disinfectants will do damage to your biological filtration as well as to the gills of the fish.

You should contact the local water authority and ask for a breakdown of what is in the tap water. It's sometimes available on a web page, but not always.

 

[Miguel]

I do not know how water comes from the tap in Malaysia.

I have always made my wc's directly from the tap into the tank ( I am talking more than 35 years of fish keeping ). It is not a 20% wc that is going to change things terribly.

But, again, I do not know how it is in Malaysia, so Chaitika's advice is a good one.

 

[Helangkawi]

Tap water may contain chlorine and/or chloramine, two disinfectants that require you to use a dechorinator. I'd recommend prime, especially if your tap water contains chloramine. Both disinfectants will do damage to your biological filtration as well as to the gills of the fish.

You should contact the local water authority and ask for a breakdown of what is in the tap water. It's sometimes available on a web page, but not always.

understood, higher chlorine level, make more hazard to the fish

what if, from a tap water, i fill it inside a bucket, then pour some anti-chlorine, wait for 5-10 minutes before i waterfall my tank?

I do not know how water comes from the tap in Malaysia.

I have always made my wc's directly from the tap into the tank ( I am talking more than 35 years of fish keeping ). It is not a 20% wc that is going to change things terribly.

But, again, I do not know how it is in Malaysia, so Chaitika's advice is a good one.

so as your opinion Sir, really appreciate, at least i met someone here that had experienced to use tap water without any problem

 

[Chaitika]

Dechlorinators work instantly. You can simply add it to the tank prior to adding the tap water.

I also used to do water changes without dechorinators, but the city changed to higher levels of chlorine, and recently indicated they would be switching to chloramine soon, so to be safe I use one and I always recommend people use them.

 

[Helangkawi]

^

thanks amigo, u make make me more confident

i am going to give my first shot using tap water as the water source..probably just start with 15-25% water change

 

[Helangkawi]

thank you guys for giving me a confidence

i had changed the water, i think about 15-20% with a tap water and i do pour like 30ml of high power anti-chlorine

for the first hour, my arowana like gulping for the air...but after that it back to normal

now i can easily change the water ^^

kudos

 

[ausarow]

it would often depend on how far your tap is from the chlorine dosing point as to whether its safe or not.
i once worked at a farm a good thirty kilometers from the water treatment plant. if we had bass that were whirling around from build up of ammonia we could safely send tap water direct into the tank. you see if the town water pipe line is so long and there is a lot of stuff in old pipes for it to react with etc, the chlorine can be used up.
so to have it strong enough as a disinfectant a long distance away means to have it too strong for the people close to the station. so these guys are doing a balancing act to stop the bugs while not making people angry about the taste and smell.
if chlorine is high you can ussually smell it. and they do change dose without telling you. thats why i can sometimes be steered off drinking from my tap.
you drink it and it kills the bugs in your stomach!
people round here have killed kois from leaving the tap on overnight in a backyard pond when doing water changes.
same for live fish shops. you wont do it twice! but that is a case of probably all the water being tap water and then some.
keep in mind that with a 10-20 percent change it is not going to be strong enough to kill your fish or the company has it too strong. we can get away with that for tanks but its not really a good idea cause we can smell chlorine.

now lets say your cancelling out chlorine with a chemical substance and the chlorine level you are trying to eliminate is not so high, then that chemical stuff will be left in your tank to do something to other stuff. i dunno for sure what, but i guess it would bond with other things. so you could be adding sodium thiosulphate to your tank when you dont need to.
so its best to cancel out the chlorine in a tub first rather than stick the product in your tank and then turn your tap on after.

chances are your fish is gulping from lack of oxygen in the tap water OR a burning of its gills. if you can, get a big tub and fill that with the tap water and then use that later on. chlorine will go out of a tub off water in the sun or with aeration within a day. also your tap water might be colder. if your fish gulps, id recommend doing it differently.
if you have the tub and the hosing. that would be ideal.