Fishtales Tank

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Fishtales
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So I am gradually getting my water hardness down. Most of the process for this is in my thread:

RO System

I am checking my water with a TDS Reader but also want to do water hardness tests with my NT Labs kit. My question is, to do the test you use 5ml of aquarium water, 2 drops of reagent A and then keep adding 1 drop until the colour goes blue. Could I half these amounts, 2.5ml water, 1 drop of reagent A and then count the 1 drop of reagent B as 2dGH instead? Just with such hard water atm it seems such a waste.

ETA I have just realised I should add an intro to this thread as well :rolleyes:
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Staffylover
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Fishtails, I love your sailfin plec and it's great he comes out so you get to see him, what a stunner, will he get much bigger?
I also live in a hard water area and am much more aware of this now than when I started, I do try to factor this into my research now, but it's not always easy to find a clear answer some have done well despite my initial ignorance, luckily a lot of the fish I like are supposed to be ok or at least fairly adaptable, I might get one of these kits it would be interesting to see if it's different in the tanks as I read somewhere that wood, rocks and substrate can all have an affect - there is always something else to buy :]
500l - Africa river - https://www.aquariumforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=6873
2x200l - https://www.aquariumforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=7790
Others - https://www.aquariumforums.co.uk/viewto ... =15&t=7411
230L 6ft - Shallow stream
Roma 125l - Holding fish
Qubiq 60 - Dwarf Spotted Danio
40l/25L - Black- bellied Limia/Pygmy Sunfish
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Fishtales
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Thanks @Staffylover :) My Sailfin is about 12 inches. I expect he will grow between 14 to 18 inches, though bigger is possible.

For the water hardness, the Wood and leaf litter I put in does reduce the hardness in my tanks by about 2 dGH compared to what comes out of the tap. Unfortunately I wasn't aware how hard my water was either when I got my fish, and at 26dGH it is just too high to do anything other than RO Water as I want to keep the fish I have.

Some fish are amazing and adapt in various water parameters, but my water is like liquid rock! I know what you mean, when I research a certain fishes needs, there is nearly always contradictory information. I tend to gather as many opinions as I can and read lots of articles, then use all this info as a basis to draw my own conclusion. I do trust a lot of advice I get on this forum as well. It is extremely helpful to have found this place :D
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Gingerlove05
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Are you sure you mean the leaves etc drop the hardness? They will drop the ph (as tannins are acidic) but not the hardness as you have to remove the minerals to reduce the hardness (which is what your RO system does) :D
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Fishtales
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I cant quite believe this, but on Northumbrian Water website. It states there has been a change to my water supply. It says you may notice a change to taste and water hardness at this time. Doesn't actually say if it is permanent.

This causes two issues. One if it is permanent my OH will be seriously peeved at getting the RO System. Second, take a look at the tap water TDS Reading. How am I going to do a water change when my tanks are currently about 22 dGH?


Image

This is the message on the website


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Fishtales
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Gingerlove05 wrote: Tue Feb 11, 2020 15:25 pm Are you sure you mean the leaves etc drop the hardness? They will drop the ph (as tannins are acidic) but not the hardness as you have to remove the minerals to reduce the hardness (which is what your RO system does) :D
Lol I don't know GL I assumed the leaves and wood dropped the hardness. Something in my tanks seem to be lowering it by a couple of degrees over the week :)

So am I sure? Image
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Fishtales
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Another reply from Northumbrian Water regarding hardness. Seems like my water supply is destined to be unreliable :(

"Thank you for your emails which I received on 29 January 2020.

I appreciate that some customer might like more precise information regarding the water hardness in their area. Unfortunately we are unable to do this because as mentioned in my previous email, it is natural for the water hardness to vary over time. This could be on a month by month, week by week or day by day basis, as we blend supplies to cope with demand and stock.

If we displayed a water hardness figure for your area on the website, this could be out of date very quickly. It is for this reason that we can only provide you with an average water hardness level, for a given period upon request.

I trust this explanation is to your satisfaction.

If you wish to speak to me directly or require any further information, I can be reached on.....

Kind Regards..."
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Gingerlove05
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The RO unit might be handier than you thought if thats the case. At least you will be able to remineralise to x level and keep it there even if your water supply is constantly varying.
If your water hardness from the tap has dropped it would affect the overall hardness if you’ve done any changes.
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Fishtales
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Gingerlove05 wrote: Tue Feb 11, 2020 18:17 pm The RO unit might be handier than you thought if thats the case. At least you will be able to remineralise to x level and keep it there even if your water supply is constantly varying.
If your water hardness from the tap has dropped it would affect the overall hardness if you’ve done any changes.
Yes I have done a recent water change, so that probably explains my confusion on the differing water hardness.

Thanks for pointing out about being able to control my water levels with remineralising, tbh I didn't think of that option. At least I can keep my aquariums parameters stable :)

Is this stuff decent enough to use?

Dennerle Osmose Remineral Plus
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Gingerlove05
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I wouldn’t like to say as i’ve never used any remineralisers. I always cut our tap water with RO as its been pretty stable over the past 4/5years, varied maybe 0.5dgh since we’ve started, fortunately.
I think jbl aquadur is another that some people use, i imagine there’s a couple of people here who can suggest some :)
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