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Post by sushimama on May 28, 2006 10:55:54 GMT -5
I know we're not supposed to use distilled water, but I have a Pur filter on my sink and was wondering if that water might be good to use (we live in an area with pretty nasty water from agricultural pollutants). Just curious (very new to this, have had fish for 24 hours - so far so good).
Lauren
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Post by abm on May 28, 2006 13:38:22 GMT -5
I'm not an expert on water filters so I'll let someone else take that question....but if you're sincerely worried about water quality, don't wait for your betta to start exhibiting illness symptoms - buy a few gallons of spring water (as you know, not distilled  ) and keep him in that until you determine if your tap water situation is safe for him. |
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Post by nj2tou on Jun 1, 2006 19:06:46 GMT -5
I'm wondering the same thing. I have a Pur filter on my kitchen sink too and wondered if it was a good idea to filter the water with it. I also live in Nassau County Long Island and we have well water. I vaguely remember reading that well water was not good for bettas. Is this true?? Last night I filled a 5 gallon bucket and a 2 gallon bucket in advance of getting my tank set up, which should arrive tomorrow. I wanted to let it sit, as I know I should. After I already filled them I realized maybe I should have filtered it. I'll be using Amquel and testing the water with the test kit, but wondered if filtering it would take out something that should be taken out or take out something that should NOT be taken out. hmmmm.... I've never owned a betta before and have been doing crazy research in advance, but haven't come across this particular question. I have read about spring water and distilled water, but not about filtered tap water. I know distilled water is not good, because it removes the minerals fish need, but I don't know if filtered tap water would have the same problem. And can someone tell me if well water is ok or not? For the life of me, I can't recall where I might have read about it. thanks!  |
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Post by abm on Jun 1, 2006 19:39:22 GMT -5
Since well water is not subject to the usual municipal testing, the only way to know for sure if yours is safe for bettas is to have it tested yourself.
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Post by nj2tou on Jun 1, 2006 22:15:23 GMT -5
Well, I think the county does test the water and give a report, as I found a site that had it - but I've been reading sooooooooo much, my head is spinning and I can't recall where I saw it. I keep bookmarking stuff, but... LOL!
What should I be testing the water for?? I mean, besides the usual, chlorine, chloramine, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, ph, kh & gh? Or is that what you're talking about? I intend to test for those when I get all my stuff, hopefully tomorrow. I ordered a "master test kit" along with the aquarium kit and some other stuff.
I was hoping someone on Long Island would be able to tell me how their fish fare in the tap water.
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Post by amanichen on Jun 2, 2006 19:58:01 GMT -5
Post a link to your water quality report and I'll look at it.
In short, I'm looking for any bad crap that's in the water, as well as the levels of the normal chemicals that you'd expect to find in a fish tank.
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Post by nj2tou on Jun 3, 2006 0:06:01 GMT -5
Here's a link to my water quality report: www.liwater.com/awpr1/nyaw/pdf/NY-LongIsland-web.pdfI took a quick look at it and it seems they add LIME to raise the ph to prevent pipe corrosion - grrrrrrrrr!!! I'm so mad at myself - I didnt' test the water until I had put it in my newly set up tank and it's something like 8.0 or 8.2 - I'm finding it hard to determine the exact color. I'll check again tomorrow in daylight. However, when I FILTERED some water with my Pur filter, it seemed to have brought it down to a more reasonable, but still high 7.8. I'm so disappointed and depressed. I let the water sit for what would have been two full days and wanted to go get my little guy tomorrow, but now I'm afraid to, until I can get the ph to a decent level. sigh... My other problem is that the room temperature of the water is at 82 degrees! I think that's a bit too high. I live in the upstairs of a house and yeah, it can get pretty hot in here, even with all windows open and fans going. It actually feels pretty comfortable now, with the fan going, not at all like 82 degrees, but I guess it must be. I got one of those stick on the side of the tank thermometers, as they CLAIM they're extremely accurate. Shoulda spent the extra five bucks and got the digital one I really liked. I don't know... Anyway, I hope you can help me out. I'm off to read all the pg/gh/kh threads that I can find in the meantime. thanks! |
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Post by nj2tou on Jun 3, 2006 9:42:50 GMT -5
Ok, well, it seems the ph in the tank went down overnight to about 7.8. Better, but still not good. The temperature is down to 80-81. It was up to 83 last night.
I assume the ph drop is due to the carbon filtration - I have an Eclipse 6 gallon. I filtered a good six gallons last night with my tap filter, but don't know if I should change the water to that, as the ph is about the same now, or if the additional filtering will bring it down even more.
I think I'm gonna run out and get some distilled water to mix with the tap and see if that helps any. Also see if I can find a gh/kh test kit.
Hey! just tested some Dasani water I had in the fridge - it tested at 6.4 ph. However, it says it has magnesium sulphate and potassium chloride in it. Are either of those bad??
Can anyone suggest a good tap/spring or mineral water mix that they've used?
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Post by amanichen on Jun 3, 2006 22:33:42 GMT -5
I'll try to look at your water quality report some time tomorrow. I assume the ph drop is due to the carbon filtration - I have an Eclipse 6 gallon. I filtered a good six gallons last night with my tap filter, but don't know if I should change the water to that, as the ph is about the same now, or if the additional filtering will bring it down even more. If I know the GH, KH and pH of the two water sources I can do the math to tell you how much to mix if mixing them can achieve your goals. Probably not, but you want to check the KH (carbonate level.) |
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Post by amanichen on Jun 6, 2006 17:39:57 GMT -5
The KH and GH are too low, ammonia is a bit high, and the pH is only given as a large range. I don't see anything too amiss, but I'd test your own tap water to see what it currently reads, because the water comes from various wells around the area.
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Post by nj2tou on Jun 6, 2006 22:18:32 GMT -5
Thanks for checking it for me, I can't seem to find a kh and gh test. grrrrrrrr... what can I do to bring it up if it's too low? I've tested for ammonia and it comes back as zero. Same for nitrites and nitrates. ph is stable too, as it appears 7.0 or 7.1. I just tested the tank water a few minutes ago. My poor guy is lethargic as hell though. I used the salt treatment for his ich and the water temp is a bit high to speed the ich cycle (83), so I don't know if it's because of that. He was swimming around fine this morning and last night when I had the temp up about that high as well, so I don't know what the problem is. He's staying at the top of the tank, taking a gulp of air now and then. He's even letting me touch him. I hope he's gonna be ok.  |
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Post by amanichen on Jun 7, 2006 18:39:51 GMT -5
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) and keep him in that until you determine if your tap water situation is safe for him. 
