The ideal water parameters??

[Peter M]

Hi

Discussions like this often left me very confused in the past (fact or fiction) that it really betrayed my confidence in what I was doing (which was soul destroying) because there are sooooo… many variations as to what is correct. However, what I have found out through correspondence is that “municipal/tap” water parameters are not always the same for a hobbyist in Australia compared to England, America Germany and in South Africa for example. So trying to replicate some one else’s formula ‘based” on their success using my municipal water (not theirs) was a big mistake and deserved to have my wrists slapped…lol.
So it all depends on the quality of the tap water in your area to begin with.

But the questions that we need to ask is “What part of the Amazon water do I need to duplicate that my particular wild/strain will be happy and breed in?”

and

How can I change “my tap” water to these conditions?


IMO... If you decide to dose with acid to reduce pH (of your target) you will shift the equilibrium towards the “acidic” side in relation to the amount of acid used, but the calcium and magnesium “kh” (Ca2+ and Mg2+) does not “really disappear"… it is still there, maybe less then originally. This shift to a lower pH may trigger them to pair or spawn but with low fertilization thus a low hatch percentage or non, but having said that, if your tap has a kh less than 6 (reading from ones test kits) a higher percentage could be achieved but by using “less” acid (to reach your target). So in here there can be a few variables to ones formula and this can also get tricky because tap water sometimes change from time to time…lol

So in summary, acids will lower your pH, and since “most” test kits (can’t remember them all) that test for hardness are actually measuring alkalinity, your hardness would appear to decrease when adding an acid but in fact it would have remained the same

With an RO (which is necessary), this will remove Ca2+ and Mg2+ …etc, thus lowering your pH with little or no kh (buffering) you could get a lot of pH swings which can general make it not safe “but” near perfect for fertilization, so the birth of a formula for good criteria is in the making, that can work for you but may not work for some one else.

So for testing, rather use a Ca/Mg test kit to know the true hardness and a test kit that measures alkalinity and/or a good ph meter and your tap as the base line.

So Rowland…I don’t think I’ve help answer your question but I hope I got you going in the right direction on these two options. This is where I made a “lots” of mistakes getting to understand it better and still cry about it when I think back on my silliness. When you get a chance, ask Prof Dirk about that promised lecture for the Cape Town guys, there was a lot of useful info and some great general knowledge, one that always comes to mind is…why the Amazon water is colder in summer hotter in winter??…lol

Ps: I did some thing wrong and lost some of my post when I entered it, but I fixed it.

[dandaman352]

My fish have become alot happy since I got my RO filter. I basically fill up some buckets, heat it up. Add RO Right and Kent Discus essentials . As well as fixing the ph in each bucket before dumping it in the tank during water changes. You should see results are a couple of water changes but in a 4000 liter tank it could be quite a few number of water changes. Make sure since you have a big big tank like that, you purchase an RO filter that has a high number of GPD (or LPD for you aussies). Or it'll take a long long time for those water changes.

After a couple of water changes, you'll have everything mastered and your ph/parameters will stay the same within each water change.

Hope that helps to.

Dan

[FNQ]

Spawning in the wild coincides with the start of the wet season when there is a mass influx of fresh, tannin rich rain water. try a 50% water change with rain water that has a high tannin load. (catappa leaves soaked in it for a week ets.)