 | | 
22.03.2011, 11:01
|  | Senior Member | | Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Zürich
Posts: 353
Groaned at 4 Times in 4 Posts
Thanked 176 Times in 124 Posts
| | how to soften water for aquariums
I have a fairly new aquarium.
We have extremly hard water here in zurich. the petshop guy said i could use tap water plus a few drops of a conditioner. Inspite of the conditioner the water is leaving white scaly marks in my tank and white deposits seen on aquaplants. I also read up that the kind of fish i have (tanichthys albonubes) prefer softer water.
Any advice or experiences greatly appreciated.
cheers
sups
| 
22.03.2011, 11:22
|  | Forum Veteran | | Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: geneva
Posts: 1,476
Groaned at 29 Times in 16 Posts
Thanked 1,508 Times in 695 Posts
| | Re: how to soften water for aquariums
Now I know nothing about fish.That said, hard water is a ph level problem in the water. In swimming pool terms you adjust for the hardness in the water with EXTREMELY LOW levels of hydrochloric acid. Now Im not suggesting you chuck a few drops in to the tank while your fish are in there, but possibly if the pet shop can`t help, a pool shop maybe able to. Otherwise you need a watersoftener installed, because in any case, if its doing that to your fish tank, imagine what its doing to yr dish washer/washing machine/kettle etc etc
hope it helps
| 
22.03.2011, 11:23
|  | Forum Legend | | Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Top of a Triangle
Posts: 2,992
Groaned at 38 Times in 29 Posts
Thanked 5,673 Times in 2,039 Posts
| | Re: how to soften water for aquariums
If the tank and plants are showing scale deposits, then the water is too hard (Very high Calcium and Magnesium levels).
Adding a 'conditioner' (an acid) will only reduce the pH but won't affect the hardness of the water.
You will have to look for a filtration system capable of removing the calcium and magnesium from the water to reduce the scaling problem...... this will be expensive, so your budget will have to be the limiting factor here.
Either consult a fish shop that specialises in Fish only, or alternatively, contact a plumber or a plumbing supply store to see what is commercially available for you.
A long shot -
Try the water from various places around the house. If there is a difference in the age of the plumbing (eg. a renovated bathroom) chances are that the water quality could be better.
(this is actually the situation in my house)
| 
22.03.2011, 11:55
| Forum Legend | | Join Date: May 2010 Location: north
Posts: 6,132
Groaned at 218 Times in 138 Posts
Thanked 5,100 Times in 2,636 Posts
| | Re: how to soften water for aquariums
the minnows are perfectly happy in a ph range of 6 >8 and a gh of 5-20.
before worrying about anything have you measured your water?
| 
22.03.2011, 13:14
|  | Senior Member | | Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Zürich
Posts: 353
Groaned at 4 Times in 4 Posts
Thanked 176 Times in 124 Posts
| | Re: how to soften water for aquariums
thanks for all the answers...
rob1:No i havent really measured the water levels but i tested all other levels eg pH, Kh, no2,no3 etc. lately i bought a coffee maschine which provieded a strip to check water hardness and it showed the hardest possible.
yes the white clouds are fine in this water but the tank and plants no longer look very pretty with those white scaly lines.
grumpypit...adding HCl to the water is going to give them an acid wash...no way..lol
billhardie:filtering the hardness is going to be a real expensive affair.
I have however heard adding drift wood to the water or peat moss to the filter might help...anyone with this advice and by the way what would peatmoss be called in german?
| This user would like to thank sups for this useful post: | | 
22.03.2011, 13:34
|  | Member | | Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Fribourg, country
Posts: 102
Groaned at 0 Times in 0 Posts
Thanked 41 Times in 20 Posts
| | Re: how to soften water for aquariums
Hi . I use a product called( ESKLARIN ). with Aloe vera. Made by , Tropical ,.
I have used it for a few years , works well.
| 
22.03.2011, 13:57
|  | Forum Legend | | Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Work in ZH, live in SZ
Posts: 12,349
Groaned at 363 Times in 293 Posts
Thanked 23,668 Times in 8,565 Posts
| | Re: how to soften water for aquariums
My fish are perfectly happy with pure Zurich tap water. I have and had various species that are quite closely related to yours and they lived long and lively in hard water. Feeding and plants are way more important in my eyes.
| 
22.03.2011, 15:26
|  | Forum Veteran | | Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Zürich, Switzerland
Posts: 767
Groaned at 8 Times in 7 Posts
Thanked 876 Times in 356 Posts
| | Re: how to soften water for aquariums
Activated charcoal in the filter system will do the trick.
| 
24.03.2011, 11:35
|  | Senior Member | | Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Zürich
Posts: 353
Groaned at 4 Times in 4 Posts
Thanked 176 Times in 124 Posts
| | Re: how to soften water for aquariums
Nelly...where can one buy activated charcoal..in pet shops?
| 
28.03.2011, 01:12
|  | Forum Veteran | | Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Zürich, Switzerland
Posts: 767
Groaned at 8 Times in 7 Posts
Thanked 876 Times in 356 Posts
| | Re: how to soften water for aquariums | Quote: | |  | | | Nelly...where can one buy activated charcoal..in pet shops? | | | | | Sorry for the late reply but yes normally the activated charcoal is with the other aquarium goodies in the pet stores. It's normally a good idea to put a 1cm layer in the bottom of a corner filter, underneath the filter wool. If you replace the water in the aquarium then put "fresh" charcoal in and run the filter for 24-48 hours then replace and check water acidity before putting the fish back in. Always worked well for me.
| 
31.03.2011, 09:16
|  | Senior Member | | Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Zürich
Posts: 353
Groaned at 4 Times in 4 Posts
Thanked 176 Times in 124 Posts
| | Re: how to soften water for aquariums
thanks Nelly...
added activated charcoal...now water soft, fish happy and me happy too. | This user would like to thank sups for this useful post: | |
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | | Thread Tools | | Display Modes | Linear Mode |
Posting Rules
| You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts HTML code is Off | | |
Similar Threads | Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post | water parks? | juice99 | Sports / Fitness / Beauty / Wellness | 21 | 17.07.2014 16:31 | Fish out of water | Guest | Daily life | 83 | 15.09.2010 13:32 | Cold Water | vlad_island | Daily life | 3 | 08.08.2010 12:21 | Why Bottled Water?? | Brianb_ie | Daily life | 11 | 07.03.2008 10:26 | All times are GMT +2. The time now is 23:57. | |