water quality prior to going into aquarium

[kevin1962]

this is the report for my tap water. Now as I am not clued up on water chemistry it means nothing to me. is there anything here that would need attention once its put into my aquarium or will I get away with just using a de-chlorinator. The tank isn't even set up yet as I'm undecided on what I actually want i.e tropical, temperate or coldwater. Obviously ammonia/ammonium will get sorted during the nitrogen cycle which is about the sum of my chemistry knowledge, I would really appreciate some help, hopefully there are some water chemistry whizz kids around to advise. one other thing is any of this stuff in my tapwater beneficial to plants in the quantities listed or will i have to add stuff

Aluminium 4.20 46.8 117 µg Al/l 200 37 0.00
Ammonium (ammonia and ammonium ions) <0.0077 <0.0166 0.0270 mg NH4/l 0.5 22 0.00
Antimony <0.100 <0.100 0.100 µg Sb/l 5 9 0.00
Arsenic <0.0800 <0.142 0.190 µg As/l 10 9 0.00
Atrazine <0.0100 <0.0100 <0.0100 µg/l 0.1 5 0.00
Benzene <0.0349 <0.0416 <0.0471 µg/l 1 31 0.00
Benzo(a)pyrene <0.0012 <0.0019 <0.0020 µg/l 0.01 8 0.00
Boron 0.0021 0.0124 0.0647 mg B/l 1 31 0.00
Bromate <0.234 <0.444 <0.470 µg BrO3/l 10 9 0.00
Cadmium <0.0200 <0.0200 0.0200 µg Cd/l 5 9 0.00
Calcium 6.59 9.16 15.3 mg Ca/l 0 37 0.00
Chloride 4.33 19.3 94.6 mg Cl/l 250 30 0.00
Chromium <0.0900 <0.142 0.230 µg Cr/l 50 9 0.00
Residual chlorine - Total 0.09 0.57 0.94 mg/l 0 100 0.00
Residual chlorine - Free 0.05 0.48 0.82 mg/l 0 100 0.00
Colony Counts after 2 days at 37 deg C 0 2 72 number/1ml 0 35 0.00
Colony counts after 3 days at 22 deg C 0 2 49 number/1ml 0 35 0.00
Coliform bacteria 0 0 0 number/100ml 0 100 0.00
Colour 0.490 1.13 2.60 mg/l Pt/Co scale 20 37 0.00
Conductivity 42.0 66.3 123 uS/cm at 20oC 2500 26 0.00
Copper 0.0028 0.0082 0.0251 mg Cu/l 2 8 0.00
Clostridium perfringens (including spores) 0 0 0 number/100ml 0 36 0.00
Cyanide <0.0100 <0.844 <1.17 µg CN/l 50 31 0.00
1,2-dichloroethane <0.103 <0.122 <0.138 µg/l 3 31 0.00
E.coli 0 0 0 number/100ml 0 100 0.00
Enterococci 0 0 0 number/100ml 0 9 0.00
Fluoride 0.0100 <0.0174 <0.0233 mg F/l 1.5 9 0.00
Total hardness 8 11 19 mg Ca/l 0 37 0.00
Iron 2.10 <6.17 29.2 µg Fe/l 200 37 0.00
Lead <0.0500 <0.384 2.15 µg Pb/l 25 8 0.00
Magnesium 0.600 0.813 2.10 mg Mg/l 0 37 0.00
Manganese 0.200 <1.08 2.25 µg Mn/l 50 37 0.00
Mercury <0.0100 <0.0151 <0.0500 µg Hg/l 1 30 0.00
Nickel 0.200 0.510 0.740 µg Ni/l 20 8 0.00
Nitrite <0.0020 <0.0026 <0.0095 mg NO2/l 0.5 22 0.00
Nitrate 1.24 <1.86 2.17 mg NO3/l 50 22 0.00
(Nitrate)/50 plus (nitrite)/3 0.0010 0.0194 0.0430 mg/l 1 22 0.00
Odour (quantitative) 0 0 0 dilution number at 25oC 0 36 0.00
Total organic carbon 0.510 0.863 1.31 mg C/l 0 29 0.00
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (sum of 4 PAHs) 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 µg/l 0.1 8 0.00
Pesticides - Total 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 µg/l 0.5 5 0.00
Hydrogen ion (pH) 6.84 7.43 8.58 pH value 9.5 74 0.00
Radioactivity gross alpha 0.0200 0.0276 0.124 Bq/l 0.1 25 8.00
Radioactivity gross beta 0.0200 0.0277 0.120 Bq/l 1 25 0.00
Selenium <0.270 <0.278 0.320 µg Se/l 10 9 0.00
Sodium 3.10 4.16 8.30 mg Na/l 200 37 0.00
Sulphate 6.46 18.3 67.2 mg SO4/l 250 29 0.00
Taste (quantitative) 0 0 0 dilution number at 25oC 0 36 0.00
Tetrachloromethane <0.0354 <0.0497 0.100 µg/l 3 8 0.00
Trihalomethanes - Total 13.0 24.4 43.9 µg/l 100 8 0.00
Tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 µg/l 10 8 0.00
Turbidity <0.09 <0.11 0.35 NTU 4 37 0.00

 

[ceg4048]

Hello,
looks like you have soft water==> Total hardness 8 11 19 mg Ca/l 0 37 0.00
You can ignore everything else. There is not much beneficial to plants in soft water generally.

Cheers,

 

[kevin1962]

thanks for the info ceg. i think in the report it's listed as v.soft. it's piped down from the English lake district. I'd better start researching what'll thrive best in soft water then. i understand that certain fish prefer certain params is it the same with plants?

 

[ceg4048]

No. Do not waste your time with this fruitless effort.

Of course, soft water is a virtue when it comes to South/Central American fish, Southeast Asian fish, as well as Congo River Basin fish, which make up the bulk of the ornamental fish industry. Rift Valley fish live in hard water lakes, and these are more specialized species. So virtually any of the common fish you will buy at your LFS will have come from soft water. All tetras/Characins are either S. American or African soft water species. Discus, Angels Dwarf Chichlids are all soft water. However, all of these fish can be kept quite happily in hard water - as long as the water is kept clean and free of pollution. What the parameter lovers always seem to forget is that the fish come from waters that are pristine, which is actually much more important than the fact that the water is soft.

So, spend you energy researching how to keep your tank immaculately clean, by avoiding overfeeding and by doing large and frequent water changes and forget about researching parameters. Ignoring this vital truth is the first mistake that people make. It also turns out that the cleaner your water is, the healthier the plants will be. Furthermore, plants that hail from the same waters as these fish also do not care about parameters. What they care about is being fed with high nutrition, especially if the tank is CO2 injected.

Check the tutorial section of the forum and read all the articles there and do not even think about parameters. Satisfy the imperatives of cleanliness and nutrition first and foremost.

Cheers,

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Really good quality soft water, it is pretty similar to what a lot of people will get from their rain water. If you want to keep and breed Apistogramma spp., for example, you can use it at 100% tap.

I only keep low tech tanks, but they can still grow a range of plants. This tank is at work, 100% rain-water, sand substrate, 10% water change daily (although this varies because I don't always have access to it) and no added fertiliser.

If growth does slow, and leaves yellow, I'll use the "Duckweed Index" as a method of fertilisation <Duckweed index ferts advice | UK Aquatic Plant Society>.

cheers Darrel

 

[kevin1962]

Hi all,
Really good quality soft water, it is pretty similar to what a lot of people will get from their rain water. If you want to keep and breed Apistogramma spp., for example, you can use it at 100% tap.

I only keep low tech tanks, but they can still grow a range of plants. This tank is at work, 100% rain-water, sand substrate, 10% water change daily (although this varies because I don't always have access to it) and no added fertiliser.

If growth does slow, and leaves yellow, I'll use the "Duckweed Index" as a method of fertilisation <Duckweed index ferts advice | UK Aquatic Plant Society>.

cheers Darrel

thanks for the info Darrel, i'm planning on going low tech once I finally get up and running, I just read that link above, did I read correctly ...you suggest feeding with a general tomato feed

 

[BigTom]

So, spend you energy researching how to keep your tank immaculately clean, by avoiding overfeeding and by doing large and frequent water changes and forget about researching parameters.

I have to disagree a little with this, although admittedly on not much more than a philosophical level. My advice would be;

So, spend you energy researching how to keep your tank immaculately clean, by avoiding overfeeding and by doing large and frequent water changes and then think about researching parameters.

Given the multitude of stresses and potential causes of demise most aquarium fish face, I always think that the least I can do is provide them with water that approximates their natural environment. This may in some cases be less important than cleanliness, choice of tank mates, availability of plants/cover, amount of light, choice of foods (all of which one should also consider) and who knows what else, but it's something that's easily within most people's control, either through your choice of water given the fish you want to keep, or vice versa. There's a fantastic range of fish available in this hobby, with some excellent options for just about any set of water parameters.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I just read that link above, did I read correctly ...you suggest feeding with a general tomato feed

I did, but only with the proviso that you have a heavily planted tank, you use it pretty dilute and you have lots of dissolved oxygen. The only real problem with terrestrial plant foods is that usually they have at least part of the nitrogen addition as ammonia, often as ammonium nitrate - (NH3NO3 & 35% N), Urea (CO(NH2)2 & 46%N) or ammonium sulphate ((NH4)2SO4 & 21%N). Using potassium nitrate (KNO3) is a lot safer, but it supplies a lot less N (13%N & 38%K).

I have to disagree a little with this, although admittedly on not much more than a philosophical level...

I don't think Clive would like my tanks either. I like soft water for soft water fish and lots of biofilm.

cheers Darrel

 

[lurch1000]

I generally only clean the two sides I look through. Mainly so the tank looks nice What's noticeable on my glass is a touch of GSA and lately, a smidge of green hair at the back.

When you create your tank, create a habitat first. Cover as required for the fish you wish to keep. Lovely soft water for South Americans - perhaps consider a biotope, or a continental-itope. Wide range of fish and plants out there.

 

[faizal]

Guys i think what Clive was actually trying to say was "For a person who is at the beginning stage of freshwater tank keeping it's more important to focus on cleanliness & good tank husbandry in the initial stage than focusing on water parameters. Focus on good plant health first when you are starting out with planted tanks & forget about researching your water parameters with test kits."

I for one had difficulty just keeping the plants alive for more than 2 weeks at a time at the beginning. My tanks usually started off lush & green on the first day & ended up with browning plants, bare gravel & fish by the end of the first month. I have now managed to keep most of my plants from dying but i have yet to attain the balance that Big Tom is able to create in his tank.

My dream of course is to attain what Big Tom says there. A beautiful balance between flourishing plant life & the nearest optimal fish environment. But following those exact advice from Clive actually helped me to take the first crucial initial steps in my freshwater planted tank keeping hobby.