breakaway Posted December 11, 2004 Report Share Posted December 11, 2004 Hi Guys, I recently purchased a fish bowl from TradeMe (wanted the heater) and when I picked up the item I was given a lot of water additives like De-Chlorinators and water agers etc etc. I was just wondering, how many of you use water conditioners for your water? I myself have never used any water conditioners, and my aquarium has turned out to be just fine. Thanx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted December 11, 2004 Report Share Posted December 11, 2004 Never had to use any products like that as our water is perfectly suitable for aquaria. No chlorine in the water so no need for that stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted December 11, 2004 Report Share Posted December 11, 2004 We are on what is essentially spring water so no need. Caryl is on the same type of water too. We have no chlorine. The only problem is 6-8ppm phosphate... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted December 11, 2004 Report Share Posted December 11, 2004 I have always used Stress Coat and Stress Zyme, mainly becuase our water is chlorinated and filtered. so its just a precaution on my part. the only real problem with my water is latley the ph has been quite high. Shae 250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaway Posted December 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2004 I live in AKLD Mt. Roskill, I have never tested my water or used Additives. Is water particularly bad here in AKLD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bamweevil Posted December 11, 2004 Report Share Posted December 11, 2004 i age my water in 25litre containers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted December 11, 2004 Report Share Posted December 11, 2004 I lived in auckland for 2 years, and after moving there from wellington, could nto stand the water, i feel sorry for humans that consume it let alone fish, i am surprised you do not have death after death after death, is your water filtered? Remember Auckland is know the 3rd most poluted city for its size in the world! I would never ever drink auckland water again. Then again go to australia and try there water :oops: we lived in melbourne for a year and while there went through ruffly 200 external filters, even with the filters for us to cope with the tast of the water we bought consintrate to add a few drops to our cups. Other than that we tended to buy about 100l of spring water a week. and we lived outside the city in Mont Marnecy/Eltham. Cheers Shae 250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaway Posted December 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2004 Is your water filtered? Nope, straight from the kitchen sink tap into a bucket then into the tank. I have not had any mass deaths so far, Ive had the occassional fish death though. Although, one of my pregnant guppies died yesterday, because of dropsy. Now the 2nd female (pregnant also) is showing similar signs and looks very lethargic. I had moved her into the new tank which I imagine is not yet cycled properly, to prevent her from being chased to death by the males. I guess the stress of being chased around in the fish tank by a net (try catching a guppy in a heavily planted aquarium) was too much for her, and also the shock of moving her to the new tank. I wanted to ask: What If I take out the sponge that is on my Shark 1 Internal filter, and take out the filter that is in the new tank, and then squeeze the grimy water out of the Shark's sponge onto the new power filter's sponge, will it make the cycling faster because the bacteria from the Shark (taken from an established aquarium) will impregnate the new filter sponge and therefore establish bacteria colonies faster than they would have formed naturally. Secondly, I wanted to ask how long it takes a tank (25L) to cycle if I put 4-5 guppies in it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted December 12, 2004 Report Share Posted December 12, 2004 I use Aquaplus on each water change. just as a precaution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted December 12, 2004 Report Share Posted December 12, 2004 The sponge idea is good breakaway. The tank cycle? I would suggest about one month but don't quote me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted December 12, 2004 Report Share Posted December 12, 2004 What you wanna do is run the two filters together. The unseeded filter will seeded/cycled in 2 weeks using this method, about half the time of a normal cycle as caryl has suggested. Water ager for me, although I'm not actually sure if there is chlorine in the water here, I assume there is. The bigger the city usually the more chlorine in the water to kill the larger variety of bugs. Apparently certain areas in America has heaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interfecus Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 I always use dechlorinators. I figure they can't be more harmful than chlorine and I can't spare the space to leave water out for any length of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 A water change of less than 15% should probably be fine, as the chlorine amount would be diluted. Occasionally I have used water that is straight from the tap with no problems, but my water changes have tended to be on the large side recently (40-50%) so I always use dechlorinator (or rain water) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 I use them because our water is heavily chlorinated. I can often smell the chlorine when I turn a tap on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaway Posted December 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 I can see that most of use do not use water additives I can often smell the chlorine when I turn a tap on. Where do you get your drinking water from ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted December 14, 2004 Report Share Posted December 14, 2004 the tap,a little nbit of chlorine wont hurt you, i too can occasionally smell chlorine whne i am watering the garden. Shae 250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted December 14, 2004 Report Share Posted December 14, 2004 :lol: Breakaway - I drink it from the tap but unlike the fish I don't have to live in it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaway Posted December 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2004 You ppl take yur water for granted - where I come from, drinking water from the tap without boiling/filtering it is just asking for trouble. NZ Water Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted December 14, 2004 Report Share Posted December 14, 2004 that's because it's Auckland water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 I live in New Lynn so our water comes from the Waitakeres - every week it is heavily chlorinated - I know because I can smell it when I turn the tap on - that's when I make the tea with water from my steam distiller for a couple of days otherwise you gag on it! I've always used Stress Coat when I refill the tanks, one drop per litre of water! I wonder if I could use it in my tea.... :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat Posted January 7, 2005 Report Share Posted January 7, 2005 Hi all Just going through some of the topics and found this. we use a spa pool filter with a special filter in it that removes some much down to a minute amount. We have tested the water before and after and the difference is amazing. We dont add anything else to the water apart from the occasional dose of salt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiverJohn Posted January 8, 2005 Report Share Posted January 8, 2005 I just use a cap of aquaplus per 15l. Straight from the tap, mix hot and cold till temp is about right, sometimes use a thermometer if the water change is a bit bigger than normal, then in she goes. No problems so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 8, 2005 Report Share Posted January 8, 2005 I don't even do that on my African tank. They get a 50% water change every so often and it is filled up straight from the garden hose dragged through the bedroom window :lol: . The fish love it and play in the current of cold water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plecs Posted January 20, 2005 Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 at work we had automatic water changes going on. If i wasn't there fast enough with the Aqua Plus i found that lots of fish would die! We were loosing loaches and borneo suckers, sometimes ten per tank. The only thing i could pin it down to was the automatic water changes and the lack of a water ager. Once i stopped the automatic water changes the deaths stopped. Palmy water has 33 metals and a good amount of chlorine. As a result i always recommend it! plecs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morf Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 my tap water is pH 8.5 and has chloramine in it so I use tap water conditioner and soak it with peat for a couple of days before adding it to my tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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