What Fish for My Well Water

[Ayreonaut]

My 29 gallon tank is cycling right now with zebra danios. But my clean little secret is that I used bottled spring water to fill it. I killed some goldfish last year and blamed my well water, and decided to be as safe as possible this time so I used bottled spring water. But this is certainly an expensive way to do water changes.

I've been thinking that maybe I should keep fish that do well in my water rather than buy water that does well with a certain fish. I bought a master test kit and tested my well water. It is very soft and acidic. pH < 6.0 and hardness = 0. (I don't have a pH test that goes below 6.0, do I need to get one?)

What fish (and plants) would you recommend to a beginner for 29 gallons of very soft acidic water?

[young_cichlid]

south american cichlids would do well. try convicts or dwarf cichlids. you can shoot me if it doesn't work out:hmm3grin2orange:

[Wild Turkey]

Id try to raise that kh or you are going to get swings. Most methods are probably going to result in a ph raise as well, so you could probably keep whatever you like. Raising ph is much easier than lowering it and keeping it stable.

[Ayreonaut]

The lady at the aquarium store said to add 1/4 tsp baking soda to 5 gallons of water in the bucket and that would harden/buffer it and raise the pH. How does that sound?

[bushwhacker]

be better to add a few handsful of crushed coral.. that will buffer your water and you wont have to mess with the baking soda with every change

[Northernguy]

Limestone decor will help to raise the ph.Tafu stone works too.Its a little more permanent than baking soda or chemicals.

[Wild Turkey]

Ive heard 1 teaspoon per ten gallons to lower it about .50 (i think) but i would check out some online tutorials before i took the lfs's ladies word for it.

I agree crushed coral or similar would be an easier route. However if you just throw some in you are also going to have fluctuations. Weigh out 1 pound increments, and add 1 lb. In 2 weeks, add another 1 lb. another 2 weeks, replace the first pound with a fresh pound, and 2 more weeks replace the second pound with a fresh pound. From then on just replace the older pound with a fresh one every 2 weeks. Establishing a routine as such will help reduce ph and hardness fluctuations.

Its also a good idea to start doing smaller, more frequent water changes as opposed to large ones when your water chemistry is different from your tap.

[Ayreonaut]

It seems that conditioning the water in a covered bucket before I add it to the tank would minimize the stress to the fish. I could either keep crushed coral in a bucket and change it from time to time, or add baking soda each time. Neither one seems less convenient.