apple snails and hard water?

[Darkstar824]

does anyone know if apple snails can tolerate hard water conditions the ph and hardness of my water is around 7.6-.7.8 and hardness is 300 ppm. Should I use water softener or just leave it be?

[TowBoater]

Mine are in hard water with a pH of 7.2. They used to be in 7.8 until I got driftwood, I think they can adapt to it as most other fish. Just acclimate well.

[Chrona]

Snails actually prefer hard water. Acidic/soft water eats at their shells.

[Darkstar824]

okay, thanx exactly how do I acclimate them? Sorry that sounds silly.

[Darkstar824]

Snails actually prefer hard water. Acidic water eats at their shells.

well, then there shouldn;t be a problem then thanks all

[TowBoater]

My way of acclimating is different than most as everyone does it there own way. I use a specimen container but you can use a bag with a clothespin to hold it to the tank rim. I use my specimen container and place just enough water to keep him under in it. I place the snail or fish in and place in as you would a bag to float. Every 5 min. for 30 min I add a little of my tank water. If over half of the water is mine, I let it swim from the container into the tank. I would just dump it with the snail in and if it sticks, slide it off, don't pull it.

[Darkstar824]

ouch, that would sound painful for the snail! okkee thankx for the info would a regular plastic baggie beokay or no?

[TowBoater]

It is fine, just use a clothes pen or clipy to hold it to the rim of the tank if you want to do it my way. The way I do it helps them to get used to all the chemical balances and such within your tank.

[Darkstar824]

hmmm I am not sure which way I should try it I'll let u know when the time comes (next month sometime) on how I will acclimate it to the water

[S13DWS]

Excuse me for my n00bish question, But what is water "hardness"?

[Darkstar824]

hi I 'll answer your ? as best I can

water hardness or DH is a measure of how much calcium and magnesium are present in the water measured in degrees and/or ppm which is parts per million. Hard water and ph (measure of alkalinity and acidity in water) go hand in hand where you have hard water you'll also have high alkalinity too Water that is too soft can pose a problem but I am not entirely sure about water that is too hard.
you can decrease hardness of water by lowering pH and vice versa, hope that helped.

[Chrona]

Alkalinity (kH) is the measure of carbonate ions in the water, which is seperate from Hardness (general hardness), which is as the above poster said, the calcium/magnesium content. They usually go hand in hand, but no always. General hardness does provide a bit of a buffering effect for pH, but by and large, it's the alkalinity that affects it the most. To lower pH, you remove alkalinity, but in doing so, you don't change the general hardness at all. To raise pH, you add alkalinity. Thus, it's possible to have hard water coming out of the tap with a pH of like 7.2 (which indicates very low alkalinity). Likewise, it is also possible to have very low hardness, but a very high pH.

[S13DWS]

thanks:-)

What is the best hardness (errr) for my Demasoni. I have the pH rising (almost there) to 8.2. How do i test for water hardness?

[cocoa_pleco]

to test the water you need a test kit from a pet store