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Pet Forum / Aquaria / General / May 2005Buyiny Filtered Water From Shops?
Hi, could someone please tell me about the water that you can buy from aquarium shops. Is it RO filtered or something else, and what do you have to add to it to make it safe for fish and plants. And how much does it cost? The reason that I am interested in starting to use it is because of algae problems that I haven't been able to completely solve with any of the ways that I have tried. which include using rowaphos, Siamese algae eaters, test kits, and lots of plants. thanks Scott >Hi, could someone please tell me about the water that you can buy from >aquarium shops. Is it RO filtered or something else, and what do you have to >add to it to make it safe for fish and plants. And how much does it cost? You could buy a few gallons but if you are going to spend that much you may as well get a plumbed in cartridge water filter. Mine was fitted to take the chlorine taste out of drinking water but I also use it for my fish. Nothing needs to be added.  SignatureSteve Wolstenholme Neural Planner Software EasyNN-plus. The easy way to build neural networks. http://www.easynn.com I think what a really need is something that's going to take the excess nutrients out of the water, so that I can then add they correct amounts myself. I have tried reducing the phosphate which is 2.5ppm in my tap water, and the nitrates are all ready low. But my plants are still growing fast and one type of algae is still able to cover any leaves and plants that don't grow very fast!! I recently tried adding plant food in a act of desperation, to see if it would give my plants nutrients that they might be lacking and increase there growth, so that they would use up any access nutrients. But there growth has not visibly increased, only the algae's has. So I think that has proven to me that my plants are growing fast already and that the problem is due to access nutrients of some sort in the tap water. Does any of that make any sense?? >>Hi, could someone please tell me about the water that you can buy from >>aquarium shops. Is it RO filtered or something else, and what do you have [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > fitted to take the chlorine taste out of drinking water but I also use > it for my fish. Nothing needs to be added. > I think what a really need is something that's going to take the excess > nutrients out of the water, so that I can then add they correct amounts > myself. I have tried reducing the phosphate which is 2.5ppm in my tap water, > and the nitrates are all ready low. But my plants are still growing fast and > one type of algae is still able to cover any leaves and plants that don't > grow very fast!! What type of algae is it? Can you pick it out from this website? http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=9 Algae eating fish are often specialists, eating only one particular algae type. Once you can identify the algae, you can buy the appropriate fish to keep it in check. Nikki > Hi, could someone please tell me about the water that you can buy from > aquarium shops. Is it RO filtered or something else, and what do you have [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > that I have tried. which include using rowaphos, Siamese algae eaters, > test kits, and lots of plants. I think the simplest solution is to get some snails. Ramshorns seem good (very unfussy and voracious algae eaters, and haven't touched any of my plants). They will rid your tank of algae. Trouble is if there's plenty of snail food pretty soon you'll have plenty of snails, but getting rid of surplus snails is a lot easier than getting rid of algae IME. All you need to do is drop suitable snail snack (like boiled green beans) in the tank, pretty soon it will be covered in snails which you can then remove all at once. Regards -- Adrian Hey > > The reason that I am interested in starting to use it is because of algae > > problems that I haven't been able to completely solve with any of the ways > > that I have tried. which include using rowaphos, Siamese algae eaters, > > test kits, and lots of plants. I see to be following your tracks a bit behind. where did you get this siamese algae thing? i have read the recommendations for it but maidenhead don't seem to do one and i'm on my 6th baby bristlenose. i have a plecodinosaurus thing in my old (smaller - upgraded ) tank and that keeps the old tank clear but it got v territorial. just got some rowaphos and had it in a couple of days but it doesn't seem to reduced my phosphate level significantly from my (Portsmouth) tap phosphate level of 2.2 ish. i was pining some hopes on that. i did explore using my water butt rainwater on rec.freshwater.misc but it appears to be too complex with washing the roof first, buffering the output and then risking running out during the summer. looks as though an RO unit is about £90? ken I brought four Siamese algae eater from tri-mar aquaria online. you probably only need two for a 180ltr aquarium though. They stop any hair algae from growing, which used to be a much bigger problem than the algae that is in there now, in fact black hair algae covered everything!! I tried rowaphos for a couple of months. first of all I tried what it said on they instructions, and in a few days it had zeroed the phosphate level in my aquarium. But that stopped all the plant growth in my aquarium, so I started putting it in for 24hrs or so after each water change, which kept the phosphate at between 0.25ppm and 0.4ppm which should have been low enough to stop it from causing the algae problem, but there was no change. And that's why I'm thinking of trying RO water! If the rowaphos in your aquarium hasn't reduced the phosphate level yet, it will either be because you haven't put enough in, or there isn't enough water flowing through the bag in the filter. if it's that try spreading the bag out so that it covers the bottom of the filter basket and then use the sponges to hold it there. Scott >> > The reason that I am interested in starting to use it is because of > algae [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > ken > And that's why I'm thinking of trying RO water! Why do you think RO water will solve the problem? What is your nitrate level in your tank? At the moment I have solved all algae problems, bar the green spots on the glass, in my 25 gallon planted tank. Currently, it has CO2 being injected to 25 ppm, and 3 watts per gallon of lighting. It also has 9 Amano shrimp, 3 SAEs and 3 Ancistrus. I also dose PO4 very sparingly, about 0.6 ppm a week, and I add Botanica's Micro, Grow and K once a week too. The NO3 levels maintain themselves at about 10 ppm. 10% water is changed maybe once every 2-3 weeks, and I top up with RO water to compensate for evaporation. I hate to do more water changes because the tap water contains 30 ppm of NO3. RO filters don't seem to extract NO3, unfortunately. Somehow, this combination of everything has eradicated all the menacing types of algae. One thing, a piece of driftwood in that tank harbors some strange type of fungus or algae. I'm not sure really what it is, but because it is isolated to a piece of dead matter, I'm not really concerned. Nikki > > And that's why I'm thinking of trying RO water! > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Nikki Once you go down the RO water route (IMO) you add in a lot of variables into your water changes. If you decide to switch back to tap water you will have pH and hardness variations. Additionally, you would need to add other minerals to get the correct balance - or so I have heard. I've never used RO water and yes, I do have an algae problem in one of my tanks - I tackle it with a lot of hard cleaning. I've tried a multitude of algae eaters (can't keep snails because of the Clown Loaches), I've tried feeding the plants more, I've tried over planting (got a tangled mass joined together by string algae). This weekend we went to town on cleaning and now don't even have green spots....a bit of string algae hanging around - so IMO the only answer really is "elbow grease" Gill >>>And that's why I'm thinking of trying RO water! >> [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > Additionally, you would need to add other minerals to get the correct > balance - or so I have heard. I don't think I'll ever use 100% RO water for a tank. It's just too involved. For topping up and softening ever so slightly, that will do fine. > I've never used RO water and yes, I do have an algae problem in one of my > tanks - I tackle it with a lot of hard cleaning. I've tried a multitude of [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > don't even have green spots....a bit of string algae hanging around - so IMO > the only answer really is "elbow grease" Have you tried Excel yet? I tried it for a couple of weeks in my 25 gallon tank and it killed off much of my Anacharis, so I stopped, but I think it triggered the algae's decline. Nikki No I haven't tried excel, but I might give something like that I try one day. I think I'm going to try buying RO water from my local TFS for a few months and see if that works. at least that way I can find out once and for all if it is my tap water. I'm pretty shore that they correct the RO water with additives before they sell it, so I hopefully won't have any problems with using it. Scott >>>>And that's why I'm thinking of trying RO water! >>> [quoted text clipped - 50 lines] > > Nikki The nitrate stays at between 1ppm and 3ppm. There is none in my tap water. I have changed from weekly 25% water changes to two weekly, but it doesn't seem to be having much of an effect on the phosphate levels. what's in there seems to stay in there! I guess I'm just going to have to stick to fast growing stemmed plants, or try the filtered water. thanks Scott >> And that's why I'm thinking of trying RO water! > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Nikki Argh, I forgot to mention the plants. Yes, I have about 30 stems of Anacharis, a Watersprite that takes up one side of the tank, a slow growing Amazon Sword, a patch of Valisneria, and Tenellus Echinodorus which is starting to expand to all unplanted areas. I think the Anacharis and Watersprite are the main reasons for the algae's disappearance. But it sure is a job trimming all those stems. They do pull out the PO4 rather nicely, and if I forget to add PO4 back, the Anacharis begin to look ugly. My nitrate stays ay 10ppm. Maybe you should experiment by increasing this? To a certain extent, the amount of phosphate sequestered by the plants will be proportional to the amount of nitrate available. I think the N:P ratio should be between 10:1 to 20:1. I also have a 330l tank which I'm still trying to "tune". At the moment the SAEs keep the BBA algae in check. It's a slow process trying to adjust the parameters one by one until a solution is found. Nikki > The nitrate stays at between 1ppm and 3ppm. There is none in my tap water. I > have changed from weekly 25% water changes to two weekly, but it doesn't [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] >> >>Nikki >>>that I have tried. which include using rowaphos, Siamese algae eaters, >>>test kits, and lots of plants. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > i have read the recommendations for it but maidenhead don't seem to do one My local Maidenhead always keeps these in stock. Instead, they call them Siamese flying foxes, but are actually Siamese algae eaters. Nikki > >>>that I have tried. which include using rowaphos, Siamese algae eaters, > >>>test kits, and lots of plants. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Nikki I'm not entirely sure about this.....I bought some Flying Foxes but they won't keep still long enough for me to ascertain if they are indeed true SAE's - bought them from Hare Hatch Maidenhead. My sister-in-law bought some which are confirmed as True SAE's from Henley and they were labelled as such. With true SAEs the black stripe extends into the tail fin. My Flying Foxes are getting very fat and I've never seen them eat anything other than them eating the algae in the tank and the occassional blood worm or brine shrimp - so something must be right for them. Gill >>>>>that I have tried. which include using rowaphos, Siamese algae eaters, >>>>>test kits, and lots of plants. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > which are confirmed as True SAE's from Henley and they were labelled as > such. With true SAEs the black stripe extends into the tail fin. They called them Siamese flying foxes, and I was skeptical at first if they were true SAEs. But I posted some photos of them and they were confirmed SAEs. They're certainly paying their keep. > My Flying Foxes are getting very fat and I've never seen them eat anything > other than them eating the algae in the tank and the occassional blood worm > or brine shrimp - so something must be right for them. Do they resemble SAEs? I've imposed an Asbo on my Redtailed Flying Fox, which means he's taking up a whole 14 gallon QT tank to himself! I don't know whether it's punishment or reward. Nikki >>>>>>that I have tried. which include using rowaphos, Siamese algae eaters, >>>>>>test kits, and lots of plants. [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > they were true SAEs. But I posted some photos of them and they were > confirmed SAEs. They're certainly paying their keep. Youy must have been lucky, I've never seen a true SAE at maidenhead, only Flying Foxes and false SAE. (Based on this page http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/saes.htm ) The ones they normally call Siamese flying foxes are false SAE's. I ended up with two false sae's, which do actually eat some algae when it takes their fancy. They are quite a peaceful fish so I quite like them in the tank, as opposed to the flying fox I once had that I fed to the oscar, bloody thing spent every waking hour attacking other fish. Flag fish are also fun for removing hair algae, and albino shrimp are great fun to watch working on other algaes. Steve > >>>>>>that I have tried. which include using rowaphos, Siamese algae eaters, > >>>>>>test kits, and lots of plants. [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > > Steve Henley's Maidenhead definitely had some labelled as "true SAEs" a few weeks ago...at the same time they had others labelled as Siamese flying foxes.... Gill I suppose it doesn't really matter whether they are true SAE's or not if they eat the algae .... Ken hang on - fish by web ordering? The mind boggles. >I suppose it doesn't really matter whether they are true SAE's or not if > they eat the algae .... > > Ken > > hang on - fish by web ordering? The mind boggles. I'm afraid it can matter a lot. Some pseudo SAE's can cause havoc with the rest of your fish. As for fish by web, check out Trimar http://www.tropicalfish.org.uk/home.htm Peter "2pods" > I'm afraid it can matter a lot. Some pseudo SAE's can cause havoc with the > rest of your fish. Ok - you mean like that pleco thing that got humpety ("territorial") with my angels in the main tank (why should anyone get humpety with an angel? :-) and is now lying all on his own in the tank in the shed and just gets the new arrivals for a fortnight or so. Not so territorial now, poor soul. > As for fish by web, check out Trimar http://www.tropicalfish.org.uk/home.htm What a list! Even though they give a guarantee of alive when arrive, I really wonder what their mortality statistics are a fortnight down the road? Still - planning on taking the family to Cornwall for some hols this year....... Thanks Ken I know the first time I brought fish from them the delivery driver didn't seem to happy about being responsible for them. they where all OK though. the second time I brought fish from them a pulcher died a few hours after getting it into my tank. a refund was given, but I'm not totally shore if it's the best way to buy them, but that is also how they get to the shops in the first place! Scott . > "2pods" > [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > Ken "Scott" but I'm not totally shore if > it's the best way to buy them, but that is also how they get to the shops in > the first place! Yes - but don't they leave them a while to settle down before they then try and sell them so they are bearing the "post" risk. And becuase there are more of them i hypothesise that they travel in larger quantities of water which should make it more stable? > "Scott" > but I'm not totally shore if [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > larger > quantities of water which should make it more stable? I'm not connected with Trimar (I'm in Scotland), but out of all the fish I've had from them (5 SAE's, 2 Dojo's, 1 Tench, 4 Angels, Platies, 4 Clown Loaches, 4 Corys) I've only had one casualty (one of the angels) and a refund was offered Peter > >>>>>that I have tried. which include using rowaphos, Siamese algae eaters, > >>>>>test kits, and lots of plants. [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > > Nikki They look pretty similar. They have a black stripe that extends to the tail - what I don't know is if it actually carries on beyond that which I understand is the sign of a true SAE. The reason being they have never kept still long enough Gill |
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