Reducing hardness

[AndyL]

Hey folks,

I'm going to be doing some tank adjustments to reduce the harness in my water (Its spiked radically in the last 3-4 weeks) Mostly because I want some angels at a local store; that are currently in a discus tank (with VERY soft water; chemically modified)

What all can I do to soften the water? I'm going to start with DIY CO2; add some more driftwood. But I dont think that will be enough; what else can I do, without resorting to adding chemicals?

Andy

 

[Geo]

I hear filtering through peat is a really good idea.  I've never tried it, but I hear it works great.  Can anyone back this up?  

 

[colesea]

Peat filtering will help reduce hardness. The best way I've heard to do this is fill a 10 gallon plastic garbage bag up with water, place in it a pillowcase full of peat, put an airrator in the pillowcase so it bubbles, and let it sit like that for a week.
~~Colesea

 

[Troy-N-Eli]

Have also heard of slipping some peat into a knee-high nylon stocking (or something similar) and stashing that behind your filter.  Can anyone advise on that?  We're curious also, as we would like to reduce hardness in our water as well.

 

[colesea]

I've heard of the stocking method as well. The thing with peat filtering is it will turn your water a nice tanic color (tea-like brown).  If you want to keep your water colorless, the garbage can method and then running the water through a charcoal filter to remove the color would be best. If you don't mind slightly tea colored water in your tank, then put peat in your filter.

The other thing with placing peat in the filter is that it gives you less control over your water chemistry. At least with the garbage can you can test the water before it goes into the tank to make sure you have the pH where you want it.

~~Colesea

 

[RedTurquoise]

Yes, peat works but over time. I prefer not to use it because (colesea says it perfect)

it gives you less control over your water chemistry.

AndyL,
What is your hardness compared to the fish store? I would accimalize the fish to your water chemistry instead of trying to match the stores. My reasoning is that if once start messing with water chemistry, you are increasing the chances of error (especailly using chemicals). Its not worth the hassle. In any event, I would rather go with RO water but I have not tried it myself yet.

Accimalizing
There are some methods but 2 in particular are common but only 1 the I really prefer. Most common is what I call the 'dump and wait' method and the other the 'drip or continous fill' method, which I prefer. If you go to my yahoo photos, you will be able to see how what I did to my new discus. It works and works very well especially for 'fussy' fish like discus, cardinals etc.

 

[Avalon]

The best methods are by peat and RO water.

Depending on the size of your tank, RO water is the easiest way. You can add the nutrients back if you want. If you have a tank larger than say a 55 gallon, this is a pain in the butt.

Peat could be your best choice since you have discus, or if you have a large tank. Most discus keepers filter there tap water beforehand with peat in a large container of some sort, then use the softened water at water changes. Peat also contains enzymes (humic acids) that are beneficial to the fish's health. On the downside, if you have a planted tank, peat releases substances that tend to depress plant growth, and also lower the amount of light that penetrate the water due to its discoloring properties. But like cole said, you could also filter this out with activated carbon. However, if you use activated carbon, you're will only be chasing your tail, and the only benefit left from using peat would be the lowered water hardness.

Another method you may wish to try is via the use of blackwater extracts. I would only use this if your water is not too far from the target levels.

BTW, what levels are you shooting for?