tank set up

[raysline]

I currently have a 10 gal tank in which I would buy spring water for and add nutrients to the water for my fish. I have a water softner and wasnt sure how to use that water. also where I live there is a lot of lime in the water, so i didnt know if I could just bypass the softner to fill the tank. I just bought a 29 gal and need to know how the set that up with tap water. also, my fish are about 3 years old and I need to know if they will be ok for the transition from bottled water to tap water.

Thank you,
Ray

 

[Newman]

As long as the tap water's pH, KH, GH and such do not differ much from the 10 gal's water (and no i dont mean bottled water, i mean the water IN the 10 gal tank) then your fish should be fine. Make sure you treat the tap with conditioner such as Seachem Prime to remove Chlorine and Chloramine.

See if your pH, and KH are in the acidic range that you want them to be (tap water). if they are then obviously you dont need the softener.

 

[MrParker]

i think fish do just fine in water you might expect them not to. I have 4 tetras (which are supposed to prefer more acidic water pH 6.2-7.2 or something) in my tank which has a pH of 8.0. At first i was worried, but when i brought them home from the fish store, I tested the water in the bag with them, and the pH was about 8.0 too, so if you acclimate them properly, I believe they should be fine. But that's just my 2 cents. You do what you think is best.