# Baltimore __Urgent__ Help



## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

I just moved from Cincinnati to Baltimore yesterday and finally got around to setting up my aquarium today. I have no idea what kind of water Baltimore has but it looks like my fish aren't happy with it so far. I have five angles in one five gal bucket and a bunch of rummynose tetras, an oto, and a bristlenose pleco in another. After matching temps between the aquarium and bucket, I put one of the rummies into the tank. Within five minutes he was darting towards the surface and with a few minutes of that, he was belly up. Back into the bucket, and he was back to normal in a few minutes. I need to check with the home-owner of the place I'm renting to see if they have a water softener. If anybody could provide me with info on the water parameters of the tap water in the Towson/Baltimore area, I would really appreciate it. Thanks.


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

Just talked to the home owner. He said we're on well water and the water analysis a couple years ago was surprisingly good. Only thing he said was the acidity was a bit on the high side but certainly nothing that needed to be treated. So no water softeners or treatments.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

You need to check the pH and KH and GH. It may be that the dissolved solids are too high for them. Have you tried adding a small amount of water each hour to their current water? Switch them over gradually to the new water chemistry. Sounds like that is what the problem is.


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## Dielectric (Oct 7, 2008)

i would drip acclimate them


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi Troy McClure,

I agree with Dielectric, try slowing mixing the "new" water with the old water in the bucket. I usually add about 20% every twenty minutes. If the fish show distress, I wait longer before adding more.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

Sweet. You'll have to check out GWAPA when you get settled in. Also, check out Exotic Aquatics when you get a chance. www.exoticaquatics.com


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Being that you're on well water (so are we), you could also try running it through a RV water filter before adding it to the tank. It will remove all kinds of things that could possibly be in well water that wouldn't be in city water. You can get them at Wal-mart for around $20 and they last a long time, plus the flow is great out of them.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi Troy McClure,

Your question got me thinking because I used to manage an aquarium shop in a rural area that had a lot of wells. Well water always seemed to have a lot more minerals in it than water from surface sources like lakes and rivers. Assuming the PH of the water in your new tank is about the same as the water in your buckets and the fish were not experiencing PH shock, you might consider low dissolved oxygen as the source of your problem.

I recall some people having problems with their well water tanks if they tried to add fish shortly after filling their tanks or when doing large weekly water changes. It was suspected that the level of dissolved oxygen in the water was low and causing the fish distress and deaths. Allowing the water to sit for 24 hours with an airstone running in it seemed to eliminate the problem. Here is something to consider:

"The amount of minerals in a water affects its ability to dissolve oxygen. Distilled water can absorb more oxygen than well waters with higher mineral content. Obviously sea water, for this same reason, holds less dissolved oxygen than fresh water.

Well waters usually contain smaller amounts of dissolved oxygen than surface supplies. In deep wells there may be a total absence of the gas."

Hope this helps!


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

Picked up some Mardel test strips. pH looks like it's around 5.5!!! This is a huge leap from the generally high pH tap water of Cincinnati. Water is pretty soft too- gH came out around 25ppm and kH tested around 40ppm. I'm going to run a second test strip to verify the results but based on the numbers above, what do I need to do (I've been out of the aquarium thing for a couple years)?

Aaron - it's been a while since I've been on the boards and done any of the SWOPE stuff, but I'll definitely check out GWAPA. I'll be needing new plants soon! 

[edit] Second strip confirmed first strip results. Very soft, low alkalinity. I wonder if that's why it tastes weird to me.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi Troy McClure,

Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda) will raise your Ph and Kh.


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

Is there another way to do this that is more stable, like adding crushed coral into the filter? I'll have to add baking soda to bring it up quickly but something that is longer lasting and won't require me to add baking soda at each water change is more desirable.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi Troy McClure,

Yes, adding crushed coral will take longer, and it will raise your Ph and I believe your Kh and Gh as well. If the fish are still in buckets I would probably add the Baking Soda to get the two Ph's balanced, move the fish into the tank, and then add the crushed coral to maintain the level. I would probably monitor my Ph several times a week until I had a stable system. It will be easier to maintain stability with a larger tank than a smaller one.


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

Thank Roy!

I wanted to throw some numbers up to make sure I did this right...or at best, the least wrong. 

I wanted to shoot for a target of 6dKH in the tank. Water our of the tap is something like 3.5dKH (roughly 60ppm.) I added roughly 2.5 tsp of pure baking soda. Is that right?

1dKH increase = .5 tsp per 100 liters (~26.5gal)
2.5dKH increase = 1.25 tsp per 100 liters (~26.6 gal)
50gal = 189.5 liters, or roughly doubled.
1.25 x ~2 = ~2.5

How long should I wait before testing again, and more importantly, acclimating the fish?


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Your fish will adjust slowly to your pH and dissolved solids. The problem with adding baking soda is that you will have a yoyo affect. That is what you see by it not being longer lasting. Just get your fish acclimated slowly to your current well water. It's just that the sudden change is what was stressing your fish out. Once they are acclimated they will live fine.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi Erik,

Normally I would agree with Tex Gal, except a PH of 5.5 is awfully low to keep some species in on a continous basis. If it were me, what I would do is try to bring the PH of the tank up to approximately the PH of the water the fish are in, then I would monitor the PH a couple of times a day to make sure it stays stable.

I would not add the baking soda to try to adjust to a "target hardness" at this point, I would just try to get to the Ph the fish are used to, mix the new water with existing water, and then transfer the fish.

A couple of questions, what is the volume (gallons) of the aquarium and are you currently injecting CO2?


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

I thought adding the baking soda would raise pH along with kH...
"To raise the KH without raising the GH, add sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), commonly known as baking soda. 1/2 teaspoon per 100 Liters raises the KH by about 1 dH. Sodium bicarbonate drives the pH towards an equilibrium value of 8.2." - http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-chem.html

What would you suggest I do for raising the pH, and do you think just focusing on pH is a better approach than getting kH and pH up at the same time?

Tank is a 50gal Oceanic, CO2 is not hooked up yet but will be once the fish are transferred and comfortable.

Thanks!


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Have you tried to add Equilibrium by Seachem? It's a buffered mix designed to bring things up in a balanced way. It might be a better option.


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

Haven't tried Equilibrium but I vaguely remember a few SWOPE members using it with success. I'll look into it.

I tested the tank water this morning before leaving for work. Numbers had changed drastically - pH was up around 8.5, KH shot up to around 16dKH, and GH rose a couple degrees. Granted, these numbers are much closer to the water in the buckets, but does this sound right for only adding 2.5tsp of baking soda to a 50gal?! Could it have been there was an excessive amount of dissolved gasses- like co2- in the water that gave me false readings after initially filling the tank? When I initially tested the tank, the filter had only been running for an hour or two, but it was still seeded with the water and bacteria from Cincinnati. I wonder if the circulation induced by the filter drove off the gasses but then the baking soda drove the pH and KH even higher. Oy...it sucks having been away from this stuff for so long- I forgot how complicated it can be!


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

I picked up another test strip kit and double checked the tank and bucket water parameters. Aside from the GH, everything else was the same so I started moving fish. Everybody is doing well so far and the angels even started to eat a little bit. I really want to thank everybody that help, especially Roy and TexGal. :tea: It sounds like I need to go to a few GWAPA meetings to get back into the swing of things with planted tanks!


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Glad to hear it. Plant club meetings rock!


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## ingg (Apr 8, 2007)

Look forward to meeting you at a GWAPA meeting Troy!

Your water would make most of us in the area pretty envious, we don't usually have that soft of water around Baltimore/DC area. It ain't Houston's liquid rock, but not that soft! 

In my experience, fish have a tougher time transitioning from hard to soft water in a new tank - but once in, should do fine. Soft water to hard water is easier, it has to do with some transition fish do in their blood chemistry adjusting to the water they are in.

A note on GWAPA meetings: We tend to alternate back and forth between MD and VA meeting sites (almost all are hosted by members who invite the group into their homes). Next one is in VA I believe, outdoor pondsy type of topic if I recall - if you are needing to stock a planted tank it is probably worth the drive (and if you join and hit the forums you might be able to carpool too), as we've been hitting over 100 items in the "mini" auctions for I don't know how many months in a row now.


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

ingg said:


> Your water would make most of us in the area pretty envious, we don't usually have that soft of water around Baltimore/DC area. It ain't Houston's liquid rock, but not that soft!


Get ready to be jealous...or not. I filled a Dixie "frat cup" (you know, the red plastic Dixie cups that are a staple at every beer-driven college party) with tap water around 7:30 this morning and just tested it a couple minutes ago...so it sat for over 12hrs. Using the same test strips, the readings were 6.5pH, 0ppm KH, and 0ppm GH. I'll have to get more sensitive KH and GH tests because it can't possibly be 0 for both. KH is has to be between 0-40ppm and GH 0-30ppm. A reagent-based test should give me more accurate results. Right now, I'm drinking the water that was in the cup and it's pretty darn good! It's refreshing not having any plastic chlorine taste but I can tell it doesn't have the hardness of the Cincinnati water I'm used to.

Looking forward to meeting you, too, ingg!


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