DaveS

Hey there.....great site and glad I found it.

We have bought a 16 gallon bow front aquarium kit , 20 pounds of gravel, and a test kit. Still need to get a vacuum set up and saw capekates video. That should be the easy part.

I have read through all the basics and learned about cycling the tank. I have tried searching for anyone using well water, but the search does not like the word "well". Are there any differences in the cycling of a tank using well water as opposed to using water from a public water supply? I will test the water first before I start, but really don't know what to expect. I know I won't have any chlorine to contend with.

Thanks for all the great info I have found here.

Dave

Barbrella

Well water is often very hard, which can dicatate what fish to choose - e.g. African cichlids will think it's great, apistogrammas will not.

Do you have test kit for water hardness?

DaveS

I have the API master test kit, but it does not test for water hardness. Sounds like I better get one of those before I start to set the tank up also.
What would be a good softener if needed?

capekate

Hi Dave
I use well water for my tanks. My PH is around 6.4 and I have soft water. I guess it depends on what part of the country you are from. You still have to cycle your tank tho, as using well water or city water will not make a difference in that regard. Some folks with well water do not bother using products such as Prime, since they have no ammonia or chlorine to worry about. Which basically means my using Prime with every water change is uselss. BUT I still use it anyway. It doesnt hurt.
I would suggest you use your test kit and take a reading of your water out of the tap and see what you have. From there you can decide which fish work best for you.
Good luck with your new tank.. and welcome to fishlore!
have to EDIT this so as not to confuse anyone.
When I say that the well water does not have any ammonia or chlorine and the tank doesnt necessarily needs Prime, what I mean is ... the initial tank set up , when you first start adding water, you really do not need to add Prime especially when its used as a dechlorinator.

Shawnie

Hi dave..welcome to fishlore!! I have well water also and mines not hard...I have cichlids as well as tropicals and they dont mind the well water whatsoever...although I like kate, do use prime, I dont have too..but I agree it doesnt hurt...having the master api kit should be plenty...I wouldnt worry so much about hardness or softness until after you cycle the tank ..what kind of fish are you looking to stock?

tkfury

Welcome to Fishlore ^^

I'm actually in the same area and haven't had a problem with well water. Granted I can't say I know how soft or hard it is and I do have rather hardy fish so I never worried about it. But definatlly test the water straight from the tap to know what you're starting with. When I was cycling my first tank I had nitrites showing up and it just didn't make any sense until I was told to test the tap.

Mind if I ask where you'll be buying your fish at?

DaveS

Thanks for all the information.

Capekate............I enjoyed your little video about getting the siphon/vacuum started and the suggestion about the Prime product. I will get some of that, never can tell. Also I'm originally from Mass.

Shawnie.......Haven't yet decided yet on what fish we will be getting. Still researching that, but there won't be an overcrowding issue. Probably will start with some Black Tetras from what I have read so far, about 4 to 6 of them. Then we'll see from there.

tkfury.....Don't know where we will get fish yet. We got the kit at Petsmart and also looked at everything in an aquarium shop in Randallstown but aI don't remember the name.

Hope to get the tank's cycle started next week some time. We still have a few items to pick up prior to seting it up.

tkfury

I highy suggest checking out Deep Blue Tropicals in Hampstead. Its closed on Monday and usually doesn't open til about 9-11 but I believe they are open a little later during the summer now. Still do your research of course but the couple there treat each tank as if they were at home so ya will find quality there. PetSmart seems to be having some rather off days lately - today the tanks looked great but I've always seen the tanks in some really bad conditions. If you can, always look up what you need at PetSmart online - most of the stuff is cheaper, just add the item to your shopping cart, print the page and bring it in with you and they will honor the online price.

Bonochick

We have well water that we use in our tanks without doing anything to it, but we also have a water softener.

angelfish220

Also remember Prime also takes out heavy metals so it still should be used even with well water.

COBettaCouple

Yea, I use Prime even with bottled spring water, just to be safe. It's just 1-2 drops per gallon.

DaveS

Thanks for all the answers and suggestions. Got a bottle of Prime and a test kit for hardness. Looks like this weekend I will get the tank setup and get going on the cycle. Also, I will check the water prior to adding anything to it before I start.

Great info here.

Ryno

I have hard water and I use Peat Moss in the filter to soften it. Don't use any buffers or chemicals to soften the water. It is only a temporary fix and will only stress the fish further when the hardness levels rapidly go shooting up again.

Dark colored driftwood can also help.

I just wouldn't worry too much about the hardness and PH at least at first. Keeping an eye on the Nitrites, Nitrates and Ammonia are the most important things right now.