Brita Filter water purifier
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While the tank is cycling, since you have fish in it, I think I'd use water from the Britta filter to avoid adding more ammonia to the tank. After the cycle is complete you can use straight tap water for water changes, since the ammonia will be diluted by the existing water and should be quickly consumed by your bacteria colony.
Disclaimer: I don't have any scientific evidence or personal experience to back this up. It's strictly opinion based on what I think will work.
Disclaimer: I don't have any scientific evidence or personal experience to back this up. It's strictly opinion based on what I think will work.
A Brita(or any filter) does not remove ammonia
Ammonia in Tap Water - Causes & Removal | Multipure
There seems to be a lot of unnecessary things done in the aquarium hobby.
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Speaking as someone who has well water, personally I cycle all my tanks using just my well water, I just started another cycling today. This being that I have too many tanks to fuss with fixing my water, or as I call it, liquid rock, and only keep aquatic life that can handle my water, guppies being one.
Yes, it takes longer to cycle a tank, but once cycled, the overall care is so easy, my basic weekly care of 5 tanks, 1-55 gallon, 3-20 gallons, 1-10 gallon, takes me a whole hour and my tanks are all healthy and crystal clear with only using water that comes straight from my tap. Actually the 3 1/2 gallon cory fry nursery tank took me longer than the other 5 all together since I had to do it with a turkey baster so not to suck up the brand new babies, lol.
Maybe my luck comes from having sponge filters in all the tanks and once those are seeded with beneficial bacteria they keep the tanks clean. Or maybe because they are all planted. But mostly what I'm saying is you have to decide if you want to fix your water and keep fixing it, or just wait until your water in the tank cycles on it's own and use that.
Yes, it takes longer to cycle a tank, but once cycled, the overall care is so easy, my basic weekly care of 5 tanks, 1-55 gallon, 3-20 gallons, 1-10 gallon, takes me a whole hour and my tanks are all healthy and crystal clear with only using water that comes straight from my tap. Actually the 3 1/2 gallon cory fry nursery tank took me longer than the other 5 all together since I had to do it with a turkey baster so not to suck up the brand new babies, lol.
Maybe my luck comes from having sponge filters in all the tanks and once those are seeded with beneficial bacteria they keep the tanks clean. Or maybe because they are all planted. But mostly what I'm saying is you have to decide if you want to fix your water and keep fixing it, or just wait until your water in the tank cycles on it's own and use that.
Then you must ask if.the tank inhabitants NEED fixed water.
Most fish adapt quite well to water from the faucet. It's expensive, nerve-wracking, and unnecessary to fix something that doesn't need to be fixed.
1) water from the faucet
2) water conditioner
3) add to tank
Done
Most fish adapt quite well to water from the faucet. It's expensive, nerve-wracking, and unnecessary to fix something that doesn't need to be fixed.
1) water from the faucet
2) water conditioner
3) add to tank
Done
I do not use tapwater or well water for my aquariums, never have, never will
My water comes in bottles from a single source, stable pH, zero ammonia and all the minerals that you could ever wish for.
No Prime or anti-chlorine needed.
Reasons...
I refuse to drink the stuff coming from the tap so I refuse to force my fish to swim in it...it tastes foul, the water company add fluoride and many other things without any warning.
Bottled water comes in 500ml bottles....fish very happy, me very happy, recycling binmen very happy....and when bought in bulk like I do it actually costs less than the tapwater + chemical additives per year (especially when you have 5 aquariums to service and delivery is included in the purchase)
Win/win....happy fishies, lower costs and no spikes or other nasties in the water....and the coffee machine prefers it too cos it takes 4 times longer to get limescale and require descaling.
My water comes in bottles from a single source, stable pH, zero ammonia and all the minerals that you could ever wish for.
No Prime or anti-chlorine needed.
Reasons...
I refuse to drink the stuff coming from the tap so I refuse to force my fish to swim in it...it tastes foul, the water company add fluoride and many other things without any warning.
Bottled water comes in 500ml bottles....fish very happy, me very happy, recycling binmen very happy....and when bought in bulk like I do it actually costs less than the tapwater + chemical additives per year (especially when you have 5 aquariums to service and delivery is included in the purchase)
Win/win....happy fishies, lower costs and no spikes or other nasties in the water....and the coffee machine prefers it too cos it takes 4 times longer to get limescale and require descaling.
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The ph in the tap and tank are around 7.4-7.6 according to the API test kit (I have well water)
What is this holy water you speak of and where can I find it?I do not use tapwater or well water for my aquariums, never have, never will
My water comes in bottles from a single source, stable pH, zero ammonia and all the minerals that you could ever wish for.
No Prime or anti-chlorine needed.
Reasons...
I refuse to drink the stuff coming from the tap so I refuse to force my fish to swim in it...it tastes foul, the water company add fluoride and many other things without any warning.
Bottled water comes in 500ml bottles....fish very happy, me very happy, recycling binmen very happy....and when bought in bulk like I do it actually costs less than the tapwater + chemical additives per year (especially when you have 5 aquariums to service and delivery is included in the purchase)
Win/win....happy fishies, lower costs and no spikes or other nasties in the water....and the coffee machine prefers it too cos it takes 4 times longer to get limescale and require descaling.
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I tested the brita water with my test kit and it came out as reading zero ppm
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You can find out if the Britta removes the minerals by measuring the TDS (total dissolved solids) of both filtered and unfiltered water. A TDS meter is a very inexpensive little tool that tells you in an instant where you stand. I went through all the testing with gh/kh tests and it told me little. I know my water is very soft. The meter told me it was also almost devoid of minerals. I add Equilibrium and run crushed coral in my tanks to compensate for the lack of them in my tap water.
All this to say. If the britta removes the ammonia but doesn't remove all the minerals doing your water changes with filtered water until you have grown enough bacteria to clear out the ammonia you will be adding during a water change is the route to take. Once the tank is cycled tap water will be fine.
If it removes the minerals you may need to add them back. Without something such as a TDS meter you are not going to know how much you need to add the get the mineral level where it needs to be or even if you need to be adding them.
All this to say. If the britta removes the ammonia but doesn't remove all the minerals doing your water changes with filtered water until you have grown enough bacteria to clear out the ammonia you will be adding during a water change is the route to take. Once the tank is cycled tap water will be fine.
If it removes the minerals you may need to add them back. Without something such as a TDS meter you are not going to know how much you need to add the get the mineral level where it needs to be or even if you need to be adding them.
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Thank you so much!
My readings this morning. Doses with Prime and Stability after testing. I started cycling April 24
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You are so very welcome.
Dose your Stability as instructed but only add Prime along with a water change. If the ammonia in the tank is high enough to need Prime then it is high enough to warrant a water change. Add enough Prime with each water change to treat the full 10 gallons and not just the amount of water you are replacing. Even when adding Stability don't be surprised if it still takes a month or more for this tank to be fully cycled.
Once the cycle is complete and if you will be using your unfiltered tap water adding the Prime to the water before pouring it in there should keep the ammonia detoxed long enough for the bacteria to clear it out. Keep in mind, if the ammonia in the tap water is .5 even doing a 50% water change will only raise the ammonia level in the tank to .25 A fully cycled tank will clear that low amount out in a few hours.
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The point of Stability is to lower the parameters correct? So if my numbers are at .25 .25 5.0, I’m wondering if Stability is stalling or hindering the cycle process. ???You are so very welcome.
Even when adding Stability don't be surprised if it still takes a month or more for this tank to be fully cycled.
Once the cycle is complete and if you will be using your unfiltered tap water adding the Prime to the water before pouring it in there should keep the ammonia detoxed long enough for the bacteria to clear it out. Keep in mind, if the ammonia in the tap water is .5 even doing a 50% water change will only raise the ammonia level in the tank to .25 A fully cycled tank will clear that low amount out in a few hours.
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Right, Stability is supposed to be bottle bacteria. From all I've read about it though it is basically a band-aid. It doesn't contain the actual bacteria we are trying to grow in our tanks. Tetra Safe Start plus and Fritz-zyme Turbo Start 700 are supposed to have the same type bacteria we are growing so if someone is going to use bottled bacteria one of those 2 should work better. Bottled bacteria isn't absolutely necessary though. The tank will cycle without adding any.
I don't think it is hindering the cycling process. I'm not convinced it actually helps though. You can add it and the tank may complete its cycle in a month or don't add it and it may take a month to complete the cycle. This is one of those 6 of one or half dozen of another things.
Since you have it using it shouldn't cause a problem. Water changes to keep ammonia and nitrites down to where they are right now it the very best thing you can do to both protect your water pets and grow this cycle.
I say grow the cycle because that is what we are doing. We are growing bacteria. First comes ammonia eating bacteria followed by nitrite eating bacteria. Once we have enough of each to keep both ammonia and nitrites at a constant zero our cycle is done.
Some folks argue that the cycle really isn't complete because we've not grown the bacteria that removes the nitrates. I have to think at least 99% of us never accomplish growing that bacteria so we keep them down to safe levels with water changes.
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I’ve used Stability during the cycling process for 2 tanks.
As mattgirl said, it won’t hurt the cycling process but I’m not sure it helps much either.
While I’ve had different results than some (most?) folks report with TSS+, I’d recommend it over Stability if someone is set on using a bottled bacteria.
As mattgirl said, it won’t hurt the cycling process but I’m not sure it helps much either.
While I’ve had different results than some (most?) folks report with TSS+, I’d recommend it over Stability if someone is set on using a bottled bacteria.
As far as I know, a Britta filter can't remove ammonia. You need an RO system to do that.
I don't know what caused the difference in your tests. But its nearly certain that it wasn't the Britta filter.
I would strongly caution against counting on your Britta filter to reduce ammonia levels in your water.
I don't know what caused the difference in your tests. But its nearly certain that it wasn't the Britta filter.
I would strongly caution against counting on your Britta filter to reduce ammonia levels in your water.
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I am no chemist and it has been a very long time since high school for me but I have to wonder. Could there possibly be anything in tap water that reacted to the chemicals in the API solutions that could be registered as ammonia and not actually be ammonia? Could that something have been removed with the Britta filter. Probably not possible but does make me wonder.
Could be, I really have no idea. It could also be a faulty test, an error in the testing procedure, fluctuations in tap water conditions, or a dozen other things we'd never think of. But its probably not the Britta filter.
If those filters removed ammonia, I'd have to believe that it would have become common knowledge in the hobby by now. This can't be the first time someone has tried this out.
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I said "add the minerals back in like people who use RO water do". I didn't say use RO water. Since the RO process removes all mineral, people who use RO water need to add minerals back into the water.
Apparently you can buy them. I'm not real familiar, since I never had to do it, but I believe they come in a solution and you just add drops into the tank.
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Once again, I'm going to speak from past experience. Granted this is an extreme example.
My all time favorite fish are discus, I just plain totally love them!!!!
And back when I was younger I kept them. And I had a lot of success with them. I bought next to dead ones at the lfs because they were not taken care of properly, at bargain basement prices, raised them, and even had them breed.
But to do this, because of my well water, which is not discus friendly, I had to buy water. Because I had 3 large tanks of discus, this meant a lot of water. Remember I was younger and able to haul 50 gallons of bottled water home every week, heat it up in my bathtub filled with hot water and then do the water changes.
I don't regret the experience, I still miss my discus. But I'm at the point in my life where I want my fish keeping to be my therapy from a all too hectic life instead of just another job that needs to be done. I want it to be as easy as possible and that meant just giving in, embracing the water I have to work with and keep aquatic life that can handle my water.
No, I do not drink my water, but that is just a matter of me not liking the taste, the water is perfectly fine for my fish. It's actually my main success with my newest love, neo caradina shrimp because it's so hard, never a molting problem, the silly little things thrive in it, I'm now up to 3 tanks of them because they do so well.
And I have a wide variety of other fish that are thriving in the water. You would be amazed at the variety of fish you can keep in hard well water, I know I was once I decided to just work with my water.
And now I spend more time watching my tanks than taking care of them.
My all time favorite fish are discus, I just plain totally love them!!!!
And back when I was younger I kept them. And I had a lot of success with them. I bought next to dead ones at the lfs because they were not taken care of properly, at bargain basement prices, raised them, and even had them breed.
But to do this, because of my well water, which is not discus friendly, I had to buy water. Because I had 3 large tanks of discus, this meant a lot of water. Remember I was younger and able to haul 50 gallons of bottled water home every week, heat it up in my bathtub filled with hot water and then do the water changes.
I don't regret the experience, I still miss my discus. But I'm at the point in my life where I want my fish keeping to be my therapy from a all too hectic life instead of just another job that needs to be done. I want it to be as easy as possible and that meant just giving in, embracing the water I have to work with and keep aquatic life that can handle my water.
No, I do not drink my water, but that is just a matter of me not liking the taste, the water is perfectly fine for my fish. It's actually my main success with my newest love, neo caradina shrimp because it's so hard, never a molting problem, the silly little things thrive in it, I'm now up to 3 tanks of them because they do so well.
And I have a wide variety of other fish that are thriving in the water. You would be amazed at the variety of fish you can keep in hard well water, I know I was once I decided to just work with my water.
And now I spend more time watching my tanks than taking care of them.
Random Great Topic!
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