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This has not been the easiest summer for many of us and in many unusual ways..
I started using tap water from the outdoor faucets on the hotter days to make for simpler, faster and more frequent water changes. I’d been using water from the kitchen sink tap for many months.
I made sure the parameters were the same or as close as possible, from temp to ph etc.
I added about 15-20% ro water as well since that was a typical combination from the sink fill ups.
There were no major spikes of anything before or after a wc. No ammonia no nitrites nitrates stayed down until ferts added. So on and so forth.
But several fish in separate tanks started showing signs of fin loss among other things. I increased frequency of water changes thinking perhaps all of the extra fish from my breeding endlers was overwhelming them but this didn’t help. At all.
One tank has been particularly hard hit and I’ve lost a few fish.
It’s not immediately after a water change or even within 24h.
It’s more as though it’s a slow decline that they suddenly can’t tolerate any longer.
I’m going back to the slower method of sink refills of course, but I’m wondering if anyone else has ever had a similar experience? That your tap water from one faucet was somehow different from another?
Though both taps have the same ph (8.2-8.4) my tank ph numbers have been dropping again. They’re all hovering around 6.8, a couple closer to 6.6 and only the one mysterious holdout (that was 8.0 for a while) is near 7.2-7.4. I know the ro water would lower it but I was cutting back on that too for a while to try to keep the ph up a smidge.
I’m at a loss as to what to do and why it’s only affecting some fish in some tanks and not all the fish in every tank.
I started using tap water from the outdoor faucets on the hotter days to make for simpler, faster and more frequent water changes. I’d been using water from the kitchen sink tap for many months.
I made sure the parameters were the same or as close as possible, from temp to ph etc.
I added about 15-20% ro water as well since that was a typical combination from the sink fill ups.
There were no major spikes of anything before or after a wc. No ammonia no nitrites nitrates stayed down until ferts added. So on and so forth.
But several fish in separate tanks started showing signs of fin loss among other things. I increased frequency of water changes thinking perhaps all of the extra fish from my breeding endlers was overwhelming them but this didn’t help. At all.
One tank has been particularly hard hit and I’ve lost a few fish.
It’s not immediately after a water change or even within 24h.
It’s more as though it’s a slow decline that they suddenly can’t tolerate any longer.
I’m going back to the slower method of sink refills of course, but I’m wondering if anyone else has ever had a similar experience? That your tap water from one faucet was somehow different from another?
Though both taps have the same ph (8.2-8.4) my tank ph numbers have been dropping again. They’re all hovering around 6.8, a couple closer to 6.6 and only the one mysterious holdout (that was 8.0 for a while) is near 7.2-7.4. I know the ro water would lower it but I was cutting back on that too for a while to try to keep the ph up a smidge.
I’m at a loss as to what to do and why it’s only affecting some fish in some tanks and not all the fish in every tank.
