Fluval Aquaplus and San Francisco tap water

My lfs sold me Apuaplus water conditioner and told me to use 3x the instructions on the bottle because SF tap water has ”so much more” chloramines. Is this true or safe? I have near perfect water conditions but am having mysterious fish deaths. Should I just switch to Prime? I asked the lfs owner about Prime and he says it’s too strong. Should I switch to a different lfs? Thanks.

 

Welcome to Fishlore!

If it is true I would switch to Prime. It is not too strong. What tests are you using? As for the lfs it depends on if you like their stock more than info. If they have good fish I wouldn't switch I just wouldn't ask a whole lot of questions. Or if you do research it when you get home.

 

I don’t have a gh test kit yet. I have the API master test kit. Been testing the ammonia, nitrites and ph. Have not tested for nitrates because I have been doing 10-25% water changes because my ph keeps drifting down to about 6.8 because of the oversized piece of Redmoor wood I have in the tank. I did not soak it before I put it in the aquarium and had major tannins released into the water. It slowed down fish-less cycling but I figured with enough water changes everything will be ok.

The stock at my lfs seems to be all healthy and variety of fish is vast. I even asked about special orders like killifish and freshwater shrimp, he says he can get it all. I’ll just stop asking him for advice on care and stick to the friendly help here.
Thanks!

 

You could throw some crushed coral in the filter to help boost your KH to keep your pH from swinging so much. Then you won't have to do so many water changes. Weekly 50% would be fine.

 

It’s only a 5 gallon tank and I’m not trying to keep cichlid here, I don’t want to over do it. How much crushed coral should I throw in a mesh bag in the false back? I already have one small bag of BioMax and one of activated carbon in the back.

Thank you for your knowledge and quick responses.

 

Maybe start with a 1/2 C. and see what that does. Make sure to rinse it realllllly good. The dust will make your pH jump up really fast and that is not good. It will only buffer so high so it doesnt matter if you get too much.