Lfs 'advice' .. Is It Right?

[TombedOrchestra]

Went to the LFS today to buy water conditioner and some plants.

He told me Seachem Water Conditioner was the best over API Conditioner. I think it's personal preference. He told me to add full dose every water change. True? He said natural spring water (where I get my water for the tank) carries heavy metals and this would help get rid of them.

He also told me since my pH was high, to add a pH rock (a white one for about $4) He said it will very gradually lower the pH and very very slowly disintegrate over time. 1) Do these rocks actually lower the pH, and if so.. how much? and 2) Are these actually good for the tank?

Last thing.. he told me to add aquarium salt every other time I change the water. 1 tsp per gallon (so 55 tsp for my 55 tank. That's a TON, right? ..... and he said that they go around all their tanks at the store and taste the water and if it's slightly salty it's good, and if it's not, they add a little salt. ... Aren't you not supposed to 'taste' aquarium water?

 

[Smalltownfishfriend]

I personally think seachem prime is the best!! As for the salt... If it isn't broke don't fix it.. I would not add salt unless their is a specific problem,..

 

[Discus-Tang]

Well...uhm, what an, uhm...most peculiar method of checking the fish tanks. They could easily contract a disease from that, such as TB. Don't add salt to your aquariums unless treating a disease.

 

[TexasGuppy]

Don't know about your water source, but SeaChem Prime does remove toxic metals. Rocks will not lower Ph, some rocks will raise it depending on the rock.

 

[GreekGills]

My lfs puts a little salt in to combat ich. They aren't able to carry most of your typical beginner or intermediate fish because of the salt content.

 

[pugletfan]

Prime is certainly a good water conditioner.

I would not trust a "pH rock".

 

[Mick Frost]

Spring water can contain heavy metals, yes. keep this in mind if any problems arise from seemingly unrelated changes in your maintenance.
PH being "high" is less of an issue than PH bouncing around from trying to fix it. If your fish are fine with the PH as is (would like to know what it is), leave it. If it does indeed need to come down, Indian Almond Leaves or driftwood would be a more predictable solution than some gimmick on the store shelf.
The biggest problem I see is the mental plasticity of the guy at the LFS. To offer you any direct advice on 3 separate topics he should have asked you questions non stop for at least 15 minutes. Might have something to do with all the aquarium water they drink.

 

[danhutchins]

Went to the LFS today to buy water conditioner and some plants.

He told me Seachem Water Conditioner was the best over API Conditioner. I think it's personal preference. He told me to add full dose every water change. True? He said natural spring water (where I get my water for the tank) carries heavy metals and this would help get rid of them.

He also told me since my pH was high, to add a pH rock (a white one for about $4) He said it will very gradually lower the pH and very very slowly disintegrate over time. 1) Do these rocks actually lower the pH, and if so.. how much? and 2) Are these actually good for the tank?

Last thing.. he told me to add aquarium salt every other time I change the water. 1 tsp per gallon (so 55 tsp for my 55 tank. That's a TON, right? ..... and he said that they go around all their tanks at the store and taste the water and if it's slightly salty it's good, and if it's not, they add a little salt. ... Aren't you not supposed to 'taste' aquarium water?

Never heard of anyone tasting the tank water. Sounds like the guy has issues.

 

[maggie thecat]

He's right about conditioners and heavy metals, but the rest?

Salt has some very specific uses. pH shouldn't be tinkered with under most circumstances.

 

[chadcf]

Fish poop in the water man. If nothing else please at least ignore the advise about tasting the water, yuck! Plus measuring salinity by taste is a pretty imprecise method. Yikes I'd probably find a new store after that one.

 

[BRDrew]

Rocks may lower pH but they also raise kH and gH in the water. Some rocks might actually raise the pH. If you really need to make your water more acidic I would go with wood. Measure the pH if its 7.5 or lower I would say you are fine.

The salt part for a tropical freshwater tank I just call it stupid unless there is a problem.

 

[TombedOrchestra]

Rocks may lower pH but they also raise kH and gH in the water. Some rocks might actually raise the pH. If you really need to make your water more acidic I would go with wood. Measure the pH if its 7.5 or lower I would say you are fine.

The salt part for a tropical freshwater tank I just call it stupid unless there is a problem.

pH is 8.3. I am looking to add driftwood.. I like the look of it and it would help lower the pH as well.

Seachem Prime.... do I just add it to the tank following directions? I'm always afraid I'm going to dump it near a fish and they will swim in it and overdose... lol

 

[BRDrew]

pH is 8.3. I am looking to add driftwood.. I like the look of it and it would help lower the pH as well.

Seachem Prime.... do I just add it to the tank following directions? I'm always afraid I'm going to dump it near a fish and they will swim in it and overdose... lol

Just follow the instructions on the bottle. I have dumped it straight down on fish and shrimp and never had any problems but ideally you would want to mix it in with your tap water in a bucket and then pour it into the aquarium.

 

[AxolotlAquarist]

Don't lick the water. Not only to fish produce lots of waste, there's a lot of chemicals in water conditioner. Very, very smart of you not to trust what the LFS tells you. A lot more fish would be alive today if only it wasn't for PetSmart and Petco.

 

[Mcasella]

pH is 8.3. I am looking to add driftwood.. I like the look of it and it would help lower the pH as well.

Seachem Prime.... do I just add it to the tank following directions? I'm always afraid I'm going to dump it near a fish and they will swim in it and overdose... lol

I have dumped it directly on and into tanks with wild caught or otherwise sensitive fish (including several juvenile angelfish that were trying to see if I had food), they show no issues from it, you can safely dose prime five times the normal dose without harm.
Driftwood might lower ph, but your ph isn't terrible, others on here wuth liquid rock learn what fish can handle that and stick with them. Swinging ph is more dangerous to the fish (most rocks are either inert or will raise ph, I haven't heard of one lowering it).
Salt irritates fish, it is used to help generate slime coat when fish are sick and against certain organisms that can't handle salinity changes.
I stick by prime and sometimes stress coat (as it does what salt does without irritating the fish), I do not like other conditions when they require so much per dose compared to others.
I would never drink from a fish tank, even the cleanest one, (okay I have tasted it on a dare when i was younger, however that water was exceptionally clean), pet store tanks are going to be harboring some nasty things regardless of how many times they do water changes, and, as another member pointed out, fish use it as a bathroom.
Take what lfs people give you with a grain of salt and tuck that ruler they carry so proudly back into their pocket.

 

[DuaneV]

I actually think he's okay with most of his advice other than the salt. Freshwater fish do NOT need salt added to their tank. If the store is adding salt, its to help fight against ich (ich is always present but only manifests under stressful conditions, i.e., aquarium store). There ARE better ways to deal with the PH issue, but there are definitely certain rocks that will do just that. 8.3 is on the higher side, but trying to add things to bring it down, making it exactly the same every water change, etc., is tougher than a slightly high PH. It also depends on the fish you keep.

 

[smee82]

Very bad advice except about adding the conditioner.

 

[Hunter1]

As far as the application of Prime, I add mine to the bucket before I fill it, then it is diluted before it ever hits the tank and all of the chlorine is neutralized before it hits the tank too.

Reason I haven’t started using my Python yet.

 

[TexasGuppy]

What kind of rock will lower pH? Uncle Google isn't any help.



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