13
votes
Would a small amount of bottled water mixed in with an aquarium harm the fish?
Don't panic, it's probably okay!
The key thing here is that you caught the error and asked the question. I'll cover both bases here and try and explain a few things (forgive me if you already know ...
- 5,135
8
votes
Accepted
What is special about an aquarium using no carbon dioxide, no fertilizer and no filter?
It is special in a sense that most aquarium setups include a lot of equipment, mainly a filter; the filter facilitates cultivation of nitrifying bacteria that are responsible for neutralization of ...
- 145
8
votes
Accepted
Fish swimming with mouth always touching the water surface
Fish swimming with their mouth constantly glued to water surface is a sign that they are gasping for breath. However, the reason for them being short for breath usually isn't the low oxygen ...
- 145
7
votes
Accepted
Best way to adjust fish tank water chemistry
Firstly, I'll go for my old refrain "consistency is key". It's better to have consistent water parameters than changing them continually to 'chase the perfect conditions'.
Firstly, your nitrite ...
- 5,135
6
votes
Can I add soda water to my tank to supply CO₂ for my plants?
Soda water uses carbonic acid to produce CO2 so in theory it should work, but it is not that easy: carbonic acid is as the name says an acid, and any type of acid will lower the water's pH too fast ...
- 19.5k
6
votes
Accepted
What are normal pH fluctuations, and what could be causing extreme fluctuations?
The pH should not change more than 0,2 during 24 hours. If it is more, it can stress your fish.
The goal is to have a neutral pH of 7,0 for most fish, but this is very dependent on the type of fish ...
- 19.5k
5
votes
Need advice on handling a recently recovered sick betta
I highly doubt that water change would stress her that much. However here is what you do. Prepare gigantic batch of good water, get two tubes and another empty bucket. And then use dripping method. ...
- 915
5
votes
Accepted
Why do my Glofish Skirt tetras stay on surface after 30% water change?
When fish goes to the surface of the water there is some thing wrong, like
the lack of oxygen or the presence of poisonous substances in the water.
The water test you are using is not reliable and it ...
- 19.5k
5
votes
CO₂ supply with KH 0 - pH effect
It sounds as though you already have a good knowledge of how water chemistry works.
In basic terms, KH (carbonate hardness) affects how much the pH can change within the water. The presence of the ...
- 5,135
5
votes
Accepted
Is a carbon or cartridge filter necessary in an aquarium with a simple biofilter?
Firstly, thank you for reading about the nitrogen cycle before getting fish! That's a +1 straight away.
Biofilter is a bit of a funny term, really, because all filters technically become biofilters as ...
- 5,135
5
votes
New betta problems - I was unaware of cycling before new tank
1. Get a water test and update your question with the readings of pH-ammonia-nitrite-nitrate.
2. Stop feeding your fish to get the bioload down.
3. Keep changing water 20% each day (use dechlorinator ...
- 19.5k
5
votes
Can't reduce my nitrite/nitrate levels, any help appreciated!
The first thing you need to do is to add some aquarium salt, this is done to counteract the effect of the nitrite on your fish' gills.
The aquarium salt concentration to use is 0,3%.
Do water changes ...
- 19.5k
4
votes
Aquarium is stuck on a nitrite spike
Basically it is indeed a patience game.
But how often do you change the water, and how much? Since your doing a fishless cycle (which is indeed the recommened way to do it), you don't actually have to ...
- 1,285
4
votes
Aquarium water becomes overly acidic very quickly
If you're experiencing sudden drops in PH after a water change, run an experiment by filling a bucket with tap water. Test the PH immediately after filling and then again the next 24 and 48 hours. If ...
4
votes
Accepted
Axolotl nitrate levels high- more frequent water changes?
Water changes will indeed reduce nitrate levels within your tank and with 80ppm you'll definitely want to reduce that as soon as you can.
You could increase the percentage of your water changes, but ...
- 5,135
4
votes
Can I add soda water to my tank to supply CO₂ for my plants?
First we need to clarify, what is exactly in the bottled water:
To make it sparkle, the companies add CO2 gas. (In some dwells this gas was taken by the water, when dropping through the different ...
- 5,915
4
votes
Massive koi death in pond, without an apparent reason -- need help!
What I think might have happened before your koi started to die is this. As the temperature in your pond got above 20 °C, the koi eggs started to mature, and after some days of temperature still ...
- 19.5k
4
votes
Is the filter change necessary?
No, you do not need to change the filter material. But what you need to do is remove the charcoal and replace it with new filter foam (filter sponge).
The charcoal is only needed if you are removing ...
- 19.5k
4
votes
Would a small amount of bottled water mixed in with an aquarium harm the fish?
First, as Henders says, this is almost certainly not an issue at all. But I would continue to use tank water to thaw the krill from here on out.
In fact, I'd go a step further: you can put the tank ...
4
votes
What’s wrong with my Betta fish?
It's always hard to identify when a fish is doing poorly. But what I always recommend is making sure they have the right environment. That's always key to having a healthy fish. Once they're in the ...
- 2,723
4
votes
New GloFish are staying at top and sides of tank, not swimming around
Sorry to hear about your fish. Please don't despair, a lot of shops set you up to fail. From the sounds of what you've written in your question, you did everything right.
Firstly, make sure you read ...
- 5,135
4
votes
Accepted
Female guppies are fine, but male is sick
High concentration of nitrite ions (1 mg/L of NO2-) is the most concerning thing in the list of your water parameters; it is many times above the toxicity threshold, because nitrites may start to ...
- 145
4
votes
Why do my Betta fish keep dying?
The existing answer gives a good course of action and one of the comments suggesting the source of the fish (i.e. the local fish store) might be a good one to follow up. Some fish stores even offer a ...
- 606
3
votes
Axolotl nitrate levels high- more frequent water changes?
Test your tap water for nitrates to be sure that isn't contributing to your problem. And yes, more frequent water changes can help with keeping nitrate levels down. The addition of ghost shrimp can ...
- 71
3
votes
Could my gravel be causing my tank to be cloudy?
What are the differences between the tanks? If the cloudy tank has fake plants in it and the others have real plants. You add a little salt to the real plant tanks. Water softerns in houses for well ...
- 61
3
votes
Can I switch from using distilled water to tap water in aquarium?
It depends.
As others have mentioned, the quality of water in different places is always different. To determine if your water is suitable for aquarium usage, run a battery of tests with the water, ...
- 2,516
3
votes
Can I switch from using distilled water to tap water in aquarium?
Short answer: No
Longer answer:
But you should probably not do this change at once. The fish might need some time to adjust to the 'new' water. And you should never do a 100% water replacement ...
- 1,285
3
votes
Does Juwel Cirax (ceramic biological filters) affect pH in the aquarium
I don't think that it would affect pH in any way (and definitely would not raise it), but I can't find any source to back this up.
But about 2-3 months ago I added Cirax to my 180 litre tank (47 ...
- 1,285
3
votes
Accepted
How long to wait before I remove the old filter?
3 weeks or so should be enough to get some of the bacteria to transfer.
Note that only so much will grow in the NEW pump until the load is greater, so you will not get a full transfer from existing ...
- 159
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