Re: Water conditioning-(was Cacatuoides EGGS!!! Yiippee,, I'm a eg)

[IDMiamiBob <IDMiamiBob@aol.com>]

Tim Ellis writes:

<<I was wondering just what steps you go thru to condition your water. Mainly
the
> peat usage. I am using pure RO water, adding trace elements, adding sodium
> bicarbonate for buffering,>

If it were that difficult, I would have given up a long time ago.  Just put
some sphagnum peat in a box filter, and set it in a corner of the tank.
Marbles will probably be needed to get it to sink.

> and using Aqua Lab's PH Minus.(lots of phosphate!) I
> dont have any problem getting the PH down to 6.5, but I would like to try
and set
> up a tank for my Iniridae and I've been told this fish needs aq PH of 5.0 or
> lower. If I use the same stuff to get down to 5.0 the phosphate level would
be
> terribly high and of course here would come the algae(YUCK!) Could you share
a
> little of your technics. ><snip>

Wrong product.  Look for "pH DOWN" by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals.  Zero
phosphates.  If I had the tools, I would probably discover that it uses nitric
or hydrochloric acid.

I also use Mardel's "Tank Soft" in tanks where I don't have peat filters, but
I am getting ready to switch over to peat all the way around.  I do 10%
changes each week, and the peat can keep my water soft and push acidity down
to around 5.5 by itself (This outcome will vary depending on your water's
initial dissolved solids parameters).  I change the peat when it no longer
keeps the water where I want it.  Also, less peat in the filter will soften
and acidify it less, and more will reach 10 ppm and pH 5.5 more quickly after
each change.

Bob Dixon
Bob Dixon