Re: Soft, acid water

[Doug Brown <debrown@kodak.com>]

>The substrate in the 30g tank is fluorite and sand, in the 10g apisto tank
>it's regular old aquarium gravel.  Does fluorite cause significant
>fluctuations in water chemistry?

No, fluorite won't cause any problems. With most minerals you only need to
be concerned with carbonate leaching. Put a drop of vinegar (or stronger
acid) on it if you're concerned, and see if CO2 bubbles form. If so, you
won't want to use that rock in a soft/acid tank. On a related topic, check
the gravel you buy closely. I was recently annoyed to find lots of shell
bits in a brand I have been buying for years.

>I'm trying the suggestion I got earlier which was to steep peat (say that 5
>times fast) in hot water and slowly add the resulting "tea" with the next
>water change.

It really helps to keep track of pH and total hardness too so that you know
how effective your recipe is. I agree with Randy, peat is an OK short term
solution, but if you're even halfway serious about the hobby, an ro unit is
a worthwhile investment.

Have you noticed Randy's .sig - "They spawned after I did massive ro water
changes"?

- -Doug Brown
debrown@kodak.com