Loaches Online Forum

i recently moved to florida, and money has become very tight. i've been thinking about swiching to tap water on my tanks to save a few bucks.my big concern is my hillstream tank, which has already been decimated by loss. I had my mother taking care of my tank while i was away working and 3/4s of my population died. the tank also house tangerine tiger shrimp and red cherry shrimp because their tank broke in the move. the problem is my tap water is pretty far off from my tank water. i'm on well water here so i have two options of "tap" water i have before the water softener and salt tank, and after those.

my tank sits at

Ph 7.4
Gh 14
Kh 1

my TDS meter is MIA thanks to the move

my well water straight from the well (before the softener) is

Ph 7.4
Gh 28
Kh 8
however this water is very very high in iron, so high that the water has a yellow tint to it, and has a large amount of sulphur. I'm not sure what other metals may be present in that water, and that is a concern for me

water coming from the tap is pretty bad itself
Ph 8.2
Gh is over 20 (stopped testing at 20 on this test)
Kh 8

i know i can run airstone in a jug over night to remove the sulfur. idk maybe i'm freaking out and everything would be okay. i just don't want to lose all of my hillstreams or my shrimp when i can't afford to restock my tank.

If you already own a RO filter, the cost is just more water usage and replacement filter cartridges? I suppose you could try solar distillation...

Ardillakilla wrote:If you already own a RO filter, the cost is just more water usage and replacement filter cartridges? I suppose you could try solar distillation...

what is solar distalation?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_still

But it's a long shot...

What is it you find expensive about RO assuming you already own the filter? Maybe you're changing filter cartridges too often? Or generating too much "waste" water?

i don't own a RO system i buy the water from LFS. so really the buying of the water, and gas driving to and from.

As you probably already know, that's the most uneconomical way to obtain RO water and will cost a lot more in the long run than getting your own filter.

Rainwater capture is another way, but if your rains are irregular you may need to figure out how to store enough, or commit to buying some RO when the rain water is scarce.

You could also incorporate some of Diana Walstad's el natural tank methods. These type of tanks use plants and soil to help recycle the water. With loaches, perhaps a sump or external filter with plants and soil, would be more ideal.

Aquaria Central has a lot of info on setting up these kind of tanks. http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/el-natural/

The cheapest and easiest thing to do is to find a used RO system from a nearby seller and replace what cartridges are needed.

chefkeith wrote:You could also incorporate some of Diana Walstad's el natural tank methods. These type of tanks use plants and soil to help recycle the water. With loaches, perhaps a sump or external filter with plants and soil, would be more ideal.

Aquaria Central has a lot of info on setting up these kind of tanks. http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/el-natural/

while i love idea of setting up a walstad style tank, its opposite of what i am trying to do which is save money.

Ardillakilla wrote:The cheapest and easiest thing to do is to find a used RO system from a nearby seller and replace what cartridges are needed.

not really easiest, not exactly cheapest, while the unit and filters may be cheaper, i still need storage for the water, and equip to plum in to my existing water system, at the house i am renting...

Diana wrote:Rainwater capture is another way, but if your rains are irregular you may need to figure out how to store enough, or commit to buying some RO when the rain water is scarce.

rain actually becomes more regular as the summer months move in. i may do that for the hillstream. supposed to dump on us tonight, i have 3 g buckets outside to catch as much as i can from it.

i decided that i would run my betta tanks and crayfish tank on my tap and continue my hillstream on ro. the switch will save me about $4.50 (depending of the wc amount for the week)

thank you all for the responses though!

The Skinny Chef wrote:
while i love idea of setting up a walstad style tank, its opposite of what i am trying to do which is save money.

Actually, these are low tech tanks, that can be done with little to no money at all. Many of these el natural tanks are filterless and use no electricity. Some plant clippings is all you need to get started. Submerge the plant roots in the aquarium water and get it plenty of natural sunlight. As the plant grows, it will remove nutrients from the water, and should eliminate the need for RO water changes. You replenish those nutrients with fish waste and tap water. The well water you have is probably terrific for growing plants. Florida has some of most beautiful outdoor landscapes in the world for that reason. You just need to try to bring a little bit of that outdoor beauty to your tank. Quite a few people grow potted plants just sitting near or on top of their aquariums with just the roots exposed to the aquarium water. The imagination is the only limit.