RODI water and salt mixes    1/18/12
Hello Crew, Neale to be specific.
<Greetings.>
This is Eric and I have a question about using salt mixes in conjunction with RODI water for use in freshwater aquariums. I am going to start using RODI water for my freshwater tanks due to the fact that my tap water has nitrates in it.
<Not necessarily a killer. Cichlids, especially Tanganyikans and Dwarf Cichlids need less than 20 mg/l, but barbs, tetras, and so on will be fine up to 50 mg/l, and the hardier species like Danios and Ricefish can handle up to 100 mg/l! Fast-growing plants can remove nitrate at an astonishing rate, so lightly-stocked aquaria with fast-growing plants (e.g., Indian Fern) can provide remarkably good water quality.>
I am using this salt mix recipe for making the water. Per 5 US Gallons, one half level teaspoons Baking Soda, one half level tablespoon Epsom Salt, and one half level teaspoon Marine Salt. I added the mix to a 5 Gallon bucket with RODI water, aerated and circulated it for 2 hours then tested the water for pH, KH, and GH. These were my results - pH 7.6, GH 160 mg/l, KH 70 mg/l. Any Ideas what I can do to get these parameters to were I need them for my tanks?
<Depends what you want to keep. But good middle-of-the-road values would be these: general hardness 100-150 mg/l; carbonate hardness 50-100 mg/l; and a pH between 7 and 7.5. Such water would suit all but the most sensitive South American and Southeast Asian fish, and would also be acceptable for this fish that dislike soft water, such as Platies and Guppies. Your water isn't very far off this range, so you might simply mix 3 parts tap water with 1 part RO water. That'd be economical and should be effective. You might go to 2 parts tap to 1 part RO if you wanted softer water. Obviously less adaptable fish, such as Mollies (which need very alkaline water) or Common Ram Cichlids (which need very acidic water) will need conditions outside this range. Review, and act accordingly.>
These are what I have in my tanks, one 75 gallon tank with a Flowerhorn Cichlid, one 75 gallon tank with three red tail
tinfoil barbs, two Pictus catfish and one common Pleco, and one 46 gallon tank with 3 rose barbs, three blue gouramis, three kissing gouramis, one common Pleco and one Asian sucker. Thank You for all the wonderful help that I have received from this great website!!
Eric
<Hope this helps. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: RODI water and salt mixes, for FW use     1/18/12
Well i am looking at using only RODI water for these aquariums no tap water, so with the values that I gave you in the previous e-mail what do you think I need to add to, or subtract from the salt mix to get within the right values from the different fish and aquariums that  I listed in the previous email?
<A "teaspoon" isn't a scientific unit, so we can't predict how much general hardness or carbonate hardness you'd get from adding 3 teaspoons of Epsom salt or one teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate. Instead, you have to experiment. Add the salt mix to a bucket of water, stir, test, and write down the values. If it isn't right, repeat, with more or less of each of the three salt mix ingredients, understanding that Epsom salt changes general hardness, sodium bicarbonate carbonate hardness, and marine salt mix a little bit of both.>
Here is a recap of what I have in my aquariums
75 gallon tank with a Flowerhorn Cichlid and a Common Plecostomus 75 gallon tank with three Red Tail Tinfoil Barbs, two Pictus Catfish and one Common Plecostomus
46 gallon tank with three Rose Barbs, three Blue Gouramis, three Kissing Gouramis, one Common Plecostomus and one Asian Sucker.
Thank You again
Eric
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: RODI water and salt mixes    1/18/12
Thank You so much Neale, I truly appreciate all the help and insight I have received from you and Wet Web Media.
<Happy to help. Good luck, Neale.>

Salt Treated Tank  5/6/11
Good Morning Crew,
<Paul>
I am happy to say this is the first time I have had to write in regarding poor fish keeping on my part. I recently set up a new 55 gal tank in my basement and much to my surprise during the spring thaw we had all sorts of water problems coming up through the floor and walls in my basement.
<No fun for sure>
During my panic to try to save the rest of my tank stands I neglected the new tank because it was not in dangers way, which is no excuse but it happens. After the danger was over and started the clean up I realized that the heater and filter had not been plugged in for a couple days and the 2 out of the 3 Aulonocara Lwanda that are in there had what looked like a white fuzz on them. So I did a 40% water change and added some aquarium salt (1 tablespoon per 10 gallons) and turned the heat up to 80 degrees.
Left it run for 3 days and did another 40% water change and treated with salt again. The fungus its gone but one of them has a bad cloudy spot on his eye which I doubt will ever go way but I am hopeful.
<Will likely go away in a few weeks time>
This weekend I will be doing my regular maintenance without adding the salt.
<Mmm, rather than "Aquarium Salt", see Neale's formula here for these Great African Lakes fish:
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/RiftVlySaltMixF.htm
I am getting a breeding set of 3 4"-5" Mpimbwe Frontosa
<Need more room than this...>
pretty soon and I would like to put them in this tank. How soon should I wait before I can move these fish around?
<A few weeks>
And when/if I do move them should I do almost a complete water change or will the salt have no lasting effects in the tank?
<I'd change the "saltiness" out over time... no more than 50% changes in a week>
Paul
<Bob Fenner>
Re: Salt Treated Tank  5/6/11
Bob,
<Pablo>
Thanks for the fast reply! I should of looked into what the salt was going to do to the water but I needed to treat these fish with something other then harsh chemicals.
<Mmm, well, actually, combinations of metals and non-metals (salts) can be very harsh indeed>
Thank you for pointing that out to me. I know that the Frontosas should be in a bigger tank but I have 4 Synodontis multipunctatus in my 125 gal that from what I have read can interrupt cichlid breeding and I have high hopes to get them to spawn.
<Perhaps another system? You don't need that sofa! Cut that bed in half length-wise! Shower in the sink and fill up the tub! Cheers, BobF>
Re: Salt Treated Tank, African Cichlid Repro./Breeding   5/6/11
Bob,
<Paolo>
Believe it or not I have had this discussion with my wife and she feels that the tub should be off limits. No sense of imagination I say.
<Heeee!>
Should of seen the look on her face when I first said that a 55 gal was too small. I might have to put my Aulonocaras in the 55 with the Synodontis.
<A better use of space; yes>
They take to<o> long to grow
<Lots (daily) water changes and frequent (several times daily) small feedings...>
and color from fry and I'm running out of floor space for grow-out tanks.
On a different note I have a 72 gal bow front tank that currently holds 12 Tropheus Ndole Bay that I am trying to get to breed, so far they haven't spawned yet (not for lack of trying on the males part). Is it safe to let these release them on their own in the tank?
<I would not... IF you're desire is to optimize/maximize "output" you'll need a separate grow out system>
There is to much rock work in there to try and catch the holding females for me to even think about trying as well as the stress it causes on the whole system.
<Mmm, well...>
I also have a 90 gal tank that holds 12 juvenile Tropheus Ikolas, 12 Eretmodus cyanostictus and 4 Cyprichromis Leptosoma with a gravel substrate. I would dearly like the Eretmodus to spawn but I am afraid that there is <number> to <again> many other fish<es> in the tank as well as the wrong kind of substrate (sand I read is preferred). What do you think the odds of successfully spawning and the survival rate of the fry would be?
<With a bit in the way of provided habitat: http://www.cichlidae.com/article.php?id=222 easily enough>
Thank you
Paul
<Velkommen, B>

Requesting small freshwater aquarium stocking advice 3/26/09
Hi Neale.
<Hello Nick,>
Super duper quick question for you. Is this considered Rift Valley salt:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3974+4198&pcatid=4198
<Yes.>
There were a couple Cichlid salts and I just wanted to make sure I got the right one in reference to our below conversation.
<If "rolling your own" doesn't appeal, then any of these commercial cichlid salts should stabilize pH by raising carbonate hardness (~ alkalinity). Pick whichever is economical, and start by using a much lower dose than required for Malawian cichlids; I'd suggest 25-33% dosages to begin with.>
Thanks so much and see, sometimes when I say I'll be quick, I really am (unfortunately that's pretty rare though!). Thanks a ton!-Nick
<Cheers, Neale.>

A few Kribensis questions 4/22/08 Good afternoon. My son's Kribs have become parents, and the fry have been swimming freely now for about a week. The parents and fry are in a well planted 14 gallon tank by themselves and the parents seem to be doing a great job herding them around and leading them to food (and not eating them). <Very good! Do check the pH though: if you have a pH above 7, you'll get mostly males; if the pH is below 7, mostly females. Tropical fish shops -- for obvious reasons -- only want equal numbers of males and females, so establish the pH and then decide whether raising the fry is worth it. Remember, surplus fry in the community tank will eventually get attacked by the parents as they prepare to breed again, and that's when things become chaotic (and bloody).> The stand on which the 14 gal aquarium is on is rather large, and he was recently given a 30 long (with lighting, filter, heater!) that he would like to eventually set there, but I was not sure what the reaction would be of the Krib parents if they partially drained their tank to move it with the Kribs in it to a smaller surface, or netted them all to a temporary container/tank then moved the tank and put them back if the fry might be endangered by the parents. <Parents will likely eat the eggs/fry, and then spawn a couple of weeks later.> If they do need to wait, what is the safest time/age of the fry to move the tank. The 30 might be their eventual home after it has been properly cycled in a month or two, which is also why they would like to be able to move it sooner than later to allow time for that. <You can't move parents and fry, and then expect the "bond" between them to be stable. Rather, you wait until one batch of fry is mature enough to rear yourself (which you could do right now, but is easier after 2-3 weeks) and then remove all the fry. Then move the parents, and let them start over.> Also, I have a tank with Kribs of my own and was wondering about salts. <Kribs do not need salt. What they ideally want is soft to moderately hard water at pH 7. Anything other than that is less than ideal, and causes problems with sex ratio in the brood.> I noticed that marine salt and cichlid salt has a lot of other trace minerals that a lot that plants actually like quite a bit compared to aquarium salt which is just sodium chloride, namely potassium, calcium and magnesium. <No relation here: the minerals in marine salt aren't the ones plants use. So one doesn't remove the need for another. The *elements* like potassium may be the same, but the minerals (*compounds*) are completely different. Similar to the fact we need oxygen to breathe, but can't "breathe" carbon dioxide, despite the fact that gas contains oxygen.> Are any of these salts safe using or beneficial in a community Krib tank (with barbs, glassfish) that also has an S.A.E. and Otos. <Glassfish are quite happy with salt, but none of your other fish want/tolerate salt.> If not, and hopefully not a dumb question, what are the non-salt tolerant fish non tolerant of specifically that are in these different types of salts? Sodium in any form? <It's complicated, and to do with pH, carbonate hardness, general hardness, and salinity -- all different ways of describing different aspects of the mineral composition of water. Every environment is different, and fish evolved to work in one set of conditions may not work in another. The best thing with community fish is to aim for soft to moderate hard, zero salinity, neutral pH water. Apart from livebearers, most community fish will be very happy with that. Cheers, Neale.>

Rift lake salts, GH & KH 10/3/07 Hi WWM crew, I used to have a community setup and used KH salts to buffer the system and maintain a neutral pH. I now have a community tank with a number of cichlids (calvus, dickfeldi, Kribensis) so I am using rift lake salts. I was advised to use only the rift lake salts and not the KH salts as well. I've just had a major shift in pH (to acid) and the cichlids are all sick as a result. My question is: should I be maintaining the KH buffer salts as well as the rift salts or should the rift salts have the same effect? Thanks in advance!! Lachlan <Rift Valley cichlid salts should maintain KH and pH all by themselves. Essentially, Rift Valley salts are packaged salts for raising the GH, KH, and pH of regular water so that it matches that found in either Lake Malawi or Tanganyika. That said, if you're keeping Rift Valley cichlids, you should also have some built-in carbonate hardness reserve in the aquarium. I would strongly recommend the use of either crushed coral inside a canister filter or an undergravel filter built with a coral sand/crushed coral mix. Sticking lumps of Tufa rock in the tank won't work, because for the calcium carbonate to have any value as a buffer, water must be flowing past a vast surface area of the stuff. If you have a pH crash below 7.0, then clearly you weren't adding enough Rift Valley salt given the ambient softness of your local water supply and/or the stocking level of your aquarium and/or the use of acidifying materials in the tank such as bogwood. Cheers, Neale>