Cichlid Fish Forum banner

Hard water looking for ideas?

1K views 19 replies 3 participants last post by  pharrix 
#1 ·
It seems that over the last few months my mineral deposit in water has risen. If the water circulates I end up with everything getting covered in white. The top water in the tank gets little white things that adhere to each other or just group up.

I'm interested in ideas to remove the deposits to prevent build up and getting everything gunked up.. I have a ro unit but do not really want to use it. Just because of the hassle.
 
#2 ·
It would be good to have more information. Like how often you change the water, and how much? Do you add water when it runs low instead of doing a water change? What is the current hardness and pH, and alkalinity? If the water in the tank is a lot harder than you tap water, then perhaps you are adding too much of something to it, or topping off the tank when it's low and thereby increasing hardness.
 
#3 ·
vann59 said:
It would be good to have more information. Like how often you change the water, and how much? Do you add water when it runs low instead of doing a water change? What is the current hardness and pH, and alkalinity? If the water in the tank is a lot harder than you tap water, then perhaps you are adding too much of something to it, or topping off the tank when it's low and thereby increasing hardness.
New tank, non cycled, also happens with water storage container. Not adding anything to the water don't need to at this time. I'll have to get a kit and test, I have kept cichlids before with no issues.
 
#6 ·
I would test the water before making changes to it. The visual clue of seeing white stuff is not specific enough to know what, if any changes need to be made to the water chemistry. Routine water testing should be a given for healthy fish at any rate. I have seen similar white stuff at times myself, but not that often. Calcium can precipitate out of solution, and is especially prone to appear as a scale at the water line, and may float around a bit. Unless you have a lot, it may not present a threat at all.
 
#7 ·
I would recommend purchasing a kH & gH test kit so that you can get an idea on your water quality.

Since this has been a relatively recent problem, I have a couple of additional questions. Have you noticed any reduced water pressure when using the faucets or shower in your home? Is the problem occuring only in the aquariums or throughout the house?

Do you know how old your hot water heater is and is it gas or electric?
 
#8 ·
Pressure in the house seems fine.

Water heater is gas.

Normal water ( house water ) goes through a water softener. I currently have a 65 gal tank running and are happy fish or seem happy. I noticed the "harder" water when attempting to leak test a new tank I'm setting up.

My water that I use in my aquariums goes through a sediment filter into a storage tank. I then heat the water and aerate it. Using this water I am also now seeing more build up than has previously occurred.

My 65 gal has no issues, some buildup on the glass lids, but nothing too strange.
 
#11 ·
vann59 said:
It may be that if you skip the sediment filter (which could have a lot of sediment in the bottom causing the problem) and also the storage tank, unless you can see that it is completely clean inside, then you may solve the problem.
The sediment filter canister is transparent so no build up in the bottom. Also put in a new filter which result it some of the water to be milky white. I didn't rinse it before installing it.

New storage tank as well, went from a 55 gal drum to a 100g rubbermaid storage tank.
 
#16 ·
Water surface looks terrible. Tested my ph and it has dropped from where my water was when I got into cichlids. Use to register at 9.1 possibly 9.2 now its down to 8.2 in my storage tank and 8.6 in my aquarium water I have added nothing to the water and nothing in the tank to raise the ph.

Just pictures of my storage tank.



 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top