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Hard Water

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Hard Water: Water with a high concentration of dissolved salts.
Hardness: The hardness of a water is a measure of the concentration of the multivalent cations (positively charged particles) in the water, ...

 


Hard Water: A water condition which has a lot of dissolved salts.
HO lighting: High Output fluorescent lighting.

Hard Water - Water which has a high concentration of dissolved minerals and solids.
Herbivore - One that eats mainly or only vegetable foods.
Hitech - Aquariums that make use of sophisticated equipment and acessories.

Hard water is common in many parts of the U.S. Unfortunately, hard water doesn't make good pond water.

Hard water is based on the amount of minerals, which is often unregulated. The reason is that soft water lacks the ability to produce dissolved minerals, while water softened by machines does not supply a variety of minerals.

Hard water supply. Seashells or limestone in tank.
Eyes stand out from sockets.
Pop Eye ...

Hard water can also be softened by diluting it with distilled water or R/O water. R/O (reverse-osmosis) water is purified water made by a R/O unit. Unfortunately, R/O units are too expensive ($100-$500) for most hobbyists.

Slightly acidic, hard water with lots of plants and rocks for territory will work best. Dwarfs aren't terribly fast swimmers so it is not necessary to keep decorations towards the edges of the aquarium.

Likewise softness/hardness - I have hard water, but tetras do fine in it. Be sure to get a water conditioner that removes chlorine AND chloramines, and use it in all water you add to tank.

The next problem, is that over 70% of the water in this country is hard, to very hard water and unsuitable for most plants. Hardness is determined by the amount of minerals dissolved in your water supply.

If you have hard water, choose hard water fish. If you have soft water, choose soft water fish. This is especially important if you water is outside the 6.5-7.5 pH range.

I then read an article about Discus (Symphysodon discus) explaining why the discus can't have fry in alkaline hard water. The reason was that the salts didn't allow the sperm to penetrate the eggs which were too hard for them.

Robust, thick-leafed plants that can tolerate hard water can also be used. Water changes should be made regularly.
WATER: Peacock Cichlids are used to the hard alkaline water caused by the high mineral content in the water of Lake Malawi.

Hardness: Aim for 8-10 KH and a little higher ideally for GH (Most aquarists think all Rift lakes are extremely hard water-This is not necessarily so) Aim for Harder end of scale to achieve regular spawning.
Temperature: 73-82 F (23-28 C) ...

This time I used hard water straight from the tap and let it sit. When the severums spawned again I removed the stone and placed it in the 10 gallon tank and added methylene blue until I could just see the eggs.

Lots of plants and/or driftwood, and clean soft to medium hard water. The fish will spawn at the bottom of the tank.

Is it hard water or soft water, high PH or low PH? This will make a big difference to the sort of fish which will be happy living in it.

The Mexican Sailfin Molly is a peaceful fish and prefers hard water. Mollies have the ability to adapt to a variety of salt levels in the aquarium. With a gradual acclimation, this fish may be maintained in either a freshwater or saltwater aquarium.

I love the Pearls and keep a 80 centemeter long tank basically for these guys, which seem to survive in the hard water here in Israel. The males do develop vivid breeding colors, though have not bred.

I live in a region that has hard water naturally with lower pH, so if I do a big water change, it drops significantly (back into mid-7s), but then eventually climbs back up. The fish don't seem to mind, they're brilliant in color and lively.

The species on Sri Lanka prefer slightly acidic to slightly basic pH and medium hard to hard water, while those native to Borneo and the Malay Peninsula that occur in blackwaters prefer very acidic and soft water.

Neutral to slightly acidic, soft to medium hard water is required. Gasteropelecus sternicla requires floating plants or similar to hide under, if no protection is available the fish will soon die of stress.

This plant can thrive in moderately hard water and is reasonably tolerable of water conditions. Regular pruning and planting of the cuttings is necessary to maintain an attractive stand.

The Red Oscar will spawn in soft or hard water as long as it is clean and clear and has a temperature between 79-86°F. The female will lay from 1,000-2,000 eggs on rocks that have been carefully cleaned.

8, mildly hard water, and sand substrate. The cichlids don’t bother any of the other fish or plants, but they also don’t dig in the sand like they used to in their previous, smaller tank.

Often people are concerned about lime, or hard water deposits, on the glass in tanks that have been unused for more than a couple of days. Generally, you should not have to worry about these.

Only the first couple of hundred meters contain fish, which are accustomed to its extremely hard water, a pH between 7.5 and 9.2, and temperatures of up to 27°C.

It requires hard hard water to develop its shell correctly. Crayfish are well known to climb out uncovered aquariums, so make sure that your aquarium is escape proof. Crayfish like being hidden, so give them a cave or some kind of shelter.

Many hard water spawnings fail because the eggs do not become fertilized in hard water. These infertile eggs are quickly eaten by the parent. Attempts at artificial hatching will result in fungused eggs.

Plants like this better than hard water but they need some minerals such as Calcium and Magnesium that affect the hardness of the water. A commercial fertiliser will add traces of these that may be adequate for your needs.

Their requirements are similar to those of other tropical South American fish, preferring slightly acidic, not too hard water maintained at 20-25°C (68-77°F).

The non-abrasive cleaning pad removes algae, water lines, salt residue and hard water deposits from all types of aquariums. Also useful when cleaning plastic plants, aquarium ornaments, filters, hoods, frames, stands and other aquarium components.

Water parameters: pH 7.0 - 8.2 , medium to hard water and temperature 72-80 F
Aquarium setup: A lot of hiding places and caves. Al least a 75 gallon for one, 125 gallon for two or mixed species.

Although Nitrite in hard water or water with a high pH level is actually more toxic than ammonia, what happens is that the bacteria filter turns the Nitrite into Nitrate, which is relatively less harmful to the fish.

Around neutral pH, soft to slightly hard water.
Feeding
Carnivorous: feed fish, worms etc. May be difficult to train this species to accept 'dead' meaty foods.

Calcium is found in hard water, and phosphorus is found in live plants. If soft water and artificial plants are used, it is important to supplement the diet with foods containing minerals.

Platies like hard water and do well in a new setup. They love eating algae and the company of plants make them feel right at home.

Vinegar can be used to dissolve 'hard water' deposits. Blot the sensor dry in order to avoid 'fogging' or scratching the lens. Avoid petroleum or other 'strong' solvents and abrasive cleaners - these can damage the sensor's lens and ruin it! ...

Well, this species has been found in a wide variety of habitat types, from extremely acidic blackwaters to the alkaline, hard waters in cenotes (sinkholes).

Aquarium Setup:
Since guppies require moderate to hard water, one tablespoon of salt for each five gallons of water should be added if you have very soft water.

On the other hand, it is true that hard water is naturally likely to also have a high pH, because it is also high in carbonates that buffer the pH toward the alkaline side.

General hardness is what people means when they say this fish lives in soft water or hard water.
You can see general hardness measured in dH or ppm (part per million of CACO3)
1dH = 17.8 ppm ...

They prefer a neutral pH and softer water, but larger fish can adapt to a higher pH and hard water. Mine lives comfortably at a pH of 8.2.
Feeding: ...

Hard water typically yields an alkaline condition due to carbon dioxide reacting with carbonates and bicarbonates in the water. Day by day, however, excrement and other sediments plus respiration by fish and plants dictate a tank's pH.

Without adequate cover, Julidochromis regani may not eat and will starve to death. A high pH and medium-hard water are essential. On a side note: Never treat an aquarium containing Julidochromis regani with Triple-Sulphur, or any related products.

Generally, Lake Malawi Cichlids are easy to keep, being relatively hardy, and good spawners, although they do need very alkaline pH, hard water, lots of room, with plenty of rocks and caves.

Dempsey's prefer slightly acid and mildly hard water. A pH level of six to seven will do well. They have a small temperature range, needing their water to be between 72 and 78 degrees fahrenheit.

They also serve as CONDITIONER AND INDICATOR of water quality. Many plants, especially the Myriophyllum special water millfoils break into pieces when hard water is added into the tank, ...

Although all the chosen fishes can be made accustomed to a common water temperature (around 77 degrees F), Neons prefer water that is slightly soft, with pH between 5.0 and 7.0. Mollies, on the other hand, live in slightly hard water with pH of 7.

The level of general hardness in tap and bottled water depends on the source of the water and the treatment processes it has undergone. Hard water (>200 ppm) is high in calcium and magnesium, while soft water (50-100 ppm) is low in these minerals.

a simple inexpensive test kit readily available at Walmart. The kits include drops that can be added to increase or decrease the pH level. The drops are usually phosphate based and will encourage algae growth. pH is difficult to lower in hard water.

keeping, the tank should be furnished with plants, the water temperature fixed to 25 Celsius degrees. It is known that Betta species like acidic and soft water, but it is not the case for Betta unimaculata; it prefers neutral and middle hard water.

See also: Water, Fish, Aquarium, Species, Plants