angles and water hardness

Question
I have bred angles for about two years, recently the hardness of my water is off the charts. Even when I change the water, the city has obviously done something to our water. Anyway the angles seem to be fine they just will not span. Any advise on how to drop the water hardness? What level of hardness do angles like?
Thanks

Answer
Hi David
I assume you haven't added anything new to the tank, like rocks?  And, have you tested your tap water as well to be sure that is the source-though I know it sounds obvious that it is.....

You could try RO water.  I guess it's fairly cheap at the store, just having to haul all those gallons of water around can be a pain.  Or, you could set up your own system in your house, but that can be expensive as well.

You could add some driftwood to the tank.  Also, peat moss can be added to the filter-put it in a filter media bag first.  But, both of those will most likely color the water a light brown/tea color, but supposedly fish like angels and tetras like that anyway.  I've also heard of a product called Black Water Extract, see link:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3974+4085&pcatid=4...

I've never used it, so can't say how well it works or not.  But I do believe it contains peat in it, so less messier then using peat in your filter.

One thing to keep in mind though, monitor your ph and hardness levels.  And when you do a water change, you'll need to treat the new water before adding it, otherwise it will alter your ph in the tank, which can stress/shock/kill the fish if it's a big difference.
Here's a few links I have saved on ph, gh, and kh to read over.  I usually don't recommend altering ph, because you really need to know what you're doing to do it and avoid problems.  But, those options I mentioned are all ways to do it.  As far as what specific levels angels prefer, I can't say.  I've seen different info on different sites, so I would recommend shooting for what you had before, since you know that worked for you.

http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/CO2/khgh.html

http://aquaticconcepts.thekrib.com/Articles/Water_Chemistry.htm

http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/waterchemistry.htm

Hope that helps and good luck!

Christy