gh water paremeter

Question
al my levels are fine except for my gh that is high which means my water is hard ? what can i do to lower my gh and can i use distilled or deionized water to bring the levels down or what do u recomend
my tank is a 50 gallon
4/silver sharks
3/clown loaches
5 botia,s
4 pictus catfish
6/cory,s
filters 2 of tetratec 1200
ammonia 0 ph 6.8/ nitrite 0.5
water change every 2 weeks 10 gallons appox
tank setup 14 months

Answer
Hi Len;

There is really no need to alter the hardness of your water so don't put yourself an your fish through that. Your fish are accustomed to what they are living in already. Trying to alter water chemistry, whether it be hardness or pH, causes fluctuations that are very harmful to our fish. What we are looking for is stability, not a certain reading. Your pH is at a very desireable reading of 6.8 already. Lowering the hardness might cause that to go down too and you don't want that to happen if it's okay.

Your nitrite level is elevated though and it really should be "zero" an established tank. It means there is excess waste in the system. It's probably from overfeeding. I do it too sometimes. Cut back on feeding amounts and vacuum the gravel every week. Replace 25% of the water at the same time. It should get back into shape in no time. All tanks really should have a 25% change weekly, especially with messy types that get big such as some of yours.

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins