Soft/Hard Water

Question
QUESTION: Hello Stephanie:
I have been running an aquarium for about 2 weeks now so I am still a beginner.  I have 2 Bala Sharks and one Chinese something algae Eater.  Since I began my new aquarium care I have been using tap water and just dropping in a chlorine tablet and a Ph tablet.  After repeatedly taking tests on my water, I was finding that my water is very hark and is 8.0-8.4 on the ph scale and I could not get it down.  I did some research, found that those tablets do not really work and the best method is just to use better water like Reverse Osmosis water because this city water is very hard.  question is this: I bought some distilled water since that is completely neutral and I tested it and found that it is in the very soft range, but my test strip did not specify what is actually ideal. SO I did probably about a 30% water change with the new distilled water so it would not be a huge Ph shock on the fish but still trying to get it down.  Is it ok that the water is very soft? Will it gradually become less extreme and more on the soft side as I feed the fish and as the fish produces waste?  Sorry this is such a long question!
ANSWER: Hello,

It is great to use distilled water in your aquarium. I think you will find that it will provide a better pH and hardness. However, test strips usually are hard to read and can be inaccurate with their readings. If you want a more accurate measure I recommend you buy Nutrafin (or another brand) test drops. These are much better for your tests.

Its fine that your water is very soft. Some fish like harder water, some like softer water. I think your fish are fine with the softer water. Its more cichlids ect. who appreciate hard water.

Your test results may seem to be very soft and in the extremes with the test strips, but I urge you to retest with another product. I think you may find that the results are better.

I hope this helps. If you retest your water and find the readings are still odd, don't hesitate to contact me again.

Regards,
Stephanie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Ok thanks for all of that info.  I have a couple of other questions though.  Since I began running the aquarium, I have been using an Elite Hush 10 power filter and I have had a great amount of excess soapy looking suds at the surface that really builds up.  After experimenting around, I am almost positive it has to be the filter; whenever I shut down the filter to do my water changing to slowly get all distilled water in the tank, the suds slowly all pop and disappear, but as soon as I get it up and running again, they once again build up even to an inch or more of excess suds over the whole surface of the water.  Am I using it wrong? Is it normal to do that? I definitely prefer no suds, is there a way to make it stop?

One more question: my algae eater never seems to even want to touch the algae wafers I put in.  Is he still getting enough to eat when he is sucking on the walls even though I may not be able to see any algae in my tank? Again, I am sorry for the length and that I have so many questions, but I am new and want to do everything correctly.
-Matt

Answer
Hello,

I am glad to help. :)

I used to have a filter that caused 'suds' on the surface of my tank as well. I honestly am not 100% sure what causes this. I believe it may be excessive agitation of the water. There may also be a chemical that you use in your tank that causes suds when agitated. You may want to try not using certain chemicals for periods of time and seeing if it makes a difference or not. Currently the Aquaclear filters and Fluval filters I have do not cause my aquarium water to have suds. You may also want to try buying some new filter media, and making sure you rinse it out thoroughly before putting it in your filter.

There are some other sinking foods your algae eater may be interested in, but he can get enough food from scavenging in the gravel and cleaning the glass. If he is hungry and can't find enough food, I am sure he will accept the algae wafers or other sinking food. If he is happy and healthy even without the algae wafers, then I am sure he is getting enough food.

I hope this helps. I am sorry I couldn't be of more assistance with the filter question.

Regards,
Stephanie