water...

Question
hello,
my tap water is extremely hard w/ minerals. I want t o fill my 55 gallon aquarium with bottled water. Should i buy spring water, or distilled water? What has the best PH, and will overall be the best choice? I will be keeping all the popular tropical fish (tetras, mollies, catfish, etc)

thanks,
andrew

Answer
Hi Andrew!
I have been asked this question quite frequently in the past. Adjusting your water chemistry is very tricky. I personally don't bother with adjusting my Chemistry. I have found the best water for tropical fish is simply that it is stable and clean. The simple fact is that fish thrive in a stable not Specific water chemistry. This is because whenever your water is extremely hard-- you try adding acidifying chemicals and adjustments. This works for a while but soon your natural buffers cause the pH to rise back in no time. This also causes a pH rollercoaster ride leading to very stressed fish. Adjusting your pH and hardness by mixing RO or Distilled water is a LOT of work. But if you are truly committed to making a perfect water enviroment for your fish. Then do so. But most commonly available species at your local petstore adapt and thrive in a less than ideal chemistry, not all species may spawn in it though. But I have found the most popular species are happy and healthy in less-than-ideal chemistry.

So my best advice is to do nothing...to your water chemistry. Most tetras, Mollies, and Catfish do fine in harder water. Your best bet is to avoid wild caught species or very delicate tetras and other sensitive species who absolutely need acidic water. It's harder for these species to adapt and thrive in more alkaline water.
You may also want to look into species that are well-known to thrive in harder water, which include your Mollies, and most other livebearer species, Kribensis and other african cichlids especially,. However most fish have a wide range of pH preferances and I really don't think you have much of a problem on your hands. Your best bet is to experiment with the species you listed...they probably will most certainly do well. Fish thrive in clean and stable water, remember that. And altering your chemistry, can do more harm than good.

Here is a link to a wonderful article all about water chemistry and if you should alter it or not.
~http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-chem.html~

Well, i really hope this helps! if you have anymore questions, feel free to email me...

Best wishes,
Happy fishkeeping!
Karen~