Can't lower GH; any suggestions?

[k9outfit]

As the title says, I can't lower the GH - it's pinned at 10 dGH (179 ppm). I have the KH down to 1.5 dKH, but the GH won't budge. I'm running the tap water through peat moss for a couple of days, and adding sodium bisulfate to lower the pH. Unfortunately, using RO water, or getting a DI unit or whatever is not an option....

Would using the "pillows" the LFS suggested work be a thought? I know it lowers the GH through an ion exchange. So, once the GH is lowered, couldn't I absorb the ions released by the "pillow" somehow, and end up with lower GH and no other additives to deal with?

Or, best scenario yet, would there be a hope in H*ll that my fishies could succesfully spawn in water with a dGH of 10?

P.S. In light of an incredibly hilarious recent thread, please don't suggest I should just stick to African Cichlids, and give up on Discus... I already have ~35 tanks of 'em! :wink:

[FishLover]

What about Discus Buffer? Not sure if it works or not.

[fishgeek]

the only way to lower Gh is to remove things
boiling will lead tocalcium carbonate(limescale) precipitating out and reduce the level of Gh some though this is very energy inefficent and not really a practica option

distillation or evaporation and recondensation can work though again is energy intensive and slow , unless you happen to live somewhere with lots of sun to use
get a black water butt and use it to heat the water then you just need to collect/condense and trickle to another container .. again i dont think practical

seachem somehow claim that they can reduce carbonate hardness Kh by converting it to CO2 in the tank, i am not sure on this

the water softening pillows are still only going to swap one charged particle for another , prehaps you need to know which charged particle is more or less desirable for your fish

I do not keep discus and have no experience with them what so ever ..
and i would have though that a gH of 10 would not be too high

prehaps adding plants in pots to your breeding setup would allow the plants to utilise some of the dissolved products , though again you may end up needing to add something to keep the nitrogen/phosphorus balance good for plant rowth and uptake of other products

andrew

[mistakes r crucial]

I'd be giving them a go at 10 GH K9 and see what happens, nothing to lose mate. Apart from that the only other way I know is RO unless you want to go to fandangled and expensive aquarium products that may or may not work.
MAC

[aquaholic]

I have just tryed using the pillows in my breeding tank and have had some positve results. my gh was at 6 and after a few days had it down to 3.the tank is a 80l and i was using the small pillow 57g.i have just got the 200g pillow so hopefully i can get him down to one or better so i can get my hatch rate up:).

cheers andrew

[samir]

maybe setup a rainwater tank and mix your water with that ?

[k9outfit]

Thanks for the suggestions/replies, people!

Samir, we would be collecting rain water - if it'd only rain :evil: ; we're filling up our "rain barrel" (1,000 gallon tank) with tap water (and discarded fish water, to water the garden), since it hasn't rained since.... forever. And the rest of the year ... well, I'd be shovelling the solid version 'til the cows come home to get enough melted for water changes.

From all your input, I think I'll see if I can't just get viable results with the water I'm using. If not, from there I'll experiment with the pillows, and in the worst case (I've got some F2 Red Spot Greens - or at least that's what I ordered and supposedly received) I'll dillute with a bit of RO. 1 tank, I could do, but not 5-6 (or more(?) :wink: by the time they start spawning).

[Ben]

Give these a try...

http://aquariumpharm.com/en_gb/productTechSheet.asp?productid=286

I have never use one, but thier other products are excellent.

[fishgeek]

ben's link is exacty the same as household water softeners, just marketed to aquarium hobby(maybe more expensive?)

the only issue with these is they will raise the EC as Na+ ion and Cl- carry charge much more happily than Mg, Ca etc
the Amazon has particularly low EC water and i (cant remember where) read something about EC being important for fish lateral line sensory organs and in general health

then again everyone seems to be happy using standard salt for therapy even in soft water fish with no apparent problems


as an aside if using an r/o having a water softener in the tap line before the r/o will significantly improve the output water as salt is easier for the r/o membrane to remove

sorry to divert the post , does anyone have any opinions on EC and soft water fish ?