[ObscureAllure]

Background info - since moving to our house (very old part of town) we have had the worst luck ever with our fish tank. No fish has survived over 2 months. Water tests showed slightly low PH (6.6 range) but everything else is perfect. After testing and trying everything else (down to bleaching the tank - twice) we finally had the suggestion to have our tap water tested. Wow. Heavy metals galore. We've switched to bottled water for ourselves, but are unsure what to do for our babies.

Should we purchase a filter (if so - suggestions?) or start purchasing pre filtered water like the 5Gal drums at the store? Will the filter remove these?

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[Diana]

You might try using a chelating material. These have an affinity for heavy metals, so would remove them from the water. Scroll to the bottom of this link for EDTA. There are others.

http://www.fishyfarmacy.com/products.html

 

[rrastro]

reverse osmosis/deionizing filters seem to be the best way to go about it without purchasing all of your water but I do not know if that will sufficiently reduce the amount of heavy metals in your water. there is conflicting information about how much heavy metals ro/di filtration can remove effectively. the mere presence of heavy metals does not mean that their levels are through the roof. how bad are they?

 

[Seattle_Aquarist]

Background info - since moving to our house (very old part of town) we have had the worst luck ever with our fish tank. No fish has survived over 2 months. Water tests showed slightly low PH (6.6 range) but everything else is perfect. After testing and trying everything else (down to bleaching the tank - twice) we finally had the suggestion to have our tap water tested. Wow. Heavy metals galore. We've switched to bottled water for ourselves, but are unsure what to do for our babies.

Should we purchase a filter (if so - suggestions?) or start purchasing pre filtered water like the 5Gal drums at the store? Will the filter remove these?

Thanks in advance for any input.

Hi ObscureAllure,

Seachem Prime will reduce heavy metals in water.

The standard dose of Prime (1 mL/10 gallons) will remove:

Copper - 2.6 ppm in 10 gallons
OR
Lead - 8.5 ppm in 10 gallons
OR
Nickel - 2.4 ppm in 10 gallons

We say "OR" between each because that is the maximum amount of each that can be removed assuming none of the other components are present; so for example, one could remove 1.3 ppm copper and 4.4 ppm lead or any other variety of differing ratios between them.

We hope this helps

Prime is not a chelating agent, so it does not work that way with heavy metals. Soluble heavy metals (metal ions that can be absorbed) are in an oxidized state. Prime reduces metals, which detoxifies them. Note that it does not remove metals from the water (it just detoxifies them), so you really should have a decent water supply or RO/DI equipment. Please also note again that we talk about detoxifying heavy metals found in tap water at typical concentrations; we do not sell Prime to detoxify heavy metals at abnormally high concentrations.

Prime does not affect the pH of tanks, unless it is severely, drastically overdosed. In the bottle it has a pH that is neutral to alkaline, and it works very well over that pH range. It is less effective if the pH is strongly acidic. However, we have used it in tanks that run at a pH of 4.5 or so.

For nitrites, use the dosage instructions for nitrates.

I hope this helps!

 

[ObscureAllure]

reverse osmosis/deionizing filters seem to be the best way to go about it without purchasing all of your water but I do not know if that will sufficiently reduce the amount of heavy metals in your water. there is conflicting information about how much heavy metals ro/di filtration can remove effectively. the mere presence of heavy metals does not mean that their levels are through the roof. how bad are they?

I don't remember the number off hand - but he told us in blunt terms to stop drinking it so I have to assume it's up there. We are actually having someone come check out our pipes because he said the really old pipes (some leading to out house are almost 200 years, at my house around 100) can cause the spike through leeching or something? We always knew the water out here tasted slightly different, never guessed that's why.

 

[ObscureAllure]

PS thanks everyone who has already replied - will look into the stuff posted in the morning!