# untreated well water for tanks



## BentleyR (Sep 10, 2013)

anyone else heard of this? I noticed my friends using regular well water at their homes for their aquariums and now I've had my arowanas and even some of my rays in regular, untreated well water for over a year now with no problems. Not a single chemical needed to adjust the water in my case. Does anyone else run on well water or have any info?


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## vicdad999999 (Aug 27, 2013)

I use well water, never had an issue.


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## dalfed (Apr 8, 2012)

I use well water for the majority of my tanks. One thing to watch for is spring runoff test your water frequently so there are no surprises.


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## Flip (Jun 17, 2013)

My old place had well water. The only thing was that the water was so hard that plants would be dead in 2 days.


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## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

I've asked the people at the pet shop this a few times and they stare like I asked about using septic tank water for that.
The reason I asked was that it makes more sense to me to not put chemicals into water that has other chemicals in it
so that it can safely support fish if you already have water that doesn't have any chemicals in it to begin/w.
But...the well water often has high Ph and/or high Kh.
I tested the "well" water here and both it and the municipal water have a Ph of 7.8 which is hardly ideal.
But once again remember that in most cases the lfs uses the local tap water and the fish from there are used to it.
I think it depends on how easy it is to get the well water. As long as you test it periodically and especially in spring
as stated above.
And I said the water here has a Ph of 7.8 but really it comes out looking a darker blue than the 7.6 level on the color chart
supplied/w the low end test kit. I don't have the high end kit so it may be an 8 or an 8.2
Wherever it is I add one quart of distilled water first and then the 2 gallons of treated tap water which I change weekly
and I get a blue that indicates either 7.2 or 7.4 and this is on/in both my ten G tanks.


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## JonJonHobbyist (Aug 24, 2011)

I haven't tested Ph in a freshwater tank in quite some time and somebody will need to confirm this but try filling a bucket of water with your well water then letting it sit for 24 hours then check the Ph in it. Something to do with the minerals buffering the Ph after it becomes oxygenized or vice versa. I remember I was told to try that and my well water when I lived with my parents showed 8.2 from the tap but after sitting in a bucket without any chemicals added it dropped to the low 7's. Also someone needs to confirm this but if memory serves me right demineralized water won't drop in Ph much without a buffer such as peat.


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## yekoms (Jul 7, 2013)

I'm using our well water its 7.6ph. I bypass the water softener. The fishless cycle took about two weeks. All of the fish were drip acclimated for a couple hours. Fish and plants are doing great so far. I'm doing 8 gal water changes. The tank stays real stable. 
Thanks to those on this site that posted all of the info to help our tank to be the joy that it is...
Smokey


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Not all well water has high pH.Everyones water is different and I have read of members on this site with well water and 6.2Ph!
Most important is hardness(gh{general hardness} and KH{carbonate hardness}).
Letting the water sit 24 hrs and retesting is to see results of the "out gassing" of oxygen/co2.Many times pH will shift upon exposure to the atmosphere(air and co2).
pH ,GH and KH can be safely and effectively adjusted with crushed coral(will raise levels),or by "cutting" with ro,or distilled water(will lower levels).
When I was on a well I kept Tanginykan cichlids who loved the 8.0+ ph and hardness.
Often it is easier to get fish that can tolerate your water ,than it is to adjust it.
Keep in mind though ,WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT WATER.


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## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

JonJonHobbyist said:


> I haven't tested Ph in a freshwater tank in quite some time and somebody will need to confirm this but try filling a bucket of water with your well water then letting it sit for 24 hours then check the Ph in it. Something to do with the minerals buffering the Ph after it becomes oxygenized or vice versa. I remember I was told to try that and my well water when I lived with my parents showed 8.2 from the tap but after sitting in a bucket without any chemicals added it dropped to the low 7's. Also someone needs to confirm this but if memory serves me right demineralized water won't drop in Ph much without a buffer such as peat.


Well here I am with my lack hanging out again as I don't know what demineralized water is. Also draw a blank when people here say their
plants are "pearling" but that I guess is due to how long I've been away from the aquarium far a hobby group.
Not to debate anyone but rather to give personal experience type info to whomever needs it, especially since I just stated that I know not
what demineralized water is. The major most point being it may or may not be what is called distilled water or R/O water.
So please let me know if it's different or just different names for the same thing...LOL...
Anyways I get very specific 98% exact results in bringing down Ph by adding a percent of it to high Ph water and very consistently.
This is the results of months of using this method with frequent test to verify it has done what was needed.
I might add that I was warned against substituting "distilled quality" water for "distilled" water and also that I should periodically
test the tap water which I'm using to check it's consistency in Ph.
Barring the use of chemicals/decorations/or substrate which changes the Ph, this method is permanent till the next water change.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Demineralized water...no minerals. Not to try and be smartss, just what it means. It means the calcium, magnesium, zinc, etc has been removed. Can be bought that way (distilled) or removed through a RODI (reverse-osmosis, deionization) system. Water would be 0dkh/0dgh and usually close to a neutrl ph. RO systems usually will not completely remove all minerals. ROs provide multi-stage filtering that is more designed to remove toxins, like chlorine.

Pearling is when the plants have oxygen bubbles that can come off of their leaves, stems, blooms, etc. Usually only seen in tanks with CO2 systems when the CO2 concentration starts to get up around 30ppm. Some may occur just after a water change, but personally there are so many bubbles in the water that attach themselves to everything, how do you really know?


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## henningc (Apr 17, 2013)

Here in the St. Louis region our well water is prone to have problems as the seasons change after first freeze and during spring rain. It has a high content or borine and that stuff kills fish by crystalizing in their gills. I always keep a large tank ot two with water I know is safe just in case. If you experience this the water will turn a milky color after several days and the surfaces in the tank will feel like sand paper. Test and error on the side of caution.


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