Tap water problem, nearly a disaster

[YuccaPatrol]

I know this is not exactly shrimp-related because it describes an event that occurred in one of my fish tanks, but I trust this forum for water quality information more than any of the "fish" forums. And since my local water is what I use for my inverts, I'm posting this here.

I did water changes last night in two of my large fish tanks. Everything was normal for the first tank. While the second tank was filling, I noticed that the water suddenly started coming out of the hose with a lot of fine bubbles almost as if it was carbonated. Tiny bubbles covered every surface, including the fish.

Once the tank was full, all of the fish began acting very stressed. I did a quick pH test of the tank and it was 7.8-8.0 (our tap water has always come out at 7.2). I then tested the tap water and it was 8.4-8.6. This morning, the tap water is back at its normal pH.

It was late at night and I have no other source of water so I got a big unused carbon bag and tossed it in the filter to try to absorb any odd chemicals that might be in there. I had nothing to quickly bring the pH down except for peat pellets so I tossed a couple handfuls directly into the tank.

I lost all of my neon tetras, but all of the other fish seem to have recovered overnight. I have several fish that are not replaceable (like a very large clown loach). My hatchetfish are ok and they are supposed to be even more sensitive than neons, but I guess that is not the case here.

Does anyone have any idea what might have happened? My guess is that there was some temporary error/malfunction at the water treatment plant

I'm going to call our water company today and try to speak to a water quality specialist, but I guess I am going to have to test the pH of the water before using it from now on.


Now I really really really want an RO system. I can't have this sort of thing happen again.

[pturley]

edit

[YuccaPatrol]

Thanks Paul. That info will give me some good background to ask some questions when I call the water company.

I appreciate it.

[badflash]

Welcome to the club. Others take heed! Your tap water parameters can change without notice.

[Neonshrimp]

First off, sorry to hear about your situation and loss. One of my favorite fish are neon tetras, thus the "neon" in my user name.

This thread has got me thinking about wether I should dose with a higher amount of dechlorinator when doing my water changes just in case.

What do you all think?

[ToddnBecka]

Dechlorinator only removes chlorine, not chloramine. When chloramine is present in the water and the chlorine is removed, the ammonia is released. (Chloramine is chlorine and ammonia.) There are products like A.C.E. from Jungle Laboratories that will neutralize chloramine (and chlorine). I have heard from a friend who owns an lfs that our city water supply is sometimes dosed with chloramine, but apparently not in heavy concentrations. I haven't had any problems from it, and I only use a simple dechlorinator, though I recently switched to a different brand that also removes heavy metals as well. The one I had been using changed the concentration, and went from 3 to 5 drops/gallon dosage, same size bottle, same price. It's more economical to buy a more expensive bottle that only requires 1 drop/gallon, particularly when doing weekly water changes on 6 tanks .

[Neonshrimp]

I am using Seachem Prime as my dechlorinator. It says that it reomoves Chlorine, Chloramine, Ammonia and detoxifies Nitrite & Nitrate while providing Slime Coat. The directions say for exceptionally high chloramine concentrations, a double dose may be used safely What do you think?

[milalic]

I use Seachem Prime which I belive gets rid of chlorine, chloramine and ammonia. I have not had any water related problems in the tanks I use tap water.



-pedro

[argblarg]

Interesting, I didn't realize that some dechlorinators didn't remove chloramines too. When I was using Aqua-Plus, the bottle said to double the dosage if treating for chloramines. Good to know.

I have since switched to Prime though, since 1 capful treats 50 gallons instead of the 1 capful/10 gallons that Aqua-Plus said, and Prime is just a buck or two more expensive.

[ToddnBecka]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. "Exceptionally high chloramine concentrations" aren't likely to occur unless you live very close to the water treatment facility.

[Neonshrimp]

"Exceptionally high chloramine concentrations" aren't likely to occur unless you live very close to the water treatment facility.

Or unless it is this time of the year and/or when the water facility periodically tries to flush out the system, as stated above

[badflash]

I've found the critical element is time with my Thanksgiving Massacre. Dose the bucket, not the tank, and circulate the water for 10 minutes before adding it to the tank. Double dosing is not needed, but I don't think it will do any harm.

[Neonshrimp]

Thanks for that important tip, it could save many shrimp lives! By the way CONGRATULATION "SENIOR SHRIMP NUT"

[marusempai]

Interesting, I didn't realize that some dechlorinators didn't remove chloramines too. When I was using Aqua-Plus, the bottle said to double the dosage if treating for chloramines. Good to know.

Aqua plus is pretty good stuff actually, in my book anyway. It does remove chloramine, also does pretty well against heavy metals. Double dosing isn't neccessary though -- just let the water sit with the Aqua plus in it for awhile, does the trick. Doubling the dose doesn't hurt, but it can make bubbles at the top of your tank (I think any water conditioner would do this), looks like soap bubbles almost. It looks gross and scary, but doesn't hurt anything.

[Neonshrimp]

just let the water sit with the Aqua plus in it for awhile

Is this for "10 minutes" like badflash mentioned?