My loaches are in hiding: Help!!

[chefkeith]

Here's a good kH article that I left out-
http://aquafacts.net/index.php?option=c ... pic=2634.0

[chefkeith]

Sorry about this long winded post everyone, but I’m at a huge disagreement with about everything in this post.

It's really the osmotic changes that stress fish, not the pH change. By adjusting CO2 and Tannins levels, you can change pH safely without harming fish.

No, that's not entirely true. There would be no osmotic stress without a rapid pH change. The second gives rise to the first, and it's not the only cause of osmotic stress.

False, completely false. You can move a fish to and from waters of the same pH and still put the fish into osmosic shock. Some of the links I provided give better explainations.

Also, the kH should be known before adding any buffers. Adding buffers can set-up future conditions that will cause osmotic shock if a large water change is done and you forget to pre-mix the buffers.

Also not always true. You're assuming all buffers are carbonate buffers. They're not. Seachem's Neutral Regulator is a phosphate based buffer. KH is not as much of an issue in fresh water as in the marine hobby unless you have a water source that is unduly alkaline. That can be the case for some well water but rarely for municipal sources because it would usually be softened to some degree before it ever hit your tap. Also, for routine water changes all new water going into the tank should always match the pH of the water already in the tank.

The use of phosphate based buffers is something most advanced fishkeepers won’t recommend. They are basically a waste of money. KH is an issue because nitrifying bacteria need it and tanks low in KH often have ammonia spikes.

If you start adding minerals you really should monitor the TDS levels also. Any big change in TDS is stressful to fish and can open the door for bacterial/parasite infections.

A TDS meter only costs about $20 and gives an instant reading on the total dissolved solids. It could be the most valuable tool for an aquarium owner.

Also not really true for the reasons stated above. Unless you have an issue with the quality of your source water there is no need for a TDS meter in the freshwater hobby. Besides, TDS meters don't measure the mineral content of water they measure its conductivity. Conductivity can be affected by all sorts of different things in solution not just carbonate.

No need? But there is a need for TDS meters in the freshwater hobby. The problem is nobody knows how to use them.
If something is raising the conductivity in the water wouldn’t you want to know?
TDS meters can measure mineral content if that’s what you want it to do. If you mix your source water with minerals, measure the TDS before and after the minerals were added. It’s just a surrogate parameter for the most part, but it can be good data if you use it. With the data you can easily tell if the minerals were added and approximate how much was added.
Another purpose for TDS meters in freshwater tanks to get a base reading of your source water. Use the base reading against the reading in the aquarium to get an estimation of the pollution levels in the tank. The increase in TDS could be from evaporation, fish food, fish waste, rocks leaching, and anything else added to the water.

I only use a TDS meter with the R/O D/I unit I use to generate water for my reef tank. I use it primarily to determine when the R/O membrane needs to be changed. The whole idea of R/O D/I is that it filters out as much as possible and generates the closest thing on the molecular level to true water (i.e. H20....molecules of two hydrogen atoms with one oxygen atom).

You’re missing out if that’s all you use it for.

This pure water is not good for any aquatic organism (fresh or salt). It's only used in the saltwater hobby because tap water contains all kinds of organic and inorganic compounds detrimental to sensitive reef organisms (coral in particular). In fact, most marine slat mixes are designed to be used with only R/O water and (depending on the brand) add back dozens of trace minerals in addition to sodium, calcium, magnesium and chloride.

Lots of freshwater folks here need to use RO water too. They’ll mix in the minerals they need also.

I'm all for the KISS principle (keep it simple stupid) because everyone here falls at different points on the experience spectrum. Advanced water chemistry and a TDS meter (and all that goes with it) are definitely not simple with respect to the freshwater hobby.

It’s more like intermediate, than advanced. Using a TDS meter would be simple if there weren’t so many people spreading myths as gospel and causing more confusion. All the pH myths have made it impossible for this hobby to have true guidelines. That’s why we have so many sick fish everywhere. Many fishy folks are stuck into thinking that the pH parameter has something to do with fish acclimation, which it doesn't. The pH parameter is good for 2 reasons. 1- For planted tanks, to estimate the CO2 ppm . 2- For non planted tanks, a low pH needs to be avoided so that nitrifying bacteria don’t die off.